A grand opening for the American Indian Hall at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana, was held on October 16, 2021. Nearly 1,200 were on hand to celebrate this achievement, including Morrison-Maierle’s structural design team of Nate Menuez, Rebecca Scheetz, Austin Batson, and MaKayla Beckman, and the site civil designers Mike Hickman and Cody Farley.

The ceremony had a full agenda that included traditional songs, prayers, dances, and drumming. Speakers included MSU President Waded Cruzado, MSU President Emeritus Geoffrey Gamble, head of the MSU Department of Native American Studies Walter Fleming, U.S. Senator Jon Tester, and the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland, among others.

The project has been in the works since 2004 when MSU Alumni Dennis Sun Rhodes and Jim Dolan presented President Geoffrey Gamble with their idea to build an American Indian Hall on campus. The goal of the building was to support MSU’s growing population of Native students.

After 17 years in the making, the building has come to life thanks to lots of energized stakeholders including Bozeman-based ThinkOne architecture and the contractor, Swank Enterprises, who were both honored with traditional Native gifts during the ceremony.

For more information on the grand opening, see the video below or go here.