S moke S ignals
JANUARY 1, 2016
7
Tribe testifies against board rules regarding mascots
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
SALEM — As the Oregon Board
of Education looks to narrow legis-
latively mandated exceptions to its
outright ban on Native American
mascots at state public schools
at its Jan. 21 meeting, Grand
Ronde Tribal Council Chairman
Reyn Leno testified once again in
December, arguing that not all
Native mascots are derogatory and
complaining that the board is not
respecting the sovereignty of the
state’s nine federally recognized
Tribes.
The history of the Oregon Board
of Education’s ban on Native Amer-
ican mascots dates back to 2012
when the ban was formally adopt-
ed.
In reaction, the state Legislature
passed in 2013 a bill that would
have allowed a school district to
enter into a written agreement with
a federally recognized Tribe in Or-
egon to retain the school’s mascot.
That bill was vetoed by then-Gov.
John Kitzhaber and the Tribes and
bill supporters then worked with
the Governor’s Office to craft a more
acceptable bill.
In 2014, Senate Bill 1509 was ap-
proved that allows a school district
to enter into an approved written
agreement with a federally recog-
nized Tribe for use of a mascot that
“represents, is associated with or is
significant” to a Tribe.
The bill also required the state
Board of Education to establish rule
exceptions.
At its Dec. 10 meeting, the Board
of Education held a first reading on
rules that would provide limited
exceptions to the ban on public
schools using Native American
mascots.
According to the board’s admin-
istrative rule summary, the new
rules would narrow the exception to
the ban to such a degree that only
three school districts in Oregon
out of 15 with Native American
mascots could potentially meet the
new requirements. Those districts
would be the Molalla Indians, the
Rogue River Chieftains and the
Siletz Warriors.
The new rules would require,
among other things, that the proper
name of a particular Tribe or the
proper name of a Tribe that is part
of a confederation of Tribes enter-
Native mascots in Oregon
2006: Requests to ban Native American mascots at Oregon public
schools begin.
2012: The State Board of Education bans Native American mascots
at all Oregon public schools.
July 15, 2013: Oregon Legislature passes SB 215, which allows school
districts to enter into a written agreement with a federally recognized
Tribe with respect to a name, symbol or image of a mascot associated
with the Tribe.
Aug. 16, 2013: Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber vetoes SB 215, which
would allow some Oregon schools to keep their Native American mas-
cots.
Feb. 28, 2014: The state Legislature approves SB 1509, which was a
negotiated compromise between Kitzhaber and Tribes and supporters of
SB 215. It would allow school districts to enter into an approved agree-
ment with a federally recognized Tribe in Oregon for use of a mascot
that is associated with a Tribe.
March 6, 2014: Gov. John Kitzhaber signs SB 1509 into law.
May 22, 2015: The Oregon Board of Education members vote unan-
imously against an amendment that would have allowed schools to
continue to call their athletic teams and other student organizations
nicknames such as the Warriors, Braves, Indians and Chieftains.
Dec. 10, 2015: The Oregon Board of Education holds a first reading
of an amended rule that would provide an exception to the ban on Na-
tive American mascots at Oregon public schools and would apparently
allow only three out of 15 Oregon public schools to keep their Native
American mascot.
Jan. 21, 2016: The Oregon Board of Education is scheduled to vote
on the amended rule.
July 1, 2017: Deadline for public schools that do not meet Board of
Education requirements for having a Native American mascot to change
their mascots.
ing into the agreement have been
included in the name of the mascot
as of Jan. 1, 2013.
“The original 2012 ban which pro-
hibited the use of Native American
mascots would continue to apply
to all of the other school districts
that presently continue to have a
Native American mascot,” the sum-
mary states. “These school districts
would continue to be required to
change their mascots prior to July
1, 2017.”
Those school districts include
Amity, Banks, Roseburg, Lebanon,
Oakridge, Philomath, Scappoose
and Warrenton-Hammond, among
others.
Leno and Siletz Tribal Coun-
cil member Lily Butler testified
against the new rules, chastising
the Board of Education for not
working in a collaborative govern-
ment-to-government relationship
with the nine federally recognized
Tribes in the state and also for as-
suming that the board knows what
is best for Tribes.
Bike helmets available
The Tribe’s Social Services Department has bicycle helmets
available for distribution. Those needing a helmet need to visit the
department and sign a helmet application, as well as get fitted.
For more information, contact Social Services at 503-879-2034. n
CTGR Higher Education
Program deadlines set
There are now only two Higher Education programs depending on wheth-
er you are full-time or part-time. The deadline for the Full-Time College
program is at least 30 days before the start of classes. The deadline for
the Part-Time College program is at least 10 days before the start of class.
Visit the Tribal website for more program information and an application.
www.grandronde.org/departments/education/higher-education/ n
“Our warrior mascot does not cre-
ate a negative school environment,
but poverty and inadequate fund-
ing most certainly do,” Butler said
about the board’s administrative
summary tying the mascot issue to
below average graduation rates for
Native American students in Ore-
gon. “If the board is sincere about
addressing this gap, we invite you
to turn your efforts toward helping
our community get a state-of-the-
art school with adequate funding
for administration, educators,
equipment and other supportive
materials.”
Butler defended the Siletz Valley
Charter School’s use of a warrior
mascot.
“The Tribe has attempted in good
faith to participate in the political
process to keep our warrior mas-
cot,” Butler said. “We believe that
Senate Bill 1509 achieved an out-
come consistent with the board’s in-
tent and assured our school mascot
continued as a symbol of cultural,
community, school and individual
pride. The board’s steadfast resolve
to maintain its original position
despite evidence to the contrary
is disturbing. Refusing to consider
the Siletz Tribe’s perspective as
valid and dismiss us as misguided
is paternalistic and offensive.”
Leno followed Butler and dis-
cussed how the Grand Ronde Tribe
has worked to establish govern-
ment-to-government relationships
with city, school, county, state and
federal entities. However, he said,
the Oregon Board of Education has
not conducted government-to-gov-
ernment consultations with Ore-
gon’s Tribes.
“We are deeply troubled by the
state Board of Education’s disregard
for our sovereignty and your passiv-
ity when it comes to ending racism
against Oregon Native people and
requiring that schools in Oregon
teach our history,” Leno said.
“The rule before you is a bad one.
It is unresponsive to the needs of
the Tribes and our Tribal members.
If passed, the proposed rule would
pit our neighboring communities
against us. It is the board that
made this decision of an outright
ban, but the reality is that com-
munities in which these schools
are located have a perception that
we are the ones that are promoting
this policy. This kind of confusion is
a deterrent to the positive relation-
ships that we have built over time
with our communities.”
Leno said the proposed rules
improperly limit Oregon Tribes
from determining when a Native
mascot is culturally significant and
appropriate.
“This is highly offensive and we
believe outside the board’s regula-
tory authority. Why would the state
Board of Education not trust Tribal
governments to do the right thing
in determining what is and what is
not culturally appropriate?”
Leno said the Grand Ronde Tribe
supports allowing school districts
to keep their Native American
mascots if they work with nearby
Tribes on a positive mascot portray-
al and incorporate Native American
educational curriculum in their
schools.
“The history of Oregon did not
start with the arrival of Lewis and
Clark,” Leno said. “It was occurring
for thousands of years before they
set foot on our land and many of
those Indians – braves, warriors,
chiefs – are worthy of being hon-
ored as high school mascots. High
school mascots are supposed to be
inspirational. High schools do not
usually adopt derogatory figures.
They adopt admirable and inspi-
rational figures.”
Leno said the Grand Ronde Tribe
has been working with school
districts in Willamina, Sheridan,
Dallas, Springfield, McMinnville,
Independence, Salem-Keizer, Bea-
verton, Molalla, Eugene and Marco-
la about integrating Grand Ronde’s
fourth-grade educational curricu-
lum into their schools.
In addition, Leno said the Tribe
is working with schools within
Grand Ronde’s treaty lands that
have Native American mascots,
such as Amity, Lebanon, Marcola
and Banks.
“Let’s take a strong look at the
teaching of Oregon students about
the history and culture of Oregon’s
nine Indian sovereign governments
instead of spending hundreds of
thousands of dollars ripping up gym
floors across the state,” Leno said.
“Let’s put the money where it mat-
ters most, toward education of our
children. … What we look forward
to is what is best for our kids. If we
have education in our schools about
the nine Tribes, maybe we won’t
have a mascot issue to deal with
10 years or 20 years from now. We
are here for the solution.”
Also attending the Board of Edu-
cation hearing were Tribal Council
members Jon A. George, Denise
Harvey and Tonya Gleason-She-
pek, as well as Assistant Tribal
Attorney Kim D’Aquila and Tribal
lobbyist Justin Martin. n