News
Native American Mascots Challenged
Washington’s Board of Education passes resolution encouraging school ban them
can mascots on
students.
The resolution
also mentions
the
widening
achievement gap
between Native
American and
other students
and the call by a
number
of
national organi-
zations
and
tribes for this
change.
``We are in the business of edu-
cating students,’’ Board member
Bernal Baca said in a statement.
``We need to remove any barrier
Washington’s resolution, which is similar to
resolution passed by the board in 1993, was
inspired by research by the American
Psychological Association citing the adverse
effects of Native American mascots on students
Page 12 The Portland Skanner October 3, 2012
tory, but he added that the issue
deserved more research.
Other Washington communities
have had acrimonious battles
over retiring a Native American
mascot, including some districts
close to Reardan. The Colville
Indians asked the Colville High
School Indians to find a new
name in 1997, but they’re still the
Indians today.
Ten schools have changed their
names in the past decade, includ-
ing Eatonville Middle School,
which went from the Warriors to
the Eagles; Eisenhower Middle
School in Everett, which went
from the Warriors to the Patriots
and Issaquah High School, which
changed from the Indians to the
Eagles.
About 10 tribal schools or those
on Washington reservations also
have Native American mascots,
but the majority of schools in the
state with Indian mascots are part
of their community’s long-stand-
ing history.
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that will impede student suc-
cess.’’
Marcus Morgan, superinten-
dent of the Reardan-Edwall
School District near Spokane,
said the issued hadn’t been raised
during his tenure with the school
district but was open to the idea
of discussing now.
All of Reardan’s sports teams
are the Indians and about a quar-
ter of the district population are
Native American or Alaskan
Native students.
``I think it’s maybe time to ask
the questions,’’ Morgan said Fri-
day.
He said he would probably
make some calls to tribal leaders
as well as the school board and
other community leaders to see if
this is an issue the community
wants to tackle.
Reardan schools have a long
tradition of Native American stu-
dents, as well as having
enthusiastic sports fans, Morgan
said. He doesn’t think the Indian
mascot has been seen as deroga-
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SEATTLE (AP) — The state
Board of Education is making
another attempt at encouraging
Washington schools to replace
their Native American mascots.
In the past decade, about 10
schools have given up their Indian
mascots. But another 50, including
tribal schools, are holding fast to
their nicknames as warriors,
braves, redskins and red devils.
The state board passed a resolu-
tion on Wednesday urging districts
to stop using Native American
mascots, but as board spokesman
Aaron Wyatt acknowledges, it
does not have the authority to
mandate this change.
There are no consequences for
schools that do not voluntarily
choose a new mascot, Wyatt said
Friday.
Oregon’s state Board of Educa-
tion voted in May to ban Native
American mascots, nicknames and
logos. Schools in that state have
five years to comply. Eight Ore-
gon high schools are affected.
Washington’s resolution, which
is similar to resolution passed by
the board in 1993, was inspired by
research by the American Psycho-
logical Association citing the
adverse effects of Native Ameri-
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By Donna Gordon
Blankinship
The Associated Press