Cow Creek Umpqua Tribe and Roseburg Schools Partner for Student Opportunities

Cow Creek Umpqua Tribe and Roseburg Schools Partner for Student Opportunities

ROSEBURG — The Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians and Roseburg Schools plan to partner together over the next several years in multiple ways that show their shared commitment to local youth achieving success inside and outside the classroom, while also celebrating Tribal culture and expanding opportunities that strengthen that connection in the community.

Together on Tuesday, the Cow Creek Umpqua Tribe and Roseburg Schools announced they would work together to upgrade the Roseburg High School Sports Complex, offer students language credit for learning the Cow Creek Umpqua ancestral language of Takelma, and extend a successful program designed to support attendance among Tribal students.

“One of the pillars by which the Cow Creek Umpqua Tribe makes decisions for our next seven generations is the idea that educational pathways create healthy, independent and fulfilling lives,” said Cow Creek Umpqua Chairman Carla Keene. “Our youth in this community are our future, and Roseburg Schools has always been an extraordinary caretaker of the young people in this community, equipping them with the life skills they need to succeed. Partnering with Roseburg Schools on these initiatives and learning from their leadership will be a transformational step forward for our youth, providing them with the best possible tools and opportunities to develop self-respect, teamwork, fortitude and curiosity.”

Over the next 10 years, the Cow Creek Umpqua Tribe will donate $500,000 toward the improvement and maintenance of the sports complex at Roseburg High School, intended to give young athletes the chance to excel and demonstrate leadership and sportsmanship that will further their professional careers. The Cow Creek Umpqua Tribe will announce the name of the complex at a later date. A portion of the funds will also be devoted to classrooms and academics.

“The Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians has been an extraordinary partner to our schools, our students and our community,” said Roseburg Schools Superintendent Jared Cordon. “These efforts demonstrate what is possible when we work together with mutual respect and a shared vision for the future. We are deeply grateful for the Tribe’s leadership, generosity and commitment to helping our students thrive.”

In addition to the sports complex, Roseburg High School will begin to offer students Takelma language courses for full credit toward language requirements for graduation.

The ancestral language of the Cow Creek Umpqua Tribe, Takelma, a word which means, “those who live alongside the river,” went to sleep for many decades when the last known speaker walked on in the early 1900’s. With the aid of audio recordings preserved in the Smithsonian, and working carefully with linguists, Takelma has since been revived, and is regularly offered to Cow Creek Umpqua Tribal citizens at no cost. Now, with this expansion of offerings to Roseburg Schools, more youth will begin to be able to speak the words that were once heard up and down the Umpqua and Rogue valleys by Tribal people.

“With Native and non-Native students all eligible to earn official language credit at RHS, the sustainability of our Tribe’s Takelma language revitalization has increased tremendously,” said Jesse Jackson, Education Officer for the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians.

Roseburg Schools and the Cow Creek Umpqua Tribe continue to collaborate through the Tribal Attendance Promising Practices (TAPP) program. Roseburg Schools is one of just nine districts in Oregon selected to participate in the state-supported initiative, which focuses on improving attendance, strengthening connections between schools and Tribal families, and creating culturally responsive supports that help Native students succeed academically and socially. The program emphasizes partnership between school districts and Tribal governments to address barriers to attendance and strengthen student engagement.

Collectively, these plans will set in motion the shared vision of both Roseburg Schools and the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians that higher learning, achievement and success are within reach for all our kids.

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