Black Elk Cooperative House was founded in 1986, as one of the 19 houses of the Inter-Cooperative Council (http://www.icc.coop/) at the University of Michigan. The ICC is a student owned and operated housing cooperative in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Black Elk is located at 902 Baldwin Ave.

The house was named after the Lakota Ogallala Sioux holy man Black Elk, who was born to a paternal lineage of shamans and has been an important source of information on the tribal traditions of the Native American culture, as well as the spirituality of the Plains Indians.

Responsibilities

In the cooperative spirit, house members share responsibility for the functioning of the house. At the beginning of the semester, a Work Manager is responsible for the creation of a work schedule that divides up chores on a daily and/or weekly basis. These chores include cooking, cleaning common areas, washing dishes, doing maintenance on and around the house, etc. The current policy requires each member to do about 4 hours of work a week.

The functioning of the house, however, includes more than maintaining the house itself. Members are required to attend regularly scheduled meetings in order to run the house as a group. These meetings include officer reports, announcements, concerns regarding the house, its activities, or its members, and any issues that require a house vote or member approval. Anything the group decides at a meeting is generally respected by individual members as a decision of the house as a whole. Cooperation between and among members is key to keeping the house functioning and happy.

The officer positions are as follows:
The House President is elected for a one year term each April, and is responsible for facilitating meetings, representing the house and its members, and keeping the peace.
The Board Representative is responsible for attending board meetings and representing the house and its interests.
The Treasurer is responsible for preparing a budget for the house (to be voted on and approved by house members) and responsible for collecting house charges each month.
The Food Steward is responsible for ordering food and cooking supplies, as well as making sure that there is not only food constantly in the house, but there is options for putting together healthy and delicious vegetarian and vegan meals.
The Composter/Recycler is responsible for recycling and informing their self and other house members about environmental education.
The Maintenance Manager is responsible for general house upkeep and any repairs the house may need.
The Secretary is responsible for taking minutes at house meetings and posting them around the house so that house members stay updated on house decisions and announcements.

Facilities

Black Elk has a member capacity of 22, split between 5 single rooms, 7 doubles, and 1 large triple.

The house includes a newly renovated kitchen (Fall 1995) with French doors that lead to an outside deck. The deck overlooks the beautiful backyard, which includes a flower and vegetable garden in the spring and summer, a fire pit with seating for members, and composting in one corner. It's spacious yet fairly private, though it sees many visitors throughout the spring and summer. The deck is the site of many performances when weather permits, and an ideal place for bands to be viewed from the back yard and kitchen.

Dinner is served Sunday through Thursday at 6:30 pm, and all meals are vegetarian with vegan option, though the house welcomes meat-eaters, vegetarians, and vegans alike. The garden is full of many edible plants and veggies, and some of this is incorporated into meals.

The basement common area contains a VCR and monitor for watching movies as a group or playing games, but has no cable connection. Members find many more rewarding ways to spend their time than watching TV.

The second floor study is on its way to becoming a tea room. Its notable features are a redbrick fireplace, a beautiful mural above it, a computer for member use, a bookshelf containing numerous books and zines, a dartboard, several comfy chairs and a sofa. The windows look out onto the second floor porch, which can be accessed from the study or from a ladder that descends to the first floor porch.

There are several large murals around the house, as well as several painted, printed, or written words of wisdom from various past and present house members. The largest murals are a "Where the Wild Things Are" mural in the living room, a scene from Dr. Seuss's "The Lorax" in the second floor hallway, and a smaller mural above the fireplace in the second floor study.

Budget

Many students choose cooperative housing because it's less expensive than living in an apartment or house. Most of the houses in the ICC, including Black Elk, decide upon a food budget and incorporate it into monthly rent, so members are well fed at home and allow the Food Steward to shop for bulk food. Dumpster diving is common as well.

The monthly budget covers room and board, utilities, household supplies, soap, newspapers, and whatever other items members choose to budget for. The budget is put together by the Treasurer then voted on during a House Meeting at the beginning of each term.

An article from 2007 features Black Elk residents and discusses some reasons co-ops have become more popular. http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/paying-for-college/2007/09/06/abandoning-pricey-dorms-for-cheap-co-op-housing.html