Complications of Naming a Middle School in FW

Everything seems to be complicated with Federal Way Board meetings. Board members resigned, walk outs, anger. What process leads to this?

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Wails, tears and two dramatic walkouts — including a resignation — created a spectacle at a meeting last night to name a new Federal Way middle school.

In the end, the Federal Way School Board — which was supposed to come up with a name last night — decided to allow students to choose from a short list. It may be, however, that students don't get to pick from either of the two controversial suggestions that have sparked passionate debate in the community over recent weeks.

One of the controversial ideas came from seventh-grader Kara Dameron, 13. She thought the school should be named after Patrick Maher, a Federal Way police officer shot to death while trying to break up a fight in 2003.

But the idea does not fit with the district policy of naming middle schools after people, places or events from Native American literature.

That hasn't deterred Dameron, who has collected nearly 500 signatures from parents and others supporting the idea. To help the cause, Maher was posthumously adopted into a tribal group calling itself the Little Shell Pembina of North America. The group is not federally recognized.

The second controversial suggestion that gained momentum among many Native Americans was naming the school after Robert Satiacum, a Puyallup tribal chairman who once tossed nets into the Puyallup River with actor Marlon Brando to protest legal restrictions barring Native Americans from fishing there.

But while Satiacum is credited with winning landmark fishing rights for Native Americans, he later lived on the run in Canada after he was convicted of racketeering and of molesting a 10-year-old girl. He died in 1991.

The drama at last night's meeting began when the board voted 3-2 to toss the decision back to future students at the middle school, after the board comes up with a list of about five names in two weeks.

Board member Earl VanDorien voted against the idea — then resigned and walked out.

"What are we teaching kids — that adults can't make decisions?" said VanDorien, who tearfully hugged supporters in the lobby. He later clarified that he supported naming the school after Maher, but had planned to resign to spend more time with family.

About 30 Puyallup Tribe members soon joined him; they also walked out after demanding Satiacum's name be withdrawn because the district showed poor leadership.

Before leaving, Chester Earl, a relative of Satiacum's, told the board the tribe was throwing its support behind Maher. "Don't lose a second chance to honor a man," he said.

But unless the board gives in to community pressure, it is likely to give students a list of uncontroversial alternatives. Students who may attend the new school already came up with some suggestions. One is to name the school Mesika, a Salish word meaning "you" or "yours"; another is to name it Klahanie, another Salish word meaning "outdoors," according to some translations.

A final decision likely will come in four to six weeks.

The $17 million school is to open in the fall, at 32nd Avenue South and South 360th Street, near Five Mile Lake. Up to 800 students in sixth through eighth grades will attend the school, which will emphasize science and math.

Nick Perry: 206-515-5639 or nperry@seattletimes.com

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