Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. College celebrates new facility By BECKY SHAY Of The Gazette Staff CROW AGENCY - The new library and archives building at Little Big Horn College represents the past and the future of the people it will serve. During dedication ceremonies Wednesday, college President David Yarlott said traditional Crow camps were built in a semicircle with tepees facing east and the chief's residence in the west. The chief represents wisdom, knowledge and leadership, he said. Likewise, the new building set on the west side of campus houses Crow wisdom in its archives, knowledge in its library and the college's leadership with new administrative offices. Several hundred people attended the event, which included tours. The library features traditional Crow art designs inside and logs and rock work on the building's exterior. Tribal Chairman Carl Venne said the number of young Crows obtaining higher education is greater than ever. The college has grown from fewer than 20 students enrolled the first year to more than 400 now. The college gives them a start, but they likely will have to go elsewhere to finish their education and start down successful career paths. Venne hopes those tribal members will come home and help their nation grow. Venne said the library's opening marks a historic day, not only for the college but for the Crow nation. "This knowledge center, as I call the library, will open up the minds of our young people," he said. "The students will prosper. By them prospering, this nation will prosper also." The library has been in the works for years. "You know, it's taken a lot of people, a lot of dedication and a lot of talent," Yarlott said. After years of planning, the project nearly fell through due to funding shortages. When work began in 2006, the college had $4.1 million in grants to complete the project. Even with contingency budgeting for inflation, there was a $2.5 million funding shortfall as the war in Iraq, hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the tsunami in Asia pushed materials prices higher, Yarlott said. "We didn't prepare for what occurs under God's hand - natural disasters," he said. The board agreed to divide the project, to build the library in one phase and archives and administration area in a second phase. But two buildings cost even more, Yarlott said. The trustees decided to seek a loan, and Yarlott started looking for lenders. Venne heard about his efforts and called Yarlott to his office. The chairman offered to have the tribe work on the loan. "He made the offer, I didn't go seeking," Yarlott said. The Crow Legislature voted unanimously to allow the loan, which was added to the grant money and - with support from contractors like CTA Architects Engineers and Fisher Construction - building began. The next project on campus is a sports complex, said Walter Old Elk, chairman of the trustees and a college alumnus. The impressive structure is an enormous change from the library's humble beginnings. The facility that started as a few shelves in a trailer in the early 1980s is now housed in a $7.1 million building that anchors the tribal college campus. Later it moved to its own off-campus building and featured cinder-block- and-board shelves. "They were not the most steady things, if you bumped them gently they would sway," said Tim Bernardis, library director. In 1989 the library moved back to campus when the college converted an old gymnasium to a few classrooms. Students built the library, in the middle of the former gym floor. "It was a major upgrade in its day," Bernardis said. In 1995 the library expanded, and students built more shelves and study areas. Now, the facility is in the first "purpose-built" library on campus, Bernardis said. It is not only a campus facility but a public library, another first for Crow Agency. Seeing the campus develop is the reward for dozens of people who have worked to hone a vision and grow the college since the tribe established it in 1980. "I call it a dream," said David Stewart. Stewart is a former tribal chairman and served on the tribe's Central Education Commission and as president of the college for about three years. Stewart recalled the small, old building where the college started and shook his head in wonder as he waved his hand at the expanse of the library. "It took a lot of work," he said. The library is housed in a one-story rounded building that adjoins a rectangular, two-story section. The slanted roof reaches another story and captures natural light through its high windows. The lower section is surrounded by windows and topped with skylights, which make the room airy and bright. The stacks of books - on sturdy metal shelves - fan out across the library. There is a small conference room, where people may watch some of the video collection, including shows of Crow Fair and elders playing hand games. A special collections room houses books specific to the tribe. Artwork creates focal points in the building, including a tepee-shaped gas fireplace. A bronze sculpture by Earl Biss was donated by Paul Zueger, who owns art galleries in Denver and Vail, Colo., and Santa Fe, N.M. Zueger is not only a great fan of Biss' work but a friend of the Crow artist, who passed away in 1998. He also donated six silk screens that decorate the library and a number of posters to be framed for the administrative offices on the second floor. The sculpture, called "Homecoming," is of a warrior holding an infant and surrounded by his elderly mother, who leans on a cane, his wife and two dogs. The art represents a warrior home from battle being met by his starving family who are rejoicing his return. "It will give these young kids the idea you can become great and still come home," he said.