Nearly a century and a half ago, Carlos Montezuma, also known as Wassaja, delivered a speech on the plight of Native Americans in the United States. The Daily Illini, known then as The Illini, chronicled the moving oration in its May 5, 1883, issue.
Now, 143 years later, Wassaja is a regular feature in the paper, as he lends his name to the Best Dorm on campus.
Wassaja Hall consistently earns high praise because of its private bathrooms, computer lab and music practice rooms, but the true poetry of the building is in its ties to Montezuma.
Even beyond the name, the building reflects Montezuma. “The Long Way Home,” the series of sculptures that flank the entranceway, echoes his precise ideals.
The first floor also features wood paneling made with logs felled in the 1800s as a subtle nod to Montezuma’s 1884 graduation from the University.
The dorm today is accented with all the beauty that Montezuma’s speech contained decades ago. Just as The Illini described the speech as a “most vivid … and beautiful picture,” so too stands Wassaja Hall.
