Lucy Covington is regarded as an icon who fought to protect tribal rights.
Eastern Washington University is laying the groundwork for an academic and community program to honor the legacy of Lucy Covington, a Colville Tribal Council member who had a large impact on American Indian history.
During the '50s and '60s, Covington worked to organize an end to "termination," a federal policy designed to take control of land and natural resources from tribal ownership by terminating tribal status. Covington's actions helped preserve tribal sovereignty and self-determination for the tribes across the country, including the Colville Tribe. She was elected to the Colville business council to become the chair of the Colville Indian Reservation in 1976, becoming the first woman to lead an American Indian tribe.
Covington continued to work to protect tribal rights and resources, promote inter-tribal cooperation and govern the reservation to the benefit of tribal members.
Jo Ann Kauffman, former EWU board of trustees chair and an enrolled member of the Nez Perce Tribe, said she had heard of Covington's impact on Native American history from several tribal leaders.
"I also had a chance to meet Lucy (Covington) when I was younger and saw the work she did," Kauffman said. "She's regarded as a tribal icon and she's from Eastern Washington. It sounded like Eastern Washington University would be an ideal place to remember her legacy and find ways to continue it."
Kauffman added that the board is awarding Covington with a posthumous Ph.D.
Michael Westfall, vice president of university advancement and executive director of the EWU Foundation, said Eastern was supportive of the center from the "get go."
"The support has been positive. More of an external support," Westfall said. "EWU has a commitment to diversity. The Lucy Covington Center adds to that effort and compliments the mission."
The vision for the Lucy Covington Center is three-fold. The first is to help educate the next generation of Native American leaders. This includes establishing an endowment fund for scholarships and internships for EWU Native American students and encouraging Native American women to assume leadership positions.
Vickie Shields, professor of communication and Dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Social Work, said the center is creating summer programs in 2016 that bring Native American middle school and high school students to campus to engage in academic classes, university activities and stay in the residential halls.
The center will create programs that promote understanding across cultures while addressing issues and challenges facing tribes. It will also bring national speakers, scholars and tribal leaders to Eastern to share their knowledge and experience.
"We can bring in many great Native American leaders who can speak about Covington and her legacy," Shields said.
The third goal is to build a Native American-inspired longhouse on the Cheney campus to house the Covington Center. It will be a gathering place for students, faculty and communities for shared events, cultural exchange and lifelong learning. The longhouse will also provide offices, classrooms and a storage facility for archiving historical documents and materials.
EWU established its contemporary American Indian Studies Program back in the mid-1960s, which has grown from a purely academic focus to include student services and research. With the center on campus, Shields said the American Indian Studies program may need additional staff.
"We're going to assess what we need first," Shields said. "Staff will be essential to the programs. Hopefully the center will elevate the visibility of the program on campus."
Kauffman hopes the Lucy Covington Center can ignite a renewed interest and continue Covington's legacy, create a dialogue between American Indian and non-Indian students, and compel other tribes to contribute financially to help future generations of students.
Al Stover can be reached at al@cheneyfreepress.com.
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