If you’ve walked through the front entrance of Sequoia’s main building, you’ve certainly seen the large purple and white banner proudly proclaiming, “WELCOME TO SEQUOIA.” Beneath the text is Sequoia’s emblem, featuring the name of the school, a redwood tree, and “unaliyi,” a word claimed to mean “a place of friends” in Cherokee. What you likely haven’t seen is the mural that the banner covers, depicting the meeting of two groups of Spanish missionaries, including the man who established California’s missions, Father Serra, and indigenous people.

The mural was painted in 1947 by a group of students and their art teacher. The mural was meant to show the history of the El Camino, the road which Sequoia is built on and which was used to establish California’s missions. In recent decades, it has been the subject of criticism from those who find the mural to be ahistorical and offensive.

The mural is an inaccurate depiction of how Native Americans were treated by missionaries, which was often brutal and inhumane. The Native Americans are depicted as subservient, while Father Serra is depicted as caring for them much more than what is historically accurate. In Jan. 2009, GoPetition user Marcia made a petition for the removal of the mural, with over 120 signatures.

“We are asking that Native Americans and members of the Sequoia High School Community who find the mural depicting California Natives as “servant boys” to Father Junipero Serra offensive and a glorification of our colonialism to please sign on to the e-petition request addressed to the school board,” Marcia said.

Despite its controversial reputation, the banner currently covering the mural serves to stop most students from ever seeing it in person.

“I’ve never really seen it because the big white banner was already there,” junior Roman Pepa said. “It’s weird because I don’t know if the school administration’s ever talked about it or decided about moving it.”

In the past, Sequoia has had troubles with its representation of Native Americans, particularly with its old “Cherokee” mascot. In the early 2000s, following outcry from students and teachers as well as a direct letter from Cherokee Principal Chief Chad in Dec. 2000, who described Sequoia’s mascot as a “negative and stereotypical portrayal of American Indian People,” Sequoia began replacing the mascot in favor of the “Ravens.”

While the student outcry didn’t cause the mural to be removed, it was covered in 2020 following the outbreak of Black Lives Matter protests, with the official reason being to avoid vandalism.

“There was a lot of public vandalism going on at the time, [and] that mural over the years had received a number of complaints [and] had been targeted by a variety of people as being problematic and we felt it might be a good time to protect it,” Principal Sean Priest said.

Before being covered by the banner, Special Education teacher Dylan Shelley brought up concerns about the mural to Mr. Priest.

“I expressed the concern to Mr. Priest and that was his decision to, in my opinion, kind of middle the road. Taking it down might have upset some of the alumni, […] covering it was that middle ground,” Shelley said.

While the Sequoia High School Alumni Association has never made a statement regarding the mural, the banner has been taken down to show the mural during some alumni picnics. Shelley also expressed that he feels many students weren’t taught the full context of what the mural depicts.

“This aspect of California history, of Native American history, it’s largely unknown. This is 1769 to 1821 […] It’s part of California’s tourist industry. They promoted this myth that there was a peaceful cultural exchange between the Spanish and the Native Americans and it absolutely was not that, and the mural promotes that pretty heavily,” Shelley said. “There’s even one part of the mural where a priest is down on one knee trying to help a Native American. That’s not an accident, that’s an image trying to be put out.”

In a letter about the subject, Shelley pushed for students to try to work towards the removal of the mural.

“The Sequoia students I know would not paint this mural honoring the people who enslaved and abused California’s original inhabitants. What message are we sending to our students and visitors of Sequoia with this mural? I have no doubt, if done democratically, our student body could come up with an excellent and appropriate mural subject,” Shelley said.

According to Mr. Priest, the school hasn’t settled on a plan regarding the mural and will be keeping the banner for the time being, however it is possible the frame will be taken off the wall and the mural donated for historical preservation.