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Chinese Remembering Project wins WASSA award
Lewis-Clark State College`s Chinese Remembering Project was named the 2011 Best Non-Credit Program by the Western Association of Summer Session Administrators (WASSA).
The competitive regional award, announced at a WASSA conference in October, is given to one program annually based on criteria which includes a program`s objectives; completion of objectives; impact on individuals, institutions, or the community; cost effectiveness; and resulting research or publications.
The program was nominated by LCSC Director of Summer School and Special Programs Jack Peasley.
"When I told the Chinese Remembering committee that we had won the award, there were a lot of happy faces around the table," Peasley said. "This is especially meaningful for Lyle [Wirtanen] and Garry [Bush] because they have put in a lot of work on this the past few years. It is gratifying for us, but it really has to be gratifying for them."
Spearheaded by area history enthusiasts Wirtanen and Bush, the Chinese Remembering Project was started in 2008 and highlights the influence and contributions of the Chinese to the history of Idaho and the Inland Northwest. The Project`s basic objectives are to bring together scholars, teachers, students, and the public to discuss and understand the importance of this little known ethnic group to our state and to promote healing of past injustices.
Along with Peasley, the program is facilitated by LCSC`s Dean of Community Programs Kathy Martin and Director of the Center for Arts & History Lisa Jones.
The program, which has grown in participation and scope each year, includes an annual two-day conference that utilizes an interdisciplinary approach for learning about Pacific Northwest history with an emphasis on Idaho.
The conference brings together educators at all levels, students from varied backgrounds, historians, and others interested in local and regional history.
Each program consists of lectures from qualified experts and researchers in the field of Chinese history, a contemporary and historical art exhibition and reception at the Center for Arts and History, and a day-long jet boat tour up the Snake River in Hells Canyon to sites once thought to have been occupied by Chinese miners. The event concludes with a healing ceremony at the site where 34 Chinese miners were murdered for their gold in 1887.
Next year`s conference, which is still in the planning stages, is scheduled for June 21-22.
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