With the assistance of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, students and visitors to Scappoose High School are able reflect on the history of Native Americans of the Columbia River.
A new display, prominently featured in the school’s foyer, by the entrance to the auditorium, shows hand-carved and painted paddles representing the Chinooks, who populated the Columbia River area.
The replicas were crafted by Brian Krehbiel, a Grand Ronde tribal artisan, and are made of ash, a wood traditionally used for paddles.
“We contracted with one of the artists of the Grand Ronde tribe (Krehbiel) and he had made paddles for display for us that were made in the native style, or way,” Jerimy Kelley, Scappoose High School principal, said.
“It’s a nice display as a tribute to our relationship with the tribe and the positive steps we’ve taken in that regard with honoring the people who were here before us and trying to have a great relationship with the Grand Ronde tribe for the betterment of all the kids in our community,” Kelley said.
Kelley described the significance of the displayed paddles.
“The Columbia River has a massive tributary system,” he said. “A lot of native transportation happened in hand-dug canoes and boats with paddles. The style of the paddle is unique. You’ll see kind of a ‘V’ or ‘U’ cut out of the tip of it. That’s used for navigating rocks and branches that would give the driver of the boat leverage.”
An ongoing partnership
Kelley said he is proud of his school’s association with the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, which is kept in close contact because of ongoing agreements.
“In order to maintain the Indians as our mascot, we have a memorandum of agreement with the tribe on how we can do that respectfully,” he said. “There are agreements between the district and the tribe, within that, that outline what imagery we can use that would be appropriate for the mascot and how the term ‘the Indians’ can be used in a respectful and honoring way.”
There are other ways the high school has been honoring the Grand Ronde tribe.
“We do a lot of things in partnership with the tribe,” he said. “They’ve donated books to our district. We’ve added art around the school that is more appropriate and celebratory of the culture that was here.”
The high school has started a tribal studies class with Kellia Holzworth, where students can learn about the history and culture of Native Americans.
Kelley said the Scappoose School District has been proactive in taking lessons from the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde’s education department, in partnership with them, and integrating those into grade levels.
The high school also performs an honoring ceremony for its Indigenous students who are graduating.
“They get to be recognized in a ceremony, which is amazing if you have not been to that yet,” he said. “It’s an incredible experience and just a really awesome thing that we do for the kids.”
Krehbiel, in addition to creating the paddles, has helped students at Scappoose High School build their own paddles.
“Brian also came to our school and worked with my woodshop teacher,” Kelley said. “Students learned how to make those paddles with hand tools, and they get to take them home … It’s a really cool experience.”
The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde community of Oregon is a federally recognized tribe that includes over 30 tribes and bands from Western Oregon, Northern California and Southwest Washington.
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