Warrior Mascot Committee

Over the last year, a committee of parents, students and staff have been working with members of the Yakama Nation and a professor from Heritage University regarding our mascot name (Warriors) and our Native American imagery (HS Crest, HS Gym murals, District Logo, Athletic uniforms, and totem pole). The new state law HB 1356 requires us  to work with our local tribes (Yakama Nation) to help evaluate our imagery depicting Native Americans, and our mascot, to make sure it is representative (and not offensive) of our local tribes. The law states we are to work collaboratively on gaining their approval that will honor and represent Native American culture of this region and avoid any inappropriate use. 

We have learned so much from this collaborative process with our committee and tribal representatives. The goal of the law is to ensure that we avoid racially derogatory or discriminatory school mascots, logos, or team names in public schools.

Specifically, we are now aware that some of our images and (historical) fan behavior have been, or may have the potential to be, offensive to Native American communities. The Yakama Nation has informed us that our current images do not represent our local tribes but tribes of other regions of the country or the State.  

We understand there are many proud community traditions surrounding the Warrior name and our Native themes that affect not only current students but many generations of past families as well. In honoring our past along with our indigenous neighbors, we are working towards new concepts and images of what it means to be a warrior in our community. Our goal as a committee is to seek approval for the “Warrior” name to remain, and to see what current imagery we can adjust to better represent our Yakama Nation 

We look forward to working with our community and revitalizing the Warrior mascot into something we can use as an icon to represent our unique community into something we can all be proud of! Undoubtedly updating our logo and imagery will be a major shift for our district. However, it is reassuring to observe other districts, teams (including professional sports teams) successfully navigate a similar process in order to  honor their indigenous neighbors. 

Your support is welcome to help us as we develop/update images and logos that respect and honor the Cle Elum-Roslyn Warriors. As the committee nears our deadline of January 1st, 2023, we will be sharing designs with the community  and asking for community input. The Cle Elum-Roslyn School Board will then take this input, and make a final decision. In the meantime, if you would like to follow the work of the committee, please continue to visit this webpage.

Go Warriors!


Helpful Links

CERSD Land Acknowledgement written under the Yakama Nation Flag

Update From The Warrior Mascot Committee

As published in the Northern Kittitas County Tribune on June 22, 2023

Warrior Native American Profiles Retired This Summer 

This summer the Cle Elum-Roslyn District will be working on retiring the warrior Native American profiles depicting Native Americans as “mascots” that are displayed in Cle Elum-Roslyn High School.  This is part of the work the Warrior Mascot Committee has been doing for the last 16 months to be compliant with state law HB 1356. This law requires school districts to collaborate with our local tribe (Yakama Nation) to evaluate the use of imagery depicting Native Americans to make sure it is representative of our local tribe and does not contain discriminatory imagery. Through this work, our collaboration led to the need to update our imagery.  

Through the collaborative process, the Cle Elum-Roslyn School District and Yakama Nation agreed that the profile images would be retired in a way that would honor our community history while not inadvertently discriminating against our tribal communities. 

In April, local photographer Mary Maletzke photographed the gym murals and other artwork (depicting profiles) around the building.  At this time, the school has reached out to local museums to see if they would like to display the images captured by Mary Maletzke.  

The large murals that are on the gym wall were painted by members of graduating classes that replicated art work of fictitious native americans originally created by William Hampton.  The district tried to find a way to preserve the art on the wall but unfortunately it was not possible as the images were painted directly onto the sheetrock.  Therefore, the committee decided that the best way to preserve the images was to have them professionally photographed. In this way we can remember our process of growing as a community in partnership with our local tribes' historical relevance of these lands in a time memorial while also honoring our local history of working through this process.

This summer the HS gym will be repainted and the murals will be painted over. The high school students were surveyed this spring to gather their opinion on what they would like to see on the gym walls.  Reflecting their ideas, the gym walls will be updated with the new logo, the Warrior Way, fight song and new athletic banners showcasing our achievements over the years.

As part of refreshing the high school walls with more modern decor, a historical timeline will feature our transitions from our historical images and how we have arrived with an image that represents our High School for both the community and tribal partners. 

The process of updating the images in our building began last fall with the design and adoption of a new logo.  Last October, CERHS Alumni and graphic designer Charles “CJ” Strom Jr. had created five different logo designs and concepts based on student input for what they would like as the next CERHS Warrior logo. A community survey was conducted that allowed for community members and students (of all ages) the opportunity to select their preferred design.  The arrowhead was selected by an overwhelming majority of the 755 community responses. With input from the Warrior Mascot Committee, Mr. Strom began refining the arrowhead logo. 

The new arrowhead logo was designed by Charles “CJ” Strom Jr.  Mr. Strom shared that “the new logo is a collaborative effort (with CERHS students) that is based on the beauty of our community while honoring tradition.” He also said that the design is “inspired by the view from Speelyi Beach, the mirrored image of the mountain ridge reflects off the calm waters. Using an arrowhead allows for us to honor community traditions by keeping a likeness to the mascot that we once cherished, and also allowing us to respect culture and acknowledge the impact of characterizations… It also is inspired by the arrowhead silhouette of the Yakama Nation’s crest, an effort to show respect and gratitude for our partnership.” The new logo was formally approved by the Education Committee of the Yakama Tribal Council on December 23rd and the Cle Elum-Roslyn School Board adopted it during the January 9th board meeting. 

As with the work with the logo, the high school students were surveyed to ensure that they were able to give input on the gym walls. Going forward, members of the Warrior Mascot Committee and the Yakama Nation Education Committee will work to improve the Since Time Immemorial curriculum to include more information about our area and the Yakama Nation.


Update From The Warrior Mascot Committee

Flag Raising Ceremony

On November 29, 2022, eleven members of the Yakama Warriors Association made the trip from Yakima to Cle Elum- Roslyn High School to raise the Yakama Nation flag. This monumental event signified the partnership between the Cle Elum-Roslyn School District and the Yakama Nation, as the two groups continue to work together to learn from each other and support the community’s history.

The ceremony began with members of the Yakama Warriors Association raising the flag and playing the National Anthem. It was followed by CERHS student and mascot committee member, Sadie Melhorn, reading the land acknowledgement. Principal, Sarah Houseberg, addressed the audience by introducing the Yakama Warriors Association and thanking the Tribal Council and Education Committee of the Yakama Nation,  Deputy Director of Yakama Nation Department of Human Services Arlen Washines, the Yakama Warriors Association, the Cle Elum-Roslyn School Board, and the members of the community who served on our Warrior Mascot Committee. This was followed by the Yakama Warriors Association recognizing all branches of the military and those who have served by playing each branch’s song. The ceremony concluded with members of the Yakama Warriors Association playing TAPs and Amazing Grace to honor those veterans who are no longer with us. A reception followed the ceremony that allowed the community to meet the Yakama Warriors and learn from their experiences.

Yakama Nation Flag at CERHS

Update From The Warrior Mascot Committee

On November 9, 2022 the Warrior Mascot Committee met to discuss the results of the Warrior logo survey. The logo survey had 744 people respond and the top selection was the Cle Elum-Roslyn Warriors arrowhead with the mountains reflecting in the lake.

On Monday, November 21, 2022, the Yakama Nation Educational Committee requested the proposed Warrior logo and a summary of the process for its selection. On November 23, 2022 the proposed Warrior Logo and summary were submitted by Sarah Day and Sarah Houseberg. At this point, we are waiting for a response from the Educational Committee to determine if we will need to attend the next Tribal Council meeting. 

On Tuesday, November 29, 2022 the Yakama Warriors Association will join Cle Elum-Roslyn High School to raise the Yakama Nation Flag. The flag signifies the partnership between the Cle Elum-Roslyn School District and the Yakama Nation, as we work together to learn from each other and support our community’s history.


Warrior Mascot Committee Invited to Attend Tribal Council

As submitted for publication in the Northern Kittitas County Tribune on August 25, 2022

The Cle Elum-Roslyn Mascot Committee was invited to attend the Yakama Nation Tribal Council Meeting on August 4th.  The committee members presented an update on the work and progress the committee has made since last December.  The Tribal Council members asked questions about the change of Swiftwater Learning Center’s logo and spoke about their own experiences attending athletic events in our community.  The meeting concluded with the Tribal Council asking the Education Committee to draft a resolution.  The resolution will be voted on at the Tribal Council meeting to be held in early September.  The resolution will include the request to approve the use of the Warrior name, acceptance of the proposed Land Acknowledgement, ability to fly a Yakama Nation flag on campus, and the ability for the community and the school to continue to work together to create an updated CERHS logo.  The committee’s primary goal was to maintain the use of the Warrior name. We have come to an agreement as a committee, in partnership with the tribe, that any profile of a Native American will be discontinued. The resolution  will also include a timeline for any and all existing artwork and images of profiles to be honored and retired by summer of 2023.  The school district will be seeking community input on how best to retire the images/artwork. 

Overall the partnership with the tribe has been very positive as the committee works to navigate HB 1356. The new state law HB 1356 requires us  to work with our local tribes (Yakama Nation) to help evaluate our imagery depicting Native Americans, and our mascot, to make sure it is representative (and not offensive) of our local tribes. The law states we are to work collaboratively on gaining their approval that will honor and represent Native American culture of this region and avoid any inappropriate use. 

We have learned so much from this collaborative process with our committee and tribal representatives. The goal of the law is to ensure that we avoid racially derogatory or discriminatory school mascots, logos, or team names in public schools. Members of the Warrior Mascot committee and the Yakama Nation Education are also working to improve the Since Time Immemorial curriculum to include more information about our area and the Yakama Nation.

Your support is welcome to help us as we develop/update images and logos that respect and honor the Cle Elum-Roslyn Warriors.  In the coming weeks the committee will be asking for the community to provide ideas for a new logo. Cle Elum local and graphic designer, CJ Strom will be working to help create some of the artwork for the community, tribe and board to review. The Cle Elum-Roslyn School Board will then take this input, and make a final decision. In the meantime, if you would like to follow the work of the committee, please visit the Warrior Mascot webpage at: https://www.cersd.org/o/cerhs/page/warrior-mascot-committee-work 

Go Warriors!

CERSD students, staff and board member standing with Arlen Washines holding the Yakama Nation flag that was presented during Tribal Council.

Yakama Nation Approves Resolution for CERHS to Continue as Warriors

As submitted for publication in the Northern Kittitas County Tribune on September 15, 2022

On Thursday, September 8th, the Yakama Nation Tribal Council approved a formal resolution that will allow Cle Elum-Roslyn High School to continue to be known as the Warriors. A small group of members from the Warrior Mascot Committee traveled to Yakima to attend the Tribal Council meeting.  Principal Sarah Houseberg gave an opening statement with a brief update that Charles (CJ) Strom has agreed to assist the committee in refreshing the HS logo with input from our students.  She then introduced two students, Sadie Melhorn and Rachael Bator to the Council.  Both students shared their perspective as students and members of the committee.  Rachael Bator, a fourth generation Warrior, was the first student to speak and shared, “my eyes have been opened to issues I was not aware of before..” Rachael continued to say how learning that the Yakama Nation believes the Warrior is a protector was powerful. She then told the Tribal Council about the way our community protects and helps families who are experiencing difficult times.  

Sadie Melhorn also spoke to members of the Tribal Council and shared a different but equally powerful message as a perspective of a student who moved from Yakima to Cle Elum a few years ago.  Sadie shared that she (and other students) see the Warrior as strong and brave but that being part of the committee she has developed a deeper understanding about the Yakama.  She said that learning about the Yakama has inspired her to learn more about her own heritage from the Wyandotte tribe in Oklahoma.  

The student’s speeches resonated with members of Tribal Council who thanked the students for sharing their stories.  

Yakama Nation Tribal Council member Esther Moses Hyipeer said that she is “grateful Cle Elum has stepped up and come forward to understand and is taking every effort to work on the logo so when Native American students come in the school they are not meant to feel shamed or belittled but proud.”  She encouraged the students to speak to their peers and share their stories with others. 

 After the resolution was accepted, the students were asked to come to the front of the room where Chairman Sahluskin presented a Yakama Nation flag to the students.  The resolution that is now in place allows for the Yakama Flag to be flown on campus, the totem pole (that is an owl habitat) to remain, the continued use of the name (maintained with honor) Warriors, additional time to recognize and retire some imagery in  the building and the partnership to continue to work with the Yakama Nation Education Council.  

In closing remarks to the Tribal Council, Principal Houseberg shared that she will be working with the students of Cle Elum-Roslyn High School so that they too understand HB 1356, the process the committee went through and will solicit their ideas on a new refreshed logo for CJ Strom to design. She concluded with, “thank you for giving us the opportunity for our youth to teach our elders and our community (about the Warrior).”

After the meeting, Arlen Washines shared, “Rachael and Sadie did awesome today and was icing on the cake to all the excellent work the committee has done thus far. A big step and I know the school and community will embrace the future with good feelings and commitment to ensuring the legacy of your hard work continues well into the future.”

A committee of parents, students, staff and members of the tribe have spent a year working towards this moment.  The committee was very aware of the community’s attachment and love for being the home of the Warriors. Trying to balance that with the law outlined by HB 1356 was a delicate and complex task. Ultimately the goal of the group was to maintain the name “Warriors” and work to create a logo that we can all feel proud of. 

The committee will now shift their work to establishing a process to solicit feedback and input from students and the community regarding the refreshed logo. When the committee has determined that process, they will be putting out information in the NKC Tribune, in flyers posted in town, on the website and through social media.  

In the meantime, if you would like to know more about this project, please visit the website to learn more: https://www.cersd.org/o/cerhs/page/warrior-mascot-committee-work

Yakama Nation Tribal Council Chairman Saluskin presenting students with a Yakama Nation flag

Yakama Nation Tribal Council Chairman Sahluskin presented students Rachael Bator and Sadie Melhorne with the Yakama Nation flag during the Tribal Council meeting.