The flag of the Grand Ronde Tribes flies at the Oregon State Capitol. Tribal flags were installed in Salem in 2009. Photo from Smoke Signals

A public school in Oregon is balking at what appears to be a simple request to fly the flag of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde.

Angie Fasana, a tribal member whose husband teaches at Willamina High School, came up with the idea. She thought it would be nice for the school to recognize the tribe's presence by flying the flag at the gym.

The chairman of the school board, though, said the tribe should pay $25,000 over five years for the privilege, The Yamhill Valley News-Register reported. Another suggested that displaying the flag would be “semi-divisive” because only about 25 percent of the student body is Native American, the paper said.

The board has held three meetings on the issue without coming to a decision. One could finally come on June 23, the paper said.

“If you can’t tell me why, then I believe there is something personal or racial going on,” Chairman Reyn Leno said at a meeting earlier this week, the paper reported Leno is Fasana's father.

Get the Story:
Oregon tribe, school board at odds over hanging tribal flag (AP 5/15)
Flag supporters challenge Willamina board (The Yamhill Valley News-Register 5/15)
Willamina to reconsider Tribal flag request on May 12 (Smoke Signals 4/29)