the full campus experience
If you read my Spring 2021 reflection, you may recall that the first section was titled 'In-Person Classes!'. If that weren't the case, perhaps I would give this section the same name. Although I enjoyed some in-person segments of two of my classes in Spring Quarter 2021, Fall 2021 was fully on-campus, for better and for worse. The switch from mostly online classes and strict COVID policies in Spring 2021 to a Summer where I mostly attended small gatherings to a fully in-person environment was jarring, to say the least. I arrived on campus, moved into my new dorm room, and soon attended our first floor meeting, which had been turned to an in-person meeting last minute. I was shocked to find myself crammed into our small lobby shoulder-to-shoulder with the other thirty or so students in our floor. I felt very uncomfortable as I was not used to in-person events, especially official school events, with such proximity to other people. I fled the room. However, not long after that I went to a concert that was about as packed, so my hypocrisy is evident. I still believe that society as a whole and UW as well increased the stress of students by not easing into an in-person environment. Of course, the university still fails to provide sufficient accommodations for those who live with immunocompromised individuals and disabled students. The jarring switch to in-person life from the calming environment of the town I grew up in, my resentment of the injustice of the university, and my doubt in the campus community's willingness to fight against the harmful structures of this university lead to a beginning of the fall quarter that was full of emotional turmoil, as I spoke of in my last reflection. I have since adjusted to this 'new normal' (for better or for worse).
The Landscape architecture introductory studio: L ARCH 300
This quarter I took the introductory Landscape Architecture studio, L ARCH 300. This is the only pre-admissions Landscape Architecture studio and one of the requirements for admission to the major. I came into the course with substantial knowledge about Landscape Architecture from my own research and work outside of school and in previous classes. This course was a joyous experience - it was filled with spontaneous visits to different landscapes around campus where we observed landscapes and asked questions as a class. The enthusiasm and curiosity of the other students inspired me and made those visits fun and refreshing. In the online course environment, I felt like I was almost always pushing others to talk and contribute more, but here the conversation and questioning came naturally. I met a lot of wonderful people in the course who I hope I get to visit with later.
The class came with weekly assignments which I often poured more than 15 hours a week (if not more) into. This was by far my most work-intensive class this quarter. However, I am comfortable with this since I felt like I was able to choose my workload (I could have put in a lot less effort and likely still received a satisfactory grade) and the assignments were interesting and fulfilling to me. I spent many hours (most of them at night) rendering site plans in the studio while I blasted all genres of loud music (EDM, hyperpop, rap, punk). I'm happy with the work I produced and excited to keep working on my Landscape Architecture portfolio this winter break, which I need to apply to the Landscape Architecture major in Spring 2022.
YAKAMA NATION EXPERIENCE - ESRM 421
This quarter, I was blessed with the opportunity to take the course ESRM 421: Role of Culture and Place in Natural Resource Stewardship: Yakama Nation Experience. I have wanted to take this course since I learned about it last year, and it fit into my schedule well. This course involves weekly lectures, many of them from members of the Yakama Nation (an Indigenous sovereign nation composed of fourteen tribes and bands native to a broad stretch of Eastern Washington - see the video that follows to learn more) and a field trip. I have been passionate about Indigenous issues for a while, and over the summer of 2020 I turned my attention locally and began to read and watch just about anything I could get my hands on about the Yakama Nation. As a settler on Indigenous lands, I believe that it's necessary to learn about the Indigenous histories of the region we inhabit to know what shaped the world we live in today and to support the current-day struggles of those Indigenous peoples. As we face increasing climatic catastrophes, Indigenous people continue to be at the forefront of struggles against the desecration of our common home and provide true solutions rather than schemes of greater dispossession and extraction framed as green technology (more on this soon). For example, Indigenous people make up 5% of the world's population yet protect 80% of the world's biodiversity. These beliefs led me to take this class so I could deepen my knowledge of and connection with the Yakama Nation.
The first day of this class started off with a powerful lecture from Yakama Nation tribal member Arlen Washines. He opened with a song and then spoke about the Treaty of 1855, Yakama culture, and many other topics. Afterwards, he answered student questions. Although he never answered any question directly, the answers were still informative. This lecture taught me details of Yakama history that weren't included in the books I had read. I also learned of his experience in Indigenous boarding schools and the ways he continues to pass on Yakama traditions in an environment much different than the pre-colonization lands of the 'Columbia' Plateau.
On the third day of the class, we all took a field trip to the Yakama Nation reservation, by far the most powerful day of class and one of the most notable days of my quarter. The all-day visit began with a stop at a tribal fishery in Cle Elum. Here, we saw and learned of the operations of the Yakama Nation Fisheries. We then moved on to the reservation, where we stopped at Heritage University and heard more informative lectures. Later, we went up into the hills and looked over the dry shrub steppe ecosystem of much of the reservation. We then went higher into the hills, into a part of the reservation that is off-limits to everyone but tribal members and special guests. Here we heard from people involved with the Nation's forestry operations. While we stood on the chilly Starvation Flats, we looked around at the dense, choked forests about us. Our gaze was directed to a stretch of forest in the distance. This region was managed with traditional Yakama burning practices. Heavenly beams of light burst through the clouds and graced the open forest, so open that one could ride a horse straight through it, just as early settlers described it. Indigenous practices such as traditional burning are just beginning to gain more relevance in the public eye, when previously they were lambasted as ignorant and backwards. Now, Indigenous techniques, ethics, and leadership are our greatest hope for combatting climate chaos.
|
Here are some words excerpted from my final reflection paper on the class: "Beyond knowledge that I learned from the class, I received a personal and emotional understanding of Yakama resilience. It was interesting to hear from people who do work day in and day out for the nation. It was clear that every Yakama person we spoke to valued their culture and maintained a connection to ancient cultural practices. They spoke of practices they continue and ancient agreements between their people and the relatives of the land – animals, plants, etc. This struck me, since I had learned about this connection and values of Indigenous peoples but on the trip I saw how resilient, deep, and pervasive this was. Clearly, despite decades of colonialism, many Indigenous peoples maintain their ancient values and practices to the extent that it is quite clear to an outsider. However, the sample of Yakama people was of course skewed since those interested in the topic were those who were present at the field trip, but I still believe I would be struck by the maintenance of cultural values even in a more randomly selected group of Yakama people.
I also heard interesting windows into conflicts within the nation and challenging perspectives on contemporary issues. Of course, Indigenous people have different viewpoints but it was interesting to see what conflicts were common on the reservation. The conflicts between ‘traditional traditionalists’ and ‘non-traditional traditionalists’ (Polly's [the tribal liaison at UW's Burke Museum and one of our instructors] terms) are interesting too – where non-traditional traditionalists support the use of modern technologies and engagement in modern systems while traditional traditionalists are weary of the use of modern technologies (for example, plastic growing tubes). I also found the assertion that tribal government failed by trying to please everyone rather than boldly choosing a course interesting.
Many of the conversations in this class, especially on the field trip, affected my own thinking about my relationship to Indigenous struggles. Since I am committed to very place- and land-oriented work in Eastern Washington at the intersection of restoration and Landscape Architecture and also Indigenous rights and empowerment movements, I have been studying the Yakama Nation for a while now (as I wrote of above). I seek to highlight the fact that Yakama people stewarded the land in ways that were much more sustainable and beneficial for both ecology and ultimately society and that Indigenous people of the region continue to be at the forefront of ecological struggles and maintain their sacred relationships with the land. I balance this goal with humility and the recognition that while I have a duty to speak on these issues I do not have the same knowledge, background, or right to speak on it as Yakama people do.
While I maintain my commitments, this class made me consider my relationship to plants as a settler in a deeper way and made me even more sure that I must cultivate relationships with Yakama members and uphold their struggles as a Landscape Architect. Polly’s tale about elders’ discomfort with native plants in the test-tube like pots at the Burke Museum planting reminded me of the need for consultation and the fact that Indigenous people have relationships to native plants that I do not. Nonetheless, I am certain that planting with native plants is far better than planting with non-native plants and the vast majority of Landscape Architecture practiced in Eastern Washington. That being said, that does not give me a mandate to use native plants that are sacred to Yakama peoples in any way I wish. I am skeptical of the spread of Indigenous knowledge (ex. historic uses of plants) by White people without sharing Indigenous land ethics and highlighting their existence, persistence, and resistance, whether it is sold or spread for free. I am also skeptical of businesses that use native names without an Indigenous connection and sell native plants or native knowledge. I think these issues can be resolved through solidarity and conversation with Indigenous communities. While I do not have the answers, I am sure that maintaining genuine relationships and truly committing my time, money (if I have it), and energy to supporting Indigenous struggles (such as those against destructive ‘green energy’ projects and for the removal of the lower Snake River dams) is a must."
I also heard interesting windows into conflicts within the nation and challenging perspectives on contemporary issues. Of course, Indigenous people have different viewpoints but it was interesting to see what conflicts were common on the reservation. The conflicts between ‘traditional traditionalists’ and ‘non-traditional traditionalists’ (Polly's [the tribal liaison at UW's Burke Museum and one of our instructors] terms) are interesting too – where non-traditional traditionalists support the use of modern technologies and engagement in modern systems while traditional traditionalists are weary of the use of modern technologies (for example, plastic growing tubes). I also found the assertion that tribal government failed by trying to please everyone rather than boldly choosing a course interesting.
Many of the conversations in this class, especially on the field trip, affected my own thinking about my relationship to Indigenous struggles. Since I am committed to very place- and land-oriented work in Eastern Washington at the intersection of restoration and Landscape Architecture and also Indigenous rights and empowerment movements, I have been studying the Yakama Nation for a while now (as I wrote of above). I seek to highlight the fact that Yakama people stewarded the land in ways that were much more sustainable and beneficial for both ecology and ultimately society and that Indigenous people of the region continue to be at the forefront of ecological struggles and maintain their sacred relationships with the land. I balance this goal with humility and the recognition that while I have a duty to speak on these issues I do not have the same knowledge, background, or right to speak on it as Yakama people do.
While I maintain my commitments, this class made me consider my relationship to plants as a settler in a deeper way and made me even more sure that I must cultivate relationships with Yakama members and uphold their struggles as a Landscape Architect. Polly’s tale about elders’ discomfort with native plants in the test-tube like pots at the Burke Museum planting reminded me of the need for consultation and the fact that Indigenous people have relationships to native plants that I do not. Nonetheless, I am certain that planting with native plants is far better than planting with non-native plants and the vast majority of Landscape Architecture practiced in Eastern Washington. That being said, that does not give me a mandate to use native plants that are sacred to Yakama peoples in any way I wish. I am skeptical of the spread of Indigenous knowledge (ex. historic uses of plants) by White people without sharing Indigenous land ethics and highlighting their existence, persistence, and resistance, whether it is sold or spread for free. I am also skeptical of businesses that use native names without an Indigenous connection and sell native plants or native knowledge. I think these issues can be resolved through solidarity and conversation with Indigenous communities. While I do not have the answers, I am sure that maintaining genuine relationships and truly committing my time, money (if I have it), and energy to supporting Indigenous struggles (such as those against destructive ‘green energy’ projects and for the removal of the lower Snake River dams) is a must."
I want to touch on the "destructive 'green energy' projects" point I mentioned above. Yakama tribal member Elaine Harvey shared her perspective on green energy projects such as windmills and solar farms. These projects often degrade existing shrub steppe habitat (the dry ecosystem of most of Eastern Washington state), damage Indigenous cultural sites, and restrict the access of Indigenous peoples to their traditional gathering fences by continuing the age-old process of dividing Indigenous land with fences. I had heard a similar point on a podcast before the field trip, but it was more moving to hear it from someone right in front of me in the Yakama Nation. While neither I nor Elaine Harvey oppose green energy as a whole, it can never be truly ecological if it harms the livelihoods of the peoples with the strongest track record of sustainable living in this region. Any development project must occur with true consultation (at the beginning of the project and with a willingness to actually change course) of the relevant local tribes and could occur on already-degraded land, such as farmland depleted due to repeated extractive annual agriculture.
Our final project of the class was a video on an any Indigenous-related topic. Since I am very committed to Yakama-specific issues, I chose to make a video about the history of Táptat, the Ichiskíin word for the Yakima river and a winter settlement that was located where the town of Prosser (where I grew up) now stands. I learned about this topic previously through a book by Gaylord Mink recently released through the Benton County Historical Museum, From Taptat to Prosser Dam, so research for the video was relatively straightforward. While I intend to rework this video with more information and better footage for public consumption, I am sharing it here for whoever is interested.
Deepening my ecological knowledge
As always, I deepened my ecological knowledge this quarter. I did this mostly through the Yakama Nation course I took, although I spent some time volunteering for the UW Farm or UW Society for Ecological Restoration. Unfortunately, my other commitments, time conflicts, and hospitalization (more on this soon) kept me from volunteering in these ways as much as I'd like, but I still did. I also returned home for one weekend, and attended a local Native Plant Society event focused on seed recognition which happened to occur then.
A scary halloween and other adventures
My Halloween 2021 was much more trick than treat. I stayed up late the Saturday before Halloween, distracted by YouTube videos, and soon entered Sunday's early morning. I regretted this but finally turned my phone off and prepared to go to sleep. I felt an odd feeling in my chest, especially when I inhaled, and began to get nervous. I recognized the symptoms of a spontaneous pneumothorax, a condition in which the lung partially collapses, which I had experienced five or so years before. I worried that I might be misinterpreting unrelated symptoms, but chose to call 911 anyways. Since my phone was broken (technical issues), I woke up my roommate, Adam, and used his phone to call the fire department. They arrived, listened to my lungs, and told me that nothing sounded abnormal. They told me that if I wanted to go to the hospital, I should call a vehicle (through Uber of Lyft, etc.) instead of wait for the ambulance since it would take a while and the cost would be exorbitant (one example of many of the cruelty and brokenness of our healthcare system). I decided to just go to bed instead of go to the hospital, but changed my mind last minute when I realized I'd be too nervous to fall asleep.
(Warning: the image after this paragraph is a little gross.) Adam called a Lyft for us and accompanied me to the hospital and spent several hours in the hospital with me. I can't overstate how much of a godsend my roommate is, and I don't know where I would be without him. He kept me company and stayed by my side as I worried about my own health. The doctors in the hospital confirmed my suspicions - I had a spontaneous pneumothorax and my right lung was already 40% collapsed. This condition often occurs when a deformity in the lung called a bleb bursts and air from the lung leaks into the chest cavity, crushing the lung. The thoracic surgery team at UW Montlake inserted a tube into my stomach to drain the air, and later performed pleurodesis (a procedure to adhere the lung to the chest wall - I'll spare you the details) and blebectomy, the removal of blebs (I'm glad that now I can tell people I've had a blebectomy). I spent a total of about a week in the hospital, and was released the day after my birthday. I received lots of birthday wishes, which made my 20th birthday in the hospital a little less shitty.
The first few days after I was released were difficult, as I was often dizzy and in pain. However, I healed quickly and soon quit the painkillers I was prescribed (I was prescribed probably over ten medications, of which I only used two or three).
Although this adventure was entirely not of my own choosing, I took part in several other fun adventures over the quarter. I'll give a few brief descriptions: I went to Humble Feast, a delicious educational and food event hosted by the ASUW Food Coop, I ran a mile shirtless in the rain in an Eren Yeager (a character in the anime Attack on Titan) costume, and I had a transcendental emotional experience at 3 AM in a room heated solely from a cryptocurrency mining rig. Especially as the quarter comes to an end, I'm trying to be spontaneous and joyously experience all life has to offer. It's a good way to celebrate after all the work I put into my final projects and throughout the quarter.
Top row, left: the author in Eren Yeager costume. Right: a reference image of Eren Yeager from Attack on Titan.
Top row, bottom: The Husky Ski Team and guests (including myself) after running a mile in the rain. It's easy to spot me if you look for someone dressed like the image on the right. Right: another reference image of Eren Yeager from Attack on Titan.
Top row, bottom: The Husky Ski Team and guests (including myself) after running a mile in the rain. It's easy to spot me if you look for someone dressed like the image on the right. Right: another reference image of Eren Yeager from Attack on Titan.
The Hope of knowing love
A recurring theme throughout my life and at UW is my search for loving community. I consider myself a person primarily motivated by love which I aim to express through my day-to-day interactions, relationships, art, design work, and activism. I despaired of the hope of finding community at UW toward the beginning of my quarter, but now I realize that I am committed to the rest of my time at UW and will do my best to build community and live with love whether my dreams of loving community are fulfilled or not. I (other students I have spoke to have similar experiences) feel like I have plenty of individual friends but lack true community, loving environments full of familiar faces. I have some community in United Students Against Sweatshops, an organization I organize in, and I hear the beginning notes of community in other places that I hope will burst into joyous melodies.
Throughout this quarter and before, I have been reading bell hooks' novel All About Love with my wonderful pen pal I met through USAS's prison pen pal program. I resonate deeply with the messages of this book and feel like it speaks to my inner truth. It helps me to see myself and inspires me to keep working toward love. In the book's introduction, bell hooks describes men and women's different relationships to love in this way: "Most men feel that they receive love and therefore know what it feels like to be loved; women often feel we are in a constant state of yearning, wanting love but not receiving it." While I am grateful for the love I am blessed to receive, I feel like I often fit hooks' woman more than hooks' man. Despite the difficulties of that reality (and/or mindset), I find value in the search for love and my attempts to show the world and other beings that I love. In Chapter 5 of All About Love, hooks writes: "Knowing love or the hope of knowing love is the anchor that keeps us from falling into that sea of despair." I continue to hold onto this mission despite the difficulties I continue to face in this search.
|
Of course, the search for love takes many forms. I search for love in communities, in my friendships, in romantic relationships, in the world outside (like the beauty of the light captured in the photo above) and everywhere in between. hooks cites M. Scott Peck's definition of love in his "classic self-help book" The Road Less Traveled - "the will to extend one's self for the purpose of nurturing one's own or another's spiritual growth." This definition resonates with me, although I would say "for the purpose of nurturing spiritual growth" since I may be practicing love in a setting outside of two people, like in a loving community or between myself and the ecosystem I call home.
I also hope to acknowledge my experience of love whether it is reciprocated or not. My love is a worthy end in itself even if it isn't returned in the ways I want. This is the concept of universal love - my love is a constant that I wish to maintain in any case. Of course, in personal relationships this can be harmful and I would never wish to do so when it isn't wanted by another person (or one could see respecting someone's boundaries and wishes as a greater form of love than a selfish love that wants only to be recognized by the other). However, in my activist work, I have to find purpose outside of fulfilling concrete tasks since there is no guarantee that the actions I take to improve the world will lead to my desired outcomes, especially large, planet-scale goals (ex. ending global warming, stopping fascism, etc.).
As I write this in one of our campus dining halls, Local Point, I look forward to my break which I will spend back home. I hope it will be a place of relaxation from the potent and turbulent times I've experienced this last week. Of course, the wish to know love will propel me wherever I reside.
I also hope to acknowledge my experience of love whether it is reciprocated or not. My love is a worthy end in itself even if it isn't returned in the ways I want. This is the concept of universal love - my love is a constant that I wish to maintain in any case. Of course, in personal relationships this can be harmful and I would never wish to do so when it isn't wanted by another person (or one could see respecting someone's boundaries and wishes as a greater form of love than a selfish love that wants only to be recognized by the other). However, in my activist work, I have to find purpose outside of fulfilling concrete tasks since there is no guarantee that the actions I take to improve the world will lead to my desired outcomes, especially large, planet-scale goals (ex. ending global warming, stopping fascism, etc.).
As I write this in one of our campus dining halls, Local Point, I look forward to my break which I will spend back home. I hope it will be a place of relaxation from the potent and turbulent times I've experienced this last week. Of course, the wish to know love will propel me wherever I reside.