A display including Native imagery and artifacts was removed from the lobby at Bellevue East over the weekend of October 11. 

Administrators chose to remove the display after concerns about stereotypical imagery. Before making the final decision, Principal Jeffery Wagner spoke with parents of East students and members of the Omaha tribe to learn their thoughts on the exhibit.

“We’re trying to be cognizant of our Native American population, and that’s why I feel it’s really not my place to decide on some of these things,” Wagner said. “I want to get input from some Native Americans.”

He stated that the items included in the display, such as Navajo bread or cartoons of Native Americans on horses, appeared to enforce stereotypes of Native Americans. According to the University of Washington, stereotypical depictions of Native people have harmful impacts on Native American high school students’ feelings about themselves and their academic futures. 

“We just felt that there was a lot of misrepresentation of Native Americans in that display,” Wagner said. “A Native American parent that I’m working with, she said that looks like some of those [artifacts] were just bought at a dime store.”

The display’s creator, Rebecca Wells of Rebecca’s Indian Trading Post, said that all of the items included were created by Native people. Former Bellevue Public Schools superintendent John Deegan paid Wells to create the display in the late 2000s to honor Bellevue’s Native American history. 

“The superintendent at the time wanted to pay tribute to the Native people,” Wells said. “The things I brought were Indigenous-made items. I bought them from Native people.”

Wells started Rebecca’s Indian Trading Post in Bellevue 30 years ago after being inspired by her mother’s Native heritage. Since then, Wells has created other displays on Native American history, including at Logan Fontenelle Middle School and Bellevue West. 

“I understand they have to rotate things,” Wells said. “I’m privileged to have been able to have it there [my display at East] when I was able to I know people talked about it for a long time and said that they saw my display there and they enjoyed it.”

One student who appreciated the Native American display was freshman Addison Bishop, a member of the Cherokee tribe. Bishop said her family also liked the exhibit. 

“I thought it was pretty cool,” Bishop said. “I feel like [the old display] looks cooler than what it does now.”

Other displays at Bellevue East meant to honor Native history include a brick mural depicting Omaha Chief Big Elk, who was known for his leadership and peacekeeping. Wagner said that the school is working to create a new historical display that will be more representative, using Chief Big Elk as inspiration.

“I want to kind of tie it back into the school a little more… what does it mean to be a Chieftain?” Wagner said. “How do we wrap that in so when our students walk by, do they say, yes, leadership, integrity, service to others?”

The new display will likely include depictions of the Chieftain head that is East’s mascot, as well as quotes from Native American chiefs. Wagner said they may also reuse certain artifacts from the original display. For now, the area underneath the main entrance stairs at East features banners with statements like “Welcome to BEHS” and “Once a chieftain, always a chieftain.”

“Sometimes we need things changed for certain purposes,” Bishop said. “The principal maybe was like, oh, we need to change this. We need it to represent more.”

“I thought it was pretty cool,” Bishop said. “I feel like [the old display] looks cooler than what it does now.”

 Now, the area underneath the main entrance stairs features banners that say “Welcome to BEHS” and “Once a chieftain, always a chieftain.” East has maintained other displays meant to honor Native history, including a brick mural of the Omaha Chief Big Elk, who was known for his leadership and peacekeeping. Wagner said that the school is using Chief Big Elk as inspiration to create a new historical display that will be more representative.

“I want to kind of tie it back into the school a little more,” Wagner said. “What does it mean to be a Chieftain? How do we wrap that in so when our students walk by, do they say, yes, leadership, integrity, service to others?”

The new display will likely include depictions of the Chieftain head that is East’s mascot, as well as quotes from Native American chiefs. Wagner said they may also reuse certain artifacts from the original display.

“Sometimes we need things changed for certain purposes,” Bishop said. “The principal maybe was like, oh, we need to change this. We need it to represent more.”