The Chemawa American (Chemawa, Or.) 19??-current, September 13, 1976, HOMECOMING EDITION, Image 2

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The Chemawa American, September 13, 1976, HOMECOMING EDITION, Page 2, Image 2

Image provided by: Oregon Historical Society; Portland, OR

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Newspaper Page TextPage 2 Chemawa American Buildings Demolished; Temporary Units Erected A race between demolition and construction has provided the feature event at Chemawa this Summer. The auditorium (Picture page 1) and Academic I have already been pulverized and removed and most of the rest of the old buildings on campus are scheduled for perman ent removal in the next few months. At the same time the last month has seen a number of temporary units added just East of Chugach Street. Classrooms, dorm, food services and a recreation area have been provided as part of the tempor ary additions to Chemawa. After more than 10 years of planning and lobbying the Indian peoples of the Northwest and the staff of Chemawa Indian School appear to have funding for FY 77 of $10 million to start construction on a new facility at Chemawa. Final cost for the new Chemawa campus will exceed $20 million. At this point it appears that the $10 million in funding needs only final approval by President Ford to get construction started. Chemawa, the oldest (1880) continously operating BIA boarding school in the United States, seemed to be on the way to extinction after most of the buildings on campus were declared unsafe in early 1976. But, strong support and endorse ment for Chemawa from the North west Indian Tribes, the Chemawa Advisory School Board, the Parent Council, alumni, students and staff attracted the attention of the con gress and in particular Senator Mark Hatfield (Republican-Oregon) to the need for a building program at Chemawa if the school is to exist as an alternative education op portunity for Indian youth. Once it became apparent that funds would be allocated to start construction on the new facility for Chemawa the BIA provided $500 thousand for temporary facilities at Chemawa to support about 240 students. Temporary modular structures added at Chemawa include six classrooms, six living units (dorms) a recreation building and a food services (dining hall) building. Workmen were kept busy during August putting together the modular units that are used in the temporary student living units. Six temporary classrooms have been erected East of Chugach Street. Staff Preps For School Year Tom Wright - Counselor (L to R) and Assistant Principal Ed Bartlett dis cuss Fall Quarter student applications. Secretary Cheryl Kolb waits for a decision on a student.