Photo by Rachel Single-Schwall
Over the last decade NIC administrators have been working with a local tribe to rename places throughout campus, including Sherman Park, to reestablish cultural heritage.
NIC Vice President of Communications and Marketing, Mark Browning said that the park’s new title will include the name “Cheamkwet” which is from the native Coeur d’Alene word Hnch’mqi’nkwe, meaning “Headwaters.”
Browning said that the renaming of Fort Sherman Park was more of a co-naming and that this was only one part of the Nine-Point Agreement between the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Council and the NIC Board of Trustees.
“One of the points is to go back spot by spot, and research to find the appropriate names for places on campus,” Browning said. “These names have been re-changed to reflect both Coeur d’Alene and the Tribe’s rich history here.”
Also Ron Dorn, vice president of business management said that Fort Sherman Park along with several other sites on campus such as the rose garden and the renovated powder house are just a few examples of the college trying to preserve its history in the area. Dorn said an official dedication for all three of these places will happen sometime this spring.
“We’ve been working to rename and co-name a number of the facilities on campus to recognize the cultural heritage in Coeur d’Alene,” Browning said.
The Nine-Point Agreement was signed on July 23, 1997 by the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Council and the NIC board of trustees.
The Nine-Point agreement includes:
- Expanding the library collection about Native Americans.
- Constructing a “longhouse” on the NIC campus.
- Naming NIC Buildings, streets, classrooms, and special places after important tribal leaders or cultural events.
- Creating a Coeur d’Alene Tribal Awareness Week.
- Displaying sculptures and paintings about the Coeur d’Alene Tribe on Campus.
- Improving the use of campus resources to serve Coeur d’Alene tribal members.
- Setting up recruitment nights for prospective tribal students and their families.
- Using distance education to reach out to the Coeur d’Alene Tribe.
