The long-awaited summer break didn’t stop local seventh through 12th grade Native American students in and around the Woodland Joint Unified School District from completing Woodland’s newest artistic addition, a mural on the south side of the Douglass Middle School gymnasium on College Street.

The 60 by 30-foot cultural mural, which took four days to complete, was unveiled during a Friday morning celebration beginning at 10 a.m. and running until noon at the middle school located at 525 Granada Dr. Shane Grammer, of the Hope Through Art Foundation, served as the artistic director of the project and led a dozen students through its quick completion.

According to the WJUSD, the mural is the culmination of a series of cultural workshops for Native American students organized by the Native Dads Network and supported by the district’s American Indian Parent Committee.

“The goal of the workshops is to provide a safe space that supports cultural identity and community engagement for Native youth in the district,” stated Chairperson of the American Indian Parent Committee, Joshina Cluff. “The workshops also presented topics and discussions that will embody the visual representation for the mural.”

In attendance were key contributors to the planning and completion of the mural, including Founder and Executive Director of the Native Dads Network, Michael Duncan, a dozen local Native American teenage students, WJUSD Superintendent Elodia Ortega-Lampkin, the district’s Christina Lambie, Board of Trustees President Rogelio Villagrana, trustees Bibiana Garcia and Noel Rodriguez, Woodland Mayor Victoria Fernandez, Yolo County Supervisor Angel Barajas, Yuba Community College Trustee Jesse Ortiz, Grammer and a couple dozen other community members including students families.

“This is one of the proudest moments of my life based on the teamwork, vision, goal setting and accomplishing of it,” Duncan said. “To have this journey with my children and the community together is one of the best experiences I’ve had in my life.” Duncan mentioned the district and city were receptive to creating a mural, paid for by leftover funds from an Elevate Youth Grant. After speaking with Lambie and the American Indian Parent Committee, the lonely wall on the south side of Douglass Middle School was picked.

“The idea was to have our tribal kids involved every step of the way,” Duncan said. “It is exciting, as a young kid, I didn’t have these experiences or programs, so to be able to provide this for the community for the youth to experience this is awesome for them. I’m excited to see where they go from here. “This is great for everyone in the community. I’m very proud that this is just one part of our strategic plan with the Native Resource Center and the Native American Library that will be right across the street.”

In the heart of the mural, there are two main features. The first is a depiction of a young Native dancer that represents future Native generations. Right next to the dancer is a red dress that represents the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women organization, a major theme of the mural.

According to their website, the MMIW is a Native organization with a mission to “bring our missing home and help the families of the murdered cope and support them through the process of grief.”

Hope Through Art’s Shane Grammer, who served as an artistic director on the mural project poses for a photo with a dozen of the Native American students and other select attendees during the presentation of the mural on Friday, June 16. (Carlos Guerrero/Daily Democrat)Silhouettes off to the mural’s right represent Native ancestors, with the blue colors below representing water. The tule plants to the right represent a plant that was very influential to local Natives regarding ceremonies, baskets and shelter. An oak tree represents acorns that sustained the Native life for thousands of years.

Off to the right on an adjacent building is a handprint wall where artists and community members could paint their palms red and firmly place them on the wall to be a part of the mural.

“Today was so much fun,” Ortega-Lampkin said. “Talking with the students, you sense they are just boosting with pride. This brings a very beautiful visual art piece and boosts up our campus. It also boosts curiosity for kids and community members, so when people ask about it, we can discuss and learn more about the significance and why this wall was painted here with the Native American Center nearby.

“I love the murals. I love how the city and district worked together to ensure that different perspectives and cultures contribute to the city. I think it’s a beautiful thing. I think we are very lucky to be a very unique community that embraces diversity. We are here to support one another.”

The special project comes two weeks after the district held its first-ever Native Student Promotion and Graduation Ceremony earlier this month.

Youth artists include three recent WJUSD graduates in Sisario Duncan, Love Duncan and Younique Wethington, along with other students from West Sacramento and Davis, including Analycia Ramos, Kenai Cluff, Faith Geary, Joseph White, Jurni Smith, May Khem-Montiel, Alina Smith, Savannah Khem-Montiel and Olivia Guzman.

Following a student youth honoring ceremony where Grammer gave every student a photo and symbolic spray paint canister used during the process, the Patwin Dance Group performed a dance before the closing remarks and a lunch provided by Juice’s Tacos.

WOODLAND, Calif. – A space created to support and uplift Native American students now has a name that reflects its purpose and the deep cultural roots of the region.

The Native Student Resource Center, located at Douglass Middle School, will now be known as "Thicha Wole," a Wintun phrase meaning "Learning Room."

On April 17, the Woodland Joint Unified School District Board unanimously approved the new name, which was proposed by the District's American Indian Parent Committee (AIPC) in partnership with Native Dad's Network Executive Director Michael Duncan and with the support of other local Native families and community members. Pronounced Tee-Cha Woah-Lay, the name honors the Wintun people and the ancestral homeland on which the school and our District reside.

The name was proposed by community elder Pamela Gonzales and Michael Duncan. After discussions and consultation with Dr. Lewis C. Lawyer, a local UCD Professor and linguist, they came up with the name for the center. Lawyer also wrote the book "A Grammar of Patwin," a book on the Patwin language, and compiled the first Patwin dictionary, published privately by the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation in 2022.

The idea and intentional naming of the center derive from a need to go beyond the land acknowledgement and distinctly honor the history and contributions of the local Native peoples whose land we're on. It also highlights the center's role for the local community as a space for learning, gathering, and cultural exchange.

Originally opened in March 2023, the Native Student Resource Center serves as a meeting space, library, and hub for culturally focused learning and activities. The room is also used by school staff and outside organizations, although its primary purpose has been to support Native students and families. A part of the purpose and idea behind creating the center was community building, which helps to grow the Indian Education Programs' impact and opportunities for collaborations that help to strengthen cultural programming.

Over the past two years, the center has hosted cultural workshops, committee meetings, a community mural project led by the Native Dads Network, and the Stewardship of the Wintun/Patwin Homeland Teacher Institute in the summer of 2024.

Joshina Cluff, Chair of the American Indian Parent Committee, expressed pride in the new name.

"We are proud to see this space carry a name that comes from the local Native language and homeland," Cluff said. "The name 'Thicha Wole' embodies what the space provides our Native students and families. Opportunities to connect and or reconnect with culture and traditions to help strengthen our youths' academic experiences. It's also a reminder that our culture, language, and traditions belong in our schools and our community."

Superintendent Elodia Ortega-Lampkin expressed her support and appreciation for the community's leadership.

"Naming the center Thicha Wole is more than a symbolic gesture," Superintendent Ortega-Lampkin said. "It's a meaningful acknowledgment of the rich heritage of our Native American students, families, and community. We are proud to stand alongside our families in creating spaces where culture, identity, and education are celebrated."

WJUSD proudly serves nearly 10,000 students from preschool through adult education in the communities of Woodland, Knights Landing, Yolo, and Zamora. Our mission is to prepare and empower all students for a future of endless possibilities. In addition to core programs, WJUSD offers career technical education pathways, dual language immersion, robotics, visual and performing arts, athletics, and after-school and enrichment programs, as well as robust programs for English Language Learners, special needs students, gifted and talented education, independent study, and homeschooling.