FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE :Tribes Want Trust Status for Chemawa Indian School Land

Salem, Oregon (August 2, 2010) – The Chemawa Indian School Board has endorsed the decision made by the Oregon Tribes on July 22, 2010, to pursue legislation placing Chemawa Indian School campus land into trust.

1. Chemawa Indian School (CIS) was founded at Forest Grove Oregon in 1880, as the first federally operated off-reservation boarding school on the west coast. Since then many thousands of Native American students have attended the school from tribes throughout the United States and Alaska. In 2010, the student body represented 77 different tribes from 16 states. The Chemawa Indian School Board representatives acknowledge that CIS serves students from tribes all over the United States and Alaska; therefore all tribes have a vested interest in protecting the school.

2. The school moved to the current location in Salem, OR in 1884. By 1920, the campus expanded had from 177.32 acres to maximum size nearly 450 acres. Many people have been under the impression that the school land is protected under a trust, but in fact all of the land was deeded to the United States and is controlled by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). However, historic government documents and other evidence indicate that most if not all the school property was purchased with student and staff funds – ‘Indian monies and labor’ which would make the students and staff the original sole proprietors.

3. Between 1950 and 1980, the size of the campus was reduced through the construction of, the Salem Expressway, the Interstate 5 freeway and local roads. In 1968, 72.25 acres of valuable farmland north of Chemawa Road was sold to a private party and the funds placed in the US Government General Fund. The I-5 freeway and Salem Parkway divided the first 177.32 acres bought in 1884, leaving approximately 20 acres west of the freeway and 80 acres on the east.

4. In November 2002, the BIA declared the parcel west of I-5 as surplus and conveyed title to 19.86 acres to the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz with the caveat that the land could neither be alienated nor used as a casino. In 2006, a bill (HR 5394) was passed by the 109th Congress 2nd Session to lift the original restriction on alienation of the land. Other tribes were not consulted.

5. The historic campus site and cemetery still remain on the 80 acres and that section of the school is listed on the National Register. The original buildings were demolished in the late1970s. Although part of it is currently being used for Christmas trees farms and recreation, it may be in danger of being declared surplus by the federal government. For many years developers and other groups have tried to acquire this historic 80 acre site. Decisions regarding the disposition of “surplus” campus property are made by the BIA and handled by the General Services Administration.

6. On the east section of the campus, buildings and residential facilities were constructed in the early 1980s to replace the old buildings. The Indian Health facility was added and last year new dormitories were completed. At this time the total campus plant is somewhere between 258 and 289 acres. The precise size is unknown. The acreage under BIA jurisdiction may be different from what appears to comprise the campus.

7. Recognizing that the government can continue to dispose of Chemawa land at its discretion without tribal input, the Chemawa students, the School Board, tribal councils from 8 of the 9 Oregon Tribes, the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI) and the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) have passed resolutions to protect and preserve the remaining Chemawa land. Many ideas for the future school have been discussed including a Vocational School, College or University and a museum with a visitors’ center.

8. In 2008, Senator Gordon Smith was contacted and his legislative assistant Matt Hill began work on a “Discussion Draft” for a bill that would place Chemawa land into some form of a trust. Senator Smith was defeated in the election and the effort was not renewed by his successor.

9. Since 2008, the Oregon Department of Transportation has been formulating a plan (Chemawa IAMP) to improve traffic circulation at the Chemawa Interchange. This is a long-range plan based on increased traffic and available funds. As currently proposed, the project could result in the loss of more of the campus.

10. Approximately 7 acres used by the Indian Health Services facility was recently deeded from the BIA to the Department of Health and Human Services. This land is entirely surrounded by the school property, but accessed via the driveway from Chemawa Road into the campus. That conveyance of Chemawa land was never reviewed or approved by the Chemawa School Board or brought to the attention of the many tribes who send children to the school.

Through their resolutions the tribal councils, ATNI and NCAI have supported in principle, the placing of Chemawa land into trust status. On July 22, at a meeting of the Oregon Tribes, eight of the nine Oregon tribes agreed to work together with legislators and to present a new bill for the Chemawa Trust to Congress. Although the other eight tribes invited them to join the effort, Grand Ronde has not yet decided to participate. Hopefully, with the help of the National Indian Education Association, Chemawa will not only be preserved, but will fulfill the dream of its first students who worked diligently to acquire the land for the exclusive purpose of education and the prosperity of Native Americans and Native Culture. In 1884, they donated money to purchase the first acreage for the school because, as they wrote in the Indian Citizen: “We want this school, the land, buildings and everything, to belong to the Indians.”

For further information please contact:

Christopher Banham – Secretary-Treasurer
Chemawa Indian School Board
Southwest Representative
Gila River Indian Community
chris.banham@gric.nsn.us
PO Box 97
Sacaton, AZ 85147
360-991-4107