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February I I
15, 000 V
A Publication of the Grand Ronde Tribe
February 15, 2000
Tribe signs MOU with Willamette National Forest
By Tracy Dugan
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Tribal Chair Kathryn Harrison and Forest Supervisor Darrel Kenops sign
the MOU at the Governance Center. Photo by Lindy Troian
ribal leaders and employees of
the Willamette National Forest
signed a Memorandum of Under
standing (MOU) on January 27.
The MOU solidifies a long-time re
lationship between the Tribe and the
Forest Service, and is a written
agreement that the state will seek
the Tribe's input and consultation on
forest management practices. The
Tribal Council, Cultural Resource
Protection staff, and perhaps Elders
may be asked to provide recommen
dations regarding culturally signifi
cant sites, public usage, and the nam
ing of certain areas.
Tribal leaders have been invited
to two different forest excursions,
where rangers and other Forest Ser
vice workers conducted tours of dif
ferent areas that they had improved
and preserved.
Last summer, participants from
the Tribe looked at Camas Prairie,
where the Forest Service had
planted camas seeds and bulbs for
cultural and tribal use. Other vis
ited areas included Bruno Meadows
and the Yukwah campground in the
Sweet Home and Detroit ranger dis
tricts. The signing ceremony, held at the
Governance Center, began with the
posting of the flags by Marce
Norwest, Gene LaBonte, and Dale
Langley of the Grand Ronde Color
Guard while All Nations Singers
drummed and sang "Soldier Boy."
Ila Dowd gave the invocation in Chi
nook jargon.
June Olson, head of the Cultural
Resource Protection program, opened
the ceremony and introduced guests
and Tribal Council, who were all
present.
continued on page 5
Yesterday & Today:
The long, rich history of Chemawa Indian School
By Brent Merrill
Success comes in many packages.
Chemawa Indian Boarding
School in Keizer, Oregon is a place
rich in history it's also a place
with its own share of success stories.
Chemawa Indian High School is
a place where the past blends with
the present. It's a place where young
people dream about the future.
The school was founded in 1880
in Forest Grove and celebrates its
120th anniversary this month.
Chemawa is the oldest off-reservation
Indian boarding school in the
country. The U.S. Army and influ
ential members of the Congrega
tional Church played a major role in
the school's beginnings. Originally,
the school was known as the Indian
Industrial Training and Normal
. School. Pacific University provided
the school's first administration.
The first students came from the
Puyallup Reservation in Washing
ton. The children literally built their
own school and living quarters af
ter they arrived. Just over 300 stu
dents attended the school in the five
years it was located in Forest Grove.
The U.S. Government moved the
school to its present location in Keizer
in the spring of 1885. Again, the
children built their own school build
ings and dormitories at the new Che
mawa location. The children also
worked in the nearby hop fields to
earn enough money to buy the acre
age for the school grounds.
The original intent of the school
was to make Indian children more
accustomed to the ways of the domi
nant culture. Male children had
their hair cropped and hand-made
clothes were replaced with new
pants and shirts with collars. Na
tive languages were forbidden and
memories of home were discouraged.
According to Rick Read of the Or
egon Historical Society, most admin
istrators thought they were doing
what was best for the children.
"Most of the people associated with
the school thought they were doing
the right thing," said Read. "It was
this whole idea of assimilation. The
whole goal was to assimilate people
into the dominant culture. No doubt
about it. They wouldn't allow people
to speak their language that was
the goal. It is important to note that
attitudes were much different in the
late 1800s. It was part of a national
trend."
Today, Chemawa is a much dif-
Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde
Community of Oregon
9615 Grand Ronde Road
Grand Ronde, Oregon 97347
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I VI
Native Pride is prominent at Chemawa Indian School. Students partici
pate in a variety of activities. Here, students Mike Dunn (left), Matt
Whiteplume and Lionel Bell in the school's weight room.
ferent place. And although not all
students are successful, many are,
Today, Chemawa is a fully accred
ited four-year high school that is
overseen by the Chemawa Indian
School Board of Directors.
Chemawa's athletic teams compete
in the Tri-River Conference in base
ball, softball, girl's volleyball, foot
ball, cross-country, track and field,
basketball and wrestling. The school
has a gymnasium, weight room and
wrestling room, baseball diamonds,
a track and a football stadium.
The school also has an indoor
swimming pool, recreation area and
farming facility.
Current students maintain tradi
tions of the past by interacting with
the local community, electing stu
dent leaders and excelling in art and
language instruction.
"We are trying to redesign the cur
riculum to meet the students that we
have," said Vice Principal Ted Mack.
"Some of them are real successful
and others aren't. We're trying to
give them a chance to be successful.
"We're trying to get back to basic
reading skills, basic math skills, and
social skills," said Mack. "That's one
of the areas that a lot of our kids
are lacking. We are trying to con
centrate on that. It is real hard to
develop a curriculum that meets
everybody's needs. We're trying to
balance it out so as not to lose kids
at either end of the spectrum. For
example, in the English department
we have 16 different sections. We
are trying to keep student's interest
up. The computer lab program has
worked real well this year. We're
trying to move forward."
Mack said many students need
continued on pages 6-7