Recommendation 04-03: Support for naming UA Museum/NSF open space as "Troth Yeddha' Park"

At its regularly scheduled meeting on May 6, 2004, the UAF Master Planning

Committee unanimously approved the following recommendation (MPC 04-03) regarding the proposed naming of the UA Museum/NSF open space as "Troth Yeddha' Park." The recommendation reads:

The UAF Master Planning Committee supports designating the area known as the UA Museum/Natural Science Facility open space as a park in the UAF Campus Landscape Plan and recommends that it be named "Troth Yeddha' Park." The MPC supports further development of a concept design for the park . (Motion, Craven; second, Hayes; vote 10 yeas, 0 nays, 0 abstentions).

The MPC believes that the Troth Yeddha' Park concept is in keeping with the UAF Campus Master Plan and the recently-approved Campus Landscape Plan. It understands that authority for naming this open space on campus is vested in the Board of Regents. We endorse efforts of the Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Native Education (CACNE) to seek the Chancellor's support (CACNE letter to Chancellor, April 28, 2004) to bring this before the Regents.

Using the name "Troth Yeddha'" for this park is a way of acknowledging the original Athabascan name for the UAF campus hill that is documented in research by the Alaska Native Language Center (Kari 1991) and confirmed by oral traditions of the Athabascan people. CACNE's concept for the park calls for this area to be an inviting and welcoming area for all members of the campus community. We note that UA Museum of the North director Aldona Jonaitis is also endorsing this proposal.

Please contact me if you have any questions about this.

University of Alaska Fairbanks
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