Editor's Note: Volunteers from Penn State's Schreyer Honors College, along with volunteers from the University of Washington, collaborated to build a model house with straw-bale technology this summer on Montana's Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. The work was part of a larger American Indian Housing Initiative to which many institutions and organizations have contributed (see http://www.engr.psu.edu/greenbuild/intro.html for more information). Here is a brief introduction to the project, followed by dispatches from the Penn Staters involved.
Lame Deer, Mont. -- It's not every day Nittany Lions and Huskies roam the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. Then again, it's not every day architectural engineering students from Penn State and the University of Washington collaborate to build houses out of straw either.
A group of students from the two universities are putting what they've learned in class to good use by building a model straw-bale home in Lame Deer, Mont., 70 miles east of Billings.
The students, along with their professors and the Northern Cheyenne Housing Authority, are building a structure that will serve as a temporary housing unit on the reservation, but it also will serve as a method of research. The students and professors expect the model home to prove that straw-bale is the most efficient and economical way for the Northern Cheyenne to insulate their homes.
For pictures of the work, visit http://live.psu.edu/still_life/07_10_03_lame/index.html and http://live.psu.edu/still_life/07_01_03_strawbale/index.html
Up next, in reverse order, are the dispatches that were sent to Penn State Newswire and Penn State Live readers.
Dispatch Six: Alumnus impressed by student, faculty dedication
from alumnus Art Glenn*
Interest in Problem Based Learning stimulated me to ask Cheryl Acterberg (dean of the Schreyer Honors College) about participating in the American Indian Housing Initiative Strawbale House Project. She arranged a contact with David Riley, associate professor of architectural engineering, who explained what the AIHI is all about, and what I might experience if I went with the summer program to Lame Deer, Mont., to observe and participate in the project with the Penn State and University of Washington students.
Building a small house from the foundation up in two weeks using strawbales for outside walls proved to be quite an undertaking. Riley, Scott Wing (Architecture), Mike Rios (Landscape Architecture) and Sergio Palleroni (UW Architecture) are very brave faculty to assume the responsibility for such an ambitious project; I salute their courage and their hard work and dedication to their students' learning.
I spent my time alongside many exceptional students working with them on the various assigned construction tasks, and helping them when I could to learn basic building skills. I found all of the students anxious to take on their assigned projects, although some with less prior experience than others were reluctant at first to accept the risk of operating high speed construction tools, but it was a joy to see them gain confidence with time as they learned to use the tools. Their break period conversations were reassuring to me of the pride they all took in the project.
As a learning experience for the students, I believe that each of them will able to contribute in a more realistic way in their careers, whatever they may choose to pursue. The hands-on reality will make them better at translating their academic success to the business, government or service world.
As for me, I learned how difficult it is to put together a large Problem Based Learning project that encompasses so many disciplines -- architecture engineering, architecture, social work, politics, English and other languages, nutrition, and many others. It was a terrific experience for me, and made me even more Penn State proud of the outstanding faculty and students at our great university.
*Art Glenn is a 1956 Mechanical Engineering graduate who spent 40 years in the business community, mostly at General Electric. He serves on the external advisory committee for the Schreyer Honors College and the Schreyer Institute, is Chairman of the Leonhard Center, and is a member of the Teaching/Learning Consortium Steering Committee. He has worked as part of many engineering education reform activities for the National Science Foundation and the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.
Dispatch Five: A glimpse into the life of the Northern Cheyenne
from student Amy Grommes
The Northern Cheyenne reservation, located in southeastern Montana approximately an hour and a half from Billings, Mont., and Sheridan, Wyo., spans more than 500,000 acres and is the home to more than 5,000 registered individuals of Northern Cheyenne descent. The tight knit community consists of brother, sisters, aunts, uncles, parents, grandparents and cousins. Friendships run throughout generations and distant relatives are an active part in everyday life.
Penn State and University of Washington students, faculty and alumni have had the unique experience of living alongside this community for the past two weeks. Participants in the American Indian Housing Initiative (AIHI) have had the opportunity to experience activities that are a part of life here on the reservation. We've gone horseback riding, biking and swimming in the beautiful backcountry. We've eaten alongside several members of the community including teachers, historians, artists, activists, carpenters and architects.
We've attended the biggest ceremony the Northern Cheyenne celebrate here on the reservation: POW WOW. There we danced, ate Indian tacos, sat around the campfire and listened to ghost stories. We watched the grass dancing and the fancy dances; we admired the regalia and applauded their winners. We had the opportunity to participate in their religious ceremony, the sweat. Here we listened to their stories, the experiences and hardships that created their traditions. We sat and sweated alongside them to rid ourselves of worldly impurities.
We've created a courtyard in front of the Adult Literacy Center, a straw-bale building AIHI built last year for Dull Knife Memorial College. We've worked with the local artists to create that space to display artwork created by teenagers at the Boys and Girls Club. We've attended community meetings and have begun to understand the dynamics and politics that exist here on the reservation. We've had misunderstandings and disagreements, but it's all part of the learning experience.
Many students signed up for this service-learning course to learn more about design and construction. However, the learning did not stop when we walked off the site. We've had the unique opportunity to experience another culture and community. Learning doesn't stop when class is over. Life is a learning experience. After all, that's why we're all here -- isn't it?
Dispatch Four: Creating courtyards and camaraderie
from alumna Lindsay Burleigh
I am a newly graduated landscape architect student from Penn State. My duty here is to enhance the courtyard space in front of the building that was constructed last summer on the college campus in Lame Deer. This design/build project was headed by Michael Rios of Penn State's Hamer Center for Community Design Assistance; Sam Dennis, assistant professor of landscape architecture at Penn State; and Bently Spang, a Cheyenne artist.
Bently and Susanne Hackett, a Penn State art education graduate student, have been working with the Boys and Girls Club of Lame Deer to do an art installation as part of the courtyard design. They have been working for two weeks with eight or nine youth between the ages of 12 and 17 to manifest the installation. The youth have produced a few works, mainly through photography, dealing with "self."
For the installation, the kids chose words that describe themselves, such as "brave," "strong," "dependable," "confident" and "shy." Their words were etched into sandstone flagstones and are now sprinkled in locations chosen by the youth in the courtyard.
The conceptual phase of the design is the work of Rios and Spang. The design includes a fire pit in the center of the site with a circle at its perimeter and a conceptual river constructed of river rock running along side the wall of one of the courtyard's peripheral buildings. It is the third week of construction on the courtyard and all that remains is the planting. Native yucca, woman sagegrass, aspen and other grasses fill the vegetative palate.
From excavating old staw-bale walls constructed last year, moving lots and lots of soil, crusher-fines, river rock and red shale, and splitting huge sandstone lintels into smaller pieces, the courtyard is nearing completion. There has been a runoff of student labor from the housing site and they have been helping shovel and wheelbarrow like champs. We were considering assigning morale captains for next year, but the morale has remained extremely high through the high temperatures, hot sun, and back-breaking labor on this site. It is amazing to see how people who barely know each other can come together to produce such a beautiful site with such ease throughout the entire process! It is really fun!
We all appreciate the kindness of the community for having us and have learned much more than how to construct a courtyard! There will be a community open house to showcase last year's straw-bale building, the courtyard, and the work of the youth. If you're ever traveling through Lame Deer, Mont., be sure to stop at the Dull Knife College to see this beautiful project!
Dispatch Three: Notes from a future architect's journal
from student Mike Aiello
The past 9 days have been so much fun the expression "having the time of my life" comes to mind. But spending this time here with the people and the culture, I truly believe I have been "given" the time of my life.
Saturday, June 28, 2003
...And so we descend. On to what, I am excited to see. My grandparents loved it here and so does the gentlemen sitting next to me in 2B apparently. I expect nothing less than beautiful photos and even more beautiful memories when I return. Ok, enough of this journal. Seat backs up and tray tables stowed. Let's build a house!
Sunday, June 29, 2003
Montana -- more light green than dark green, more hills than mountains and more land than the eye can see. I have yet to turn around and not have a stunning view of the landscape. Lame Deer is a crossroads in the most literal sense of the term. Much like State College it's isolated, but the essentials are there. ...Seeing the site was the real clincher. The footings had cured and the foundation poured. Right then it sunk in. We are here to build a house in two weeks. The beginnings of an end of semester design crunch had taken shape. What that shape may be is another issue.
Monday, June 30, 2003
With everyone arrived and settled in, we traveled as a group to the other straw bale projects completed in previous summers. It was great to see them first hand after a semester of text and photos. ...Before dinner a bunch of us beat the heat by going swimming at a natural spring. A few miles down the road next to buffalo land are four ponds at the base of beautiful rolling hills. To be there, in that setting, was as breathtaking as the ice-cold water. Both equally as welcoming. Being out here does make me wonder whether this isn't the best way to live. Going from two blocks from the White House to 2,000 miles makes me question if the convenience of a big city is worth the slow traffic that comes with it.
Tuesday, July 1, 2003
...Everyone I've met here is incredibly nice: from The University of Washington, Boston private school teachers, to a former Vice President of GE. It's an interesting mix of backgrounds, motives, students and alumni, generations old and new. We are all working well together though there is the occasional clash between the eager and the experienced.
Wednesday, July 2, 2003
Today I have made my impact. I have left my mark. I did that one thing everyone will hopefully get a chance to do. That one where you stand back and say "I did that." This morning I helped two locals, Jeff and Ursula, stake out where to excavate, place footings and ultimately decide where their new straw bale home will be. In a situation where there are this many people (70), it is sometimes hard, and more often difficult to take claim for any one thing. In a place where tasks require a few but must accommodate a few more, bragging rights get divided and distributed among all who participate. Some have gone to sweats, others befriended by locals and I have literally staked my claim on plot of land 5 miles south of Lame Deer, Mont.
Friday, July 4, 2003
Fire on the Mountain!! And I'm not kidding. Last night was the Lame Deer Fireworks extravaganza. The show was staged on top of the hill right behind our building site. Never have I been so close to the explosions. In the back of everyone's mind was "I hope our straw house will be ok." But the excitement really came when a few too many fireworks became a real hazard by coming back to the hill and setting the grass ablaze. ...Later tonight was the Pow Wow. It was much different than I expected. The dancers come from all over the Western United States dressed in the most colorful and symbolic of traditional clothing. What surprised me was how commercial it is. Each dancer has a number, in order to be judged, with the word Pepsi on it. A sponsor? I'm not sure. Around the main dancing circle are a few small wooden stands and a promenade filled with traveling food trailers selling everything from Indian tacos to spin-a-spuds (quick fried potato chips) made from a power drill rigged up to the vegetable. It was a cross between a high school football game and a carnival and it couldn't of been more fun. The intertribal dancing was the best part of the night. Everyone, no matter your background is welcome to participate, and participate I did.
Dispatch Two: Sharing work, sharing culture
from student Sara Ryan
As a Political Science and African American Studies double major, I am one of the few PSU students on the trip who is not from an architecture department. This has allowed me to spend some of my time here working with both the adult and teenage Northern Cheyenne communities. I have done this through horseback riding and participating in an art project with the Boys and Girls Club.
Two nights ago, eight PSU students were able to horseback ride at a ranch owned by a family our group has developed a close relationship with during the past few years. This experience has been my favorite since we've been here. Although the terrain was challenging, it was absolutely beautiful to ride as the sun was setting. Even my horse, which was named "Killer," enjoyed looking at the landscape. We passed camps the Northern Cheyenne used as they were fighting against members of the United States military to be able to save their land and were able to chew on some traditional plants that tasted like root beer or garlic. After the ride, we spent a couple of hours listening to stories from the ranching family.
The next day, I was able to spend some time with younger members of the community. Part of our work here has been to collaborate with the Boys and Girls Club on the reservation through an art project. The teenagers are working to decorate the courtyard of the literacy center, the building built by our group last year. They are exploring the meaning of the word "home" to them. Yesterday, we worked together to gather stones for the project and today we are going to lay them. I feel very fortunate that the community has been so welcoming and willing to share its culture with us.
Dispatch One: A house that's far from the last straw
from student Mary Longenecker
This week I traveled with about 20 Penn State students to the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Lame Deer, Mont., with the American Indian Housing Initiative class, an architectural engineering course. This course, which was offered for the second time this year, focuses on working with the tribal community to assist them with their current problem, which is a lack of affordable housing. While we are here for two weeks we will work in conjunction with students from the University of Washington and Chief Dull Knife Memorial College, and with local community members and alumni from both schools to build a house using straw bale construction. This building technology was chosen due to its insulating properties, reducing both heating and cooling costs year-round. Each of the exterior walls in this one-and-a-half story building is made exclusively of straw, instead of traditional wood framing. While we are here, we will also be finishing construction on a community center and creating a plaza outside of last year's building, a literacy center. We learned construction techniques and basic tribal culture this past spring semester. This preparation included visits from tribal members, including Bentley Spang, a renowned artist, Dr. Littlebear, president of Chief Dull Knife Memorial College, and Bill Wertman, vice president of the college.
This experience is an especially meaningful one for me. Last spring, I was a confused high school senior who couldn't decide where to go for college. Of course, considering my dad is an alumnus, Penn State was on the list. While I was visiting the campus for the second time as a potential student, I heard about this class from two students and a teacher who were getting ready to head out that summer. I got so excited about working on a project with this kind of potential for community impact that I sent in my acceptance letter to Penn State the next day. Even after spending just two days here in Lame Deer, I know this will be an experience I will never forget.