Smoke Signals 5
SEPTEMBER 15, 2011
District christens school Kalapuya Elementary
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Photos by Michelle Alaimo
Tribal Council member Chris Mercier looks through a book in the library at
Kalapuya Elementary School after the ribbon cutting ceremony.
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By Ron Karten
Smoke Signal staff writer
Tom Douglas, an art teacher at
Houck Middle School in Salem and
a descendant of two Northwest
pioneer families, thought about
naming the new elementary school
opening this year in West Salem.
"If we name it after a person, we
honor one person," Douglas said.
"If we name it after the Kalapuya
people, we honor a whole nation."
With the support of the Con
federated Tribes of Grand Ronde,
Douglas submitted his name idea
last September to the Citizen Bond
Oversight Committee of the Salem
Keizer School District.
The School Board approved the
name at its January meeting this
year and the new school held a
dedication, thanking Douglas and
featuring Grand Ronde participa
tion, on Friday, Sept. 2.
"Welcome to Kalapuya country,"
said Tribal Council Secretary Kath
leen Tom on behalf of the Tribe to
the assembled group of 100 or more.
"We're wishing you happiness and
many learning opportunities."
And then she added maybe the
first lesson to be taught at Kala
puya Elementary. 'This is part of
our ceded lands," Tom said.
Tribal members Bobby Mercier
and Brian Krehbiel, Cultural Re
sources employees for the Tribe,
sang and drummed in honor and
welcome.
In the wake of the new name,
Grand Ronde Tribal members also
supported an effort to make the
school's mascot the condor. Tribal
support for the condor as mascot
parallels a Tribal project in conjunc
tion with the Oregon Zoo and other
partners to bring the condor back to
Oregon. Condors were considered
extinct in the state in the 1930s.
Kalapuya Elementary Principal
Jennifer Neitzel led the school's
incoming fifth-grade class in the
first performance of the school's
Kalapuya song: "We're gonna fly;
we're gonna soar. We are the Ka
lapuya Condors."
Collaboration between the Tribe
and the school, in the form of edu
cation and cultural exchanges, is
already in progress, said Tribal
member David Lewis, manager
of the Tribe's Cultural Resources
Department.
"In the first month of school, we
will be at assemblies to teach about
the Kalapuya Tribe," Lewis said.
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503-879-5211
"This is turning into a very good
partnership. I think as we go for
ward, there will be more."
The partnership already has
brought in a showcase full of Kala
puya artifacts - from arrowheads
to baskets to history books from
the collection of a retired local li
brarian. Joining Tom at the event were
Tribal Council members Chris Mer
cier, Valorie Sheker and Toby Mc-
i-cc-:
Clary, and Tribal member Shelby
Rogers, who is the school district's
Indian Education Program assis
tant. It took "a lot of communication" to
make this happen, said Rogers.
"What a glorious way to spread
the word," said Douglas's wife,
Kathy, a second-grade teacher at
Victor Point Elementary School in
Silver Falls. "If you teach it to 500
students, they'll spread it around
Tribal members Brian Krehbiel,
left, the Tribe's cultural education
specialist, and Bobby Mercier,
the Tribe's language and culture
specialist, drum during Kalapuya
Elementary School's ribbon cutting
ceremony in Salem on Friday, Sept.
2. Behind them are Tribal Council
members Toby McClary, third from
right, Valorie Sheker, second from
right, and Chris Mercier. The school
is the first in the Salem-Keizer
School District to be named after
the Native Americans who inhabited
western Oregon before the arrival of
white settlers.
to 500 more."
"It's awesome," said Claudia
Crocker of Salem, whose grand
daughter, Madi Kleiber, was the
fifth-grader who cut the ceremonial
ribbon. "I truly believe that Indi
ans deserve the respect for a lot of
things we've done to them.
"It's casinos that we always hear
about the Indians, but kids con
nect with the good stuff of their
heritage."
"It's good for the kids to learn
about different cultures," said Neit
zel. 'This is showing respect for the
land that the Kalapuya lived on.
We're thrilled that the land was
taken such good care of." H
to
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It you hatfe any questions, contact
Brian Krehbiel at 503-879-4639
Ad created by George Valdez
Ad created by George Valdez