The Chemawa American, February 01, 1968, Image 1

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CHEMAWA, OREGON, FEBRUARY 1968
VOLUME 64
COMMISSIONER VISITS
CHEMAWA HAS
88 BIRTHDAYS
Chemawa is proud of its distinc­
tion
of being the oldest contin­
ually operated boarding school in
the Indian service.
On February 25, the school will
celebrate its 88th anniversary. The
event will be commemorated with an
assembly program which will feature
native dances and music, music by
the school dance bands, and a draw­
ing for door prizes. The event will
be concluded with a candlelight
buffet at the dining hall and anni­
versary dance at the gym.
However impressive all of this
may be, no more fitting
tribute
could be paid, than the esteem and
affection which it holds in memor­
ies of its students, both past and
present.
Founded in 1880 with an enroll­
ment of 18 students,
it has grad­
ually grown until in recent years
it has had an average of nearly 900
students each year. Over the
span
of years 17,056 Indian students are
The rapt expression on the faces
listed on the register. Of this, we
of the listeners testify to Commis­
find 2325 who have remained to get
sioner Bennett’s reception by the
their names in the graduate
book.
students.
While currently only Alaskan and |,
Navajo are attending, its
history
has seen students from nearly half
the states in the Union. They have
come from as far away as
Atlantic
Coastal States and from as near as
our own local community.
In keeping pace with the times,
the courses and subjects have been
altered as the times and conditions
changed. In the early days of the
school, emphasis was placed on the
learning of a craft or trade skill
and such courses as
agriculture,
blacksmithing, painting, carpentry,
and printing were vital parts
of
the school program. While students
who do not intend going on
beyond
high school can still get some pre-
vocational training in such areas
as cooking, office practice, weld­
ing, auto shop, or
small
engine
repair, the main emphais today
is
on a fully academic
high school
program, with the hope
that the
student will seek
high school.
training
NUMBER 2
beyond
Jack Abraham, a Umatilla from
Pendleton, Oregon was
Chemawa*s
first high school graduate in 1927.
STURDY OLD BUILDING
HOLDS FOND MEMORY
Possibly no other building is as
close to the pulse beat of Chemawa
as Academic Building I. One of the
oldest on campus, it is still the
busiest. Housing the English
and
mathematics classes as well as the
principal’s office, it has
every
student going through its halls at
least once a day.
Little changed on the
outside
since the day it was built, it will
no doubt bring back many
memories
to former students. The inside has
through the j oint efforts
of the
maintenance crews and the pride of
the students, been kept in
very
good repair.
The brass bell, no longer in use
but was once used to signal
the
beginning of classes, still
hangs
in the tower and is occasionally
given an affectionate clang by one
of the maintenance crewmen on
a
ruotine roof inspection.
Chemawa students were honored
last month to have the Commissioner
of Indian Affairs, Mr.
Robert L.
Bennett, speak in an
assembly. He
was here in connection with a two-
day conference on Indian problems,
which was hosted by Chemawa.
As he spoke to the entire group,
he delighted everyone with his keen
sense of humor, his understanding o
student problems, and his realistic
approach to the whole problem that
faces Indian education.
Mr. Bennett is the first person
of Indian ancestry to hold the pos­
ition of Commissioner.
At the conclusion of the program
he delighted us further by
taking
time to favor us with a few lively
jazz tunes on the auditorium piano.
Evan Polty