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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (June 15, 2015)
4 S moke S ignals JUNE 15, 2015 State Education Board bans Native mascots By Dean Rhodes 2010 – The Willamina High School softball team won the OSAA Class 3A state champi- onship at Erv Lind Stadium in Portland. Tribal members Justine Colton, Carley Tram- mell and Samantha Grant- Mooney were members of the File photo championship squad. 2005 – Tribal members Amanda Thomas and Ashlee Merrill were recipients of Gates Mil- lennium Scholarships, which promote academic excellence among minority students. Grand Ronde members received two of only five scholarships awarded to Pacific Northwest Native American high school students. 2000 – Because of a growing Tribal population, the pharmacy in the Health & Wellness Center expanded. With the new expansion, prescription requests could increase from 200 to 600 a day. 1995 – Recipients of the 1995-96 Education Trust Fund scholar- ships were Trevor Aaron, Loretta Knight, Amber Finney, Dustin Leno, Jerry George, Delight Satter and Simone Auger. Scholarships ranged in value from $1,500 to $5,000. 1990 – Angela Leno was selected as co-salutatorian of the grad- uating class at Willamina High School. She had been active in the Letterman’s Club, Pep Club, OSSOM, International Club and the Tribal youth group. She also played varsity softball for three years. 1985 – A mini powwow was held at Grand Ronde Elementary School. In addition, students had completed cultural classes taught by Karen Harrison (drumming, dancing and singing), Patricia Hofen- bredl (regalia) and Eula Petite (Chinuk jargon). Yesteryears is a look back at Tribal history in five-year in- crements through the pages of Smoke Signals. Wyden re-introduces amendment Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden re-introduced an amendment to the Grand Ronde Reservation Act on March 19 that would streamline how the Tribe takes land into trust. The same amendment was close to passing during the previous Congress, but ran out of time in the closing days. The amendment would allow the Secretary of the Interior to treat land within the original boundaries of the 1857 Grand Ronde Reservation as an on-reservation trust acquisition, which would streamline the process and not require the Tribe to return to Congress for an amendment to make the lands part of the Reservation. The amendment also would make all property taken into trust within the Reservation’s original boundaries after Sept. 9, 1988, reservation lands. The bill was referred to the Senate’s Committee on Indian Affairs. n Ad created by George Valdez Smoke Signals editor The Oregon Board of Education ruled on Friday, May 22, that the 14 state public schools with Native American-themed mascots must change their mascots or lose state funding. The schools, including Amity and Banks high schools, have until 2017 to change their mascot. During the meeting, board members voted unanimously against an amendment that would have allowed schools to continue to call their athletic teams by the nicknames of Warriors, Braves, Indians and Chieftains. Schools in Banks, Molalla and Roseburg use Native American mascots while seven Oregon schools call themselves Warriors, including Amity. Despite sentiments from the Siletz and Grand Ronde Tribes that sup- ported respectful use of Native mascots by Oregon high schools and argued that Native mascots can be interpreted as complimentary, Education Board members reaffirmed their 2012 order that all state schools with Native American mascots choose new ones. The Grand Ronde Tribe has consistently supported teaching Oregon’s Native American culture and history in classrooms as a way to combat racism instead of unilaterally eliminating Native mascots. The Grand Ronde Tribe has created a fourth-grade curriculum that includes lessons on Native American history and culture, and is currently working on an eighth-grade curriculum as well. Tribal Chairman Reyn Leno said the Grand Ronde Tribe was not in- formed of the Board of Education meeting. “We are the ones who represent our people and I feel like they’re not listening to what we have to say,” he said. “It’s a step backward as far as what we’re trying to accomplish with educating people on the Tribes. We feel it’s very unfortunate and we haven’t changed our position on this. We’re disappointed.” One school has changed its mascot during the back and forth on the issue in the last three years. The Dalles High School dropped its mascot, the Eagle Indian, and played this year as the Riverhawks. However, the Board of Education’s ruling might not be the last word on the matter. Oregon Rep. Sherrie Sprenger of Scio introduced House Bill 3560 in the Legislature on Wednesday, June 3, that would allow Oregon public schools to use a Native American mascot if the public school enters into an approved written agreement with an Oregon Indian Tribe. The written agreement must contain, among other things, a plan for how the history and culture of the Native Tribe will be included in the school’s curriculum and how the school will address any achievement gap between Native and nonNative students. Sprenger’s bill was referred to the House Committee on Education and no hearings have been scheduled, according to the Oregon Legislature’s website. Sprenger’s district includes Lebanon High School, which uses “warriors” as its mascot. In past testimony before the Legislature, Sprenger has said she sup- ports communication and understanding between Oregon Tribes and public schools instead of the state handing down a unilateral ruling on the mascot matter. n Ad created by George Valdez
