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Update:
Update:
In response to the advocacy and education from Native American community members, we are actively working to remove the pole at Ridgeline. While we hoped to move in coordination with Eugene School District 4J, as a smaller charter school, we have the ability to move more swiftly. We are in the process of organizing a safe removal of the pole by mid-April.
Our focus during the process is not only on the physical removal but also on ensuring our students and families understand why the pole is being taken down. We are using this moment as an educational opportunity to reflect on the impact of cultural appropriation and to deepen our understanding of local Indigenous histories and perspectives.
We remain committed to engaging in this work with care, humility, and a willingness to learn from those with lived experience.
Ridgeline Learns Totem Pole Lacks Authenticity and Causes Harm
Ridgeline Learns Totem Pole Lacks Authenticity and Causes Harm
WHY IT MATTERS:
We have come to understand that Ridgeline’s totem pole lacks authenticity and causes cultural harm. As such, it does not reflect our core values or our community’s aspirations toward equity, inclusion, and belonging. The project was intended to honor Native American traditions, but instead resulted in cultural appropriation and misrepresentation.
THE BACK STORY:
The project began in the Spring of 2016, led by former teacher Clint Moore and carver Vic Hansen.
The project collaborated with the 4J NATIVES Program. (Former Director: Brenda Brainard)
The 4J NATIVES Program performed a ceremony and guided students in selecting appropriate images.
In May 2023, Hansen reached out to restore the faded totem pole.
Ridgeline consulted the current 4J NATIVES Program director, who confirmed the project’s genuineness and respectfulness.
On June 3, 2023, a ceremony was conducted, and the restoration was completed.
On November 17, 2023, the restored totem pole was reinstalled.
In January and April, an advocacy group made up of Native Americans communicated with Ridgeline and 4J. The group provided information about the totem poles’ inauthenticity and requested that all totem poles be removed.
KEY THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:
Ridgeline’s intention in the totem pole project was to create an educational opportunity for authentic cultural representation.
Native American community members have criticized totem poles for lacking authenticity and causing harm by misappropriating cultural symbols.
Totem poles are not part of the history of Oregon's nine tribes or the Kalapuya people.
Vic Hansen claimed to work with Tsimshian carver David Boxley from Metlakatla, Alaska, and claimed he received a blessing from the Tsimshian.
David Boxley denied mentoring or teaching Vic Hansen. He emphasized that tribal designs require permission from Native elders and that it’s inappropriate for non-Natives to be culture bearers.
THE BIGGER PICTURE:
Cultural appropriation is the inappropriate adoption of another ethnic group's heritage leading to negative stereotypes and harm. Cultural ownership appropriation occurs when a member of one tribe adopts another tribe's customs. Ridgeline’s totem pole is one among many located in the Eugene and 4J communities. Totem pole projects intended to educate the broader community and to honor Native American culture have instead highlighted significant issues of cultural appropriation. Removing these inauthentic totem poles needs to be done with care and respect so as not to create further unintentional harm.
WHAT’S NEXT:
Native American community leaders have requested that the totem poles be removed from Ridgeline and other 4J campuses. The 4J School District is reviewing these concerns and determining appropriate actions to address the harm caused. The 4J NATIVES program has advised that Ridgeline wait to hear the outcome of the district’s review before taking action. The program is also looking into how to decommission the totem poles respectfully.
Ridgeline wants to take action in a way that exhibits respect for our Native community members. We are seeking input from those with more knowledge about how to respectfully resolve this matter. We aim to avoid causing unintended harm by acting with incomplete information. We will update our community as soon as we know more.
If you belong to a community harmed by these actions, we welcome the opportunity to listen. You can call Ridgeline’s front office and they will connect you to an administrator. The office will be open through June 21, 2024 and will reopen on August 12, 2024.
GO DEEPER:
View more related information that is referenced above.
The totem pole project began in the Spring of 2016, led by former Ridgeline teacher Clint Moore and community member and Master Carver Vic Hansen. Moore and Hansen live in the same neighborhood and one afternoon, Moore struck up a conversation with Hansen about the totem pole in front of his house. Hansen, a retired educator with years of experience in alternative education, used woodworking as a teaching tool in his classes. They collaborated with the Eugene School District's NATIVES Program Director, Brenda Brainard, who has since retired from the program. The 4J NATIVES Program is a federally funded initiative that offers tutoring and activities for Native American students, as well as support for schools with Native American history projects. The acronym NATIVES stands for Native Americans Towards Improved Values in Education and Society. The program serves approximately 785 students representing 150 diverse tribes from across North America. Brainard had a prior working relationship with Vic Hansen, making it a natural partnership to work with Moore's Ridgeline upper elementary class.
When the cedar tree for the totem pole was selected, the 4J NATIVES Program performed a blessing and smudging ceremony for the tree and worked closely with the students on the selection of different images for the totem. They discussed the meanings of these images, how they can be interpreted, and what is appropriate and respectful in this context. Brainard emphasized that Native American history is often overlooked, but projects like Ridgeline Montessori’s totem pole provide an engaging way for students to learn about history and culture.
Over the years the paint on the totem pole faded and in May of 2023 Hansen reached out to the school to initiate the restoration process. Before proceeding with the project, Jesse Cloninger reached out to Josh Davies, the current NATIVES Program Administrator. During their discussions, Cloninger expressed the school’s concerns about whether the totem pole was engaging in cultural appropriation. Davies addressed these concerns and reaffirmed the program's support for all of 4J’s totem poles and continued support for Vic Hansen’s role in their maintenance efforts. Davies emphasized that this form of cultural representation is both respectful, authentic, and is not a form of cultural appropriation. They also discussed the school’s commitment to reconnect with the students and community members who played essential roles in the totem pole's design and creation, as well as recapturing the meanings of the imagery used in the totem pole. Reconnecting with these pieces of the story will allow us a deeper understanding of the origins and significance of our own totem pole as well as all of the totem poles in our community. In the future, Josh envisions the addition of plaques beside each totem pole, providing meaningful insights into their significance and relevant information.
On Saturday, June 3, 2023, Davies visited Ridgeline to conduct a ceremony involving a prayer of preparation and respect, which was necessary for the relocation of the totem pole for restoration. Davies spread tobacco, offered a prayer, and burned sage to prepare the totem pole for its move. Over the summer, the refurbishing process included sanding, filling holes, recarving some areas, complete repainting, and sealing with several coats of marine-grade clear coat. All of this took place at the workshop at the 4J NATIVES Program building. This refurbishing process utilized improved materials and is expected to extend the totem's lifespan by an estimated 35 years. Several work parties were held throughout the summer and fall to sand and repaint the totem pole. Attendance was small; however, several of the students who originally worked on the totem, now young adults, attended, as well as Moore, whose class originally carved the totem.
On Friday, November 17, 2023, the restored totem pole was reinstalled in its original location. A ceremony took place, and students and staff observed the totem pole being erected from a safe distance.
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