By Ricky Talbot
“I would love nothing more than to see this community college have the largest college graduating class of native students: bigger than any community college in the state” said Yolanda Machado, the new Special Advisor to the President on the Indigenous Affairs/ Longhouse Director.
Machado’s position is involved in the success and retention of indigenous students.
With 24 years of experience as a counselor and faculty member at South Puget Sound Community College, Machado has a good feel for her new position on campus, and is excited for the opportunities she will have building and retaining relationships with the native nations on the Olympic Peninsula.
The tribes reached by the college are the Makah, Lower Elwha Klallam, Port Gamble S’Klallam, Jamestown S’Klallam, Quileute and the Hoh tribe.
Machado expects to use her training and experiences from Puget Sound Community College to make the program here a success.
Now that her position is a full-time representative between the college and Indian nations, she can help college leadership see the needs of the tribes and build bridges across campus and native cultures.
A large contributing factor to the success of this endeavor is having the ʔaʔk̓ʷustəƞáwt̓xʷ House of Learning Longhouse on campus.
“The Longhouse can serve as a way to bring students to the campus and ultimately improve not only relationships between tribes and the campus, but increasing student success and retention,” she said.
The Longhouse at Peninsula College is the first longhouse in the nation to be built on a community college campus.
When the Longhouse was first built, lots of time went into talking with tribal leaders to make sure that tradition, protocol and native values were upheld in its development.
Machado wants to follow the legacy laid down by former Predident Tom Keegan and carry on relationships initiated when the longhouse was founded.
Ron Allen, Tribal Council Chairman said in the longhouse documentary found at http://pencol.edu/aboutpc/longhouse/history, “You can build a longhouse in the middle of campus and it would make a statement, a respectful statement to the tribal leaders because of so many tribes in the Northwest that you respect the fact that your campus, your educational institution is on sacred Indian lands.”
Recognizing the legacy that she has to follow, Machado is looking forward to reaching out to the tribal leaders and students to discuss how each tribe could be reached by resources available at the college.
Machado understands the importance of having indigenous teachers and advisors on campus to encourage students coming to Peninsula College.
Near her senior year at Puget Sound Community College, Machado almost threw in the towel on higher education. She was encouraged by her friend and supported by her Makah tribe to finish up at Peninsula College.
During her senior year she said, “If I were to ever get out of that college alive, I would devote the rest of my professional life to helping others Native American students realize that same dream.”
As the new Special Advisor to the President on the Indigenous Affairs/Longhouse director, she has that opportunity to make a difference in the lives of students here on campus and help them succeed.