ROSEBURG – Roseburg High School will officially remain the Indians after the State Board of Education voted Thursday to approve an agreement between the school district and the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe of Indians.

The Board of Education voted in 2015 to affirm a 2012 ban on all Native American-themed nicknames and mascots. The ruling was amended in 2016 to allow schools to keep their Native American mascots with permission from one of Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes.

The Roseburg School District submitted an agreement with the Cow Creek Tribe to the local school board and it was approved at a regular meeting on March 15, 2017. The agreement was then submitted to the State Board of Education on March 29. Two public meetings were held on April 27 and May 25 before the final vote by the state board members.

“This is a good outcome for us,” Roseburg Superintendent Gerry Washburn said. “This allows us to move on from this issue.” Washburn thanked the state for approving the agreement and thanked State Senator Jeff Kruse for his work on the issue.

Roseburg’s agreement with the Cow Creek Tribe calls for added social studies curriculum regarding Native American history. The Tribe will also have a representative involved in Board decisions.

If an agreement had not been reached, the school district would have been forced to change the Roseburg High mascot by July 1 or face losing state funding.