Tribal Council OKs new mascot logo for Banks School District

The Banks School District is one step closer to retaining its Braves mascot name and adopting a more culturally appropriate Native American mascot image.

At its Wednesday, Jan. 25, meeting, Tribal Council approved an amended memorandum of understanding with the Banks School District that calls for ending usage of a Native warrior’s profile as its mascot image and adopting a logo with mirrored Bs that form the shape of an arrowhead.

The Banks School District Board of Directors approved the original five-year agreement in June 2016 and held an image unveiling open house on Jan. 4. The amended agreement now goes to the State Board of Education for approval before it is formally adopted.

The new district logo was created by Nike after it received input on Oregon’s Native American Tribes from Grand Ronde Cultural Resources Department Manager David Harrelson.

The agreement gives the Banks School District five years to phase out use of the current Brave profile on uniforms, signs and equipment.

It also requires the Banks School District to start using the Grand Ronde Tribe-created Native American fourth- and eighth-grade history curriculums no later than spring of 2017, as well as sponsor a Native Club for all students in sixth through 12^th grades.

Banks Superintendent Jeff Leo said that approximately 3 percent of the district’s 1,100 students identify as Native Americans.

The Oregon Board of Education originally banned the use of all Native mascots by Oregon public schools, but after sovereignty concerns were raised by several Oregon Tribes, including the Grand Ronde Tribe, it allowed exceptions to the rule in January 2016 if school districts using Native American mascots worked with a federally recognized Tribe to create culturally acceptable mascot representations and usage.

Banks is the first school district in Oregon to reach an agreement with an Oregon Tribe to retain its Native mascot.

Currently, the Grand Ronde Tribe is working with the Molalla, Marcola and Scappoose school districts regarding their use of Native mascots.

At the Tuesday, Jan. 24, Legislative Action Committee meeting, Tribal Council Secretary Jon A. George thanked the Tribe’s Cultural Resources Department for working with Nike’s marketing and design team to create a culturally appropriate mascot image.

“I think that is one point that is very important about us,” George said. “When we go and sit on these boards, it is about educating the public about who we are.”

In other action, Tribal Council:

• Appointed Claudia Leno to the Health Committee with a term ending in March 2018;

• Approved three grant applications – two to the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Indian Energy and one to the state Department of Energy --- that, if awarded, would help fund solar energy improvements to Tribal buildings and Spirit Mountain Casino;

• Approved a contract not to exceed $166,000 with MacKenzie for project management services for assisting in planning for redevelopment of the former Multnomah Greyhound Park property in Wood Village that the Tribe purchased in late 2015;

• Approved a request to the Secretary of the Interior to remove one Tribal member from the Restoration Roll because submitted documents prove that the person had not met the requirements for inclusion and approved the enrollment of one infant into the Tribe because the child meets the requirements outlined in the Constitution and Enrollment Ordinance;

• Approved a 2017 crushed rock purchases and dump truck service contract that can exceed $100,000 for the Natural Resources Department.

• And extended the contract of Tribal Court Chief Judge David Shaw through March 31. His contract was set to expire on Jan. 31, according to Tribal Court Administrator Angela Fasana.

Also included in the Jan. 25 Tribal Council packet were authorizations to proceed that OK’d the Tribe’s matching fund commitment on the Tillamook County Transportation District’s application to the Oregon Department of Transportation for Network-Intercity grant funds, approved submission of an application to the Oregon Rail and Public Transit Division for $100,000 in rural transit funds and OK’d the Tribe’s Records Department creating a new section in the Tribe’s online archives for non-confidential directives, authorizations to proceed and records of instruction.

Tribal Cultural Resources Department employees Jordan and Bobby Mercier performed the cultural drumming and singing to open the meeting.

The meeting, it is entirety, can be viewed on the Tribal website, www.grandronde.org, by clicking on the News tab and then Video.