LIFE

New book tells story of Chemawa Indian School

Tom Mayhall Rastrelli

In the early 20th Century, a girl at Chemawa Indian School in Keizer lost her arm when it became stuck in a washing machine's wringer. In 2001, this student's son, Chinook Chief Cliff Snider, told his mother's story to Melissa D. Parkhurst, a doctoral candidate in ethnomusicology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison who was in Portland researching Native American music.

Melissa D. Parkhurst is the author of “To Win the Indian Heart: Music at the Chemawa Indian School.”

"It left me with a lot of questions about what life was like for children in that school," Parkhurst said.

Parkhurst moved to Portland for her research and taught music at Pacific University and Lewis & Clark College. In May 2014, her book, "To Win the Indian Heart: Music at Chemawa Indian School," was published by Oregon State University Press.

"The more I learned about the schools, the more I had a sense that something very important had been going on for over 100 years in the U.S. that most people, myself included, were unaware," Parkhurst said.

In the 1870s after the United States army took Native American lands in the West, white social reformers debated "the Indian problem." The Forest Grove Industrial Training School — now Chemawa Indian School — was founded in 1880. A few years later, a fire resulted in the school's relocation to Keizer.

"Some reformers thought if you rounded up all the Indian youth and educated them in the ways of white people, within one or two generations the Indian people would disappear," Parkhurst said. "Music was used to strip students of their native culture as a calculated part of the government's assimilation campaign."

These Spokane children were photographed upon arrival to Forest Grove Industrial Training School (known as Chemawa Indian School today) in 1881. Five were dead by February 1888. The photo includes, in no order, James George, Florence Hayes, Garfield Hayes, Louis Isaacs, Eunice Madge James, Julia Jopps, Martha Lott, Frank Rice, Ben Secup, Susette Susan Secup and Alice L. Williams.

"They were boarding schools because they wanted to completely remove the students from their families and tribes," Parkhurst said, but she discovered that the assimilation campaign ultimately failed.

"Students used music to benefit themselves, to regain their tribal heritage and forge bonds with each other," she said. "Some went on to have professional careers in music, often going back to their tribal communities and becoming leaders. There was an important story of student resilience that needed to be told."

The assimilation campaign continued through the 1920s until the Meriam Report, an investigation of the boarding schools' harsh conditions, resulted in public outrage.

"Schools were closed. The ones that remained received different instructions" Parkhurst said. "Progressive reforms included allowing students to perform traditional songs and dances and not punishing them for speaking native languages."

In the 1970s, Parkhurst said that a leadership change at the Bureau of Indian Affairs resulted in a mandate that schools be run "by Indians for Indians."

"The (Chemawa) school now tries to help students reconnect with their tribal heritage," Parkhurst said. "This can be powerful source of strength and wholeness for the person and can help academic performance."

"To Win the Indian Heart" chronicles Chemawa's musical history through the stories of students and faculty. Kathryn Jones Harrison (Grand Ronde) had an abusive foster family and witnessed the federal government strip her people of their status and lands in 1954. As a Chemawa music student, Harrison performed for Salem's professional groups.

The original Meteors included Chemawa Indian School students: John Hensley (guitar), Alfred Andre (keyboard) and Max Lestenkof (vocals and tambourine). Other members not pictured included Victor Lekanof (drums), Jack Alec (guitar) and Ted McGlashan (bass guitar).

"She gained self-confidence and pride in her Indian identity," Parkhurst said. "Those skills empowered her to represent her tribe and help them achieve the restoration of their status with federal government."

Will Depoe (Siletz and Cheyenne) became a pianist and big band leader who performed with Bob Hope and Will Rogers. He became a leader and cultural ambassador for the Siletz people.

Chemawa's band the Meteors opened for the Monkees. Some members went onto successful careers involving music.

"Max Lestenkof (Aleut) works as a wellness advocate and credits music as the source of his wellness," Parkhurst said. "Ted McGlashen (Aleut) is a bass player and band leader who has performed throughout Alaska."

"When people think of teenagers, we talk about risk factors, what things might push them toward incarceration or substance abuse," Parkhurst said. "What I found more compelling is, when teens became involved in music, a constellation of protective factors occurred."

These protective factors include the presence of a caring adult who consistently helped a student with music and social ties and self definition developed through music.

"These protective factors help them become stronger individuals and, in turn, add to the strength of their families and tribal communities," Parkhurst said.

Parkhurst recently accepted a position at Washington State University. She hopes to return to the Willamette Valley for speaking engagements.

"I would like to see as many people as possible have some familiarity with what's going on in the Indian boarding school system and how resilient the students who've gone there are," Parkhurst said.

TRastrelli@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 983-6030 or follow on Twitter @RastrelliSJ

Where to find it...

"To Win the Indian Heart" by Melissa D. Parkhurst is available at osupress.oregonstate.edu/ and local book sellers.