High school Indian mascots changing?

[Mountain Man Hawk]

With it looking likely that the Cleveland Indians will choose a new mascot, it’s logical to wonder if that will extend down to high schools. Off the top of my head I can think of many Iowa high schools with similar names. Some like Sigourney Savages seem the most likely to change I would think. It’s also interesting to think of teams like the Indianola Indians finding the Indians inappropriate while keeping Indianola. Obviously in Iowa it’s pretty common for both the town name and the mascot to be based on Indians (Oskaloosa Indians, etc).

The tipping point for the pro teams was their corporate sponsors like FedEx threatening to dump them if they didn’t change and there probably won’t be any financial pressure on high schools so it could be quite awhile before things change. I’ll be surprised if they don’t all change sooner or later but it may take many years for it all to happen. For instance I was reading that the Stanford Indians changed to the Cardinal 40 years ago so this could be a very gradual process.

Anyway, just curious if anyone is hearing of any changes at the high school level that appear imminent.

 

[alaskanseminole]

 

[LuciousBDragon]

I worry about Indianola. They will be forced to not only change the mascot, but the whole town.

Indigenousola Indigenouses!

Say that five times fast.

 

[Mountain Man Hawk]

Here’s an interesting article about a school in Utah where there is some controversy over the mascot (Braves) and the mayor is pushing back.



A petition to change a high school mascot has led to fierce resistance in a largely white Utah town, where many are defending the Bountiful Braves as a way to honor American Indians and are supported by the mayor, who has told one woman to be “less easily offended.”
https://www.sltrib.com/news/education/2020/07/09/high-schools-american/

 

[OrlandNole]

I live in a town that was a site of a Civil War battle and has a lot of culture and history built around it. There's a petition to change the mascot of one of the local high schools from "Rebels" and to remove the Confederate flag from the county flag. It will be interesting to see how that goes.

 

[strummingram]

That's coming... I mean, going.

 

[naturalmwa]

It’s about time. America always does the right thing after it’s tried everything else.

 

[mthawkeyes]

Many of the reservation high schools in Montana have Native American mascots. Browning Indians, Heart Butte Warriors, Lodge Grass Indians, Ronan Chiefs/Maidens, Poplar Indians, etc. Others use imagery related to Native American culture, like the Hays-Lodgepole Thunder Birds and the Lame Deer Morning Stars.

 

[Menace Sockeyes]

Marion High School still stubbornly clings to the Indians (with the FSU spear logo). Not surprising if you know Marion...

 

[Black Lab Hawk]

That's coming... I mean, going.

Doesn’t FSU have a solid agreement with the Seminole tribe? Based on that I don’t see why it would go....

 

[cigaretteman]

It’s about time. America always does the right thing after it’s tried everything else.

Thank you Winston Churchill!

 

[Mountain Man Hawk]

That's coming... I mean, going.

I’ve personally always thought of that as honoring the Seminoles, and I would imagine as long as the Seminole tribe is OK with it they can still use the name, but with all of the pushback against blackface recently it’s hard to see how someone putting on a headdress with a spear is different. Maybe as long as they always have a Native American student be the one wearing the costume this can continue a bit longer but I would think this is living on borrowed time.

 

[cigaretteman]

Many of the reservation high schools in Montana have Native American mascots. Browning Indians, Heart Butte Warriors, Lodge Grass Indians, Ronan Chiefs/Maidens, Poplar Indians, etc. Others use imagery related to Native American culture, like the Hays-Lodgepole Thunder Birds and the Lame Deer Morning Stars.

Probably still resentful of losing the County Seat to Cedar Rapids in the early 20th century, even though Marion is the earlier established city, but was eclipsed by CR.

 

[strummingram]

Doesn’t FSU have a solid agreement with the Seminole tribe? Based on that I don’t see why it would go....

The Redskins logo was drawn and submitted by the Blackfeet tribe in South Dakota. They wanted to be associated with the organization. Didn't matter in the end.

They will all be changed. Chiefs, Indians, Warriors, Braves, Tribe, etc., are all mocking Native American culture, according to the people who are offended by them.

 

[strummingram]

I’ve personally always thought of that as honoring the Seminoles, and I would imagine as long as the Seminole tribe is OK with it they can still use the name, but with all of the pushback against blackface recently it’s hard to see how someone putting on a headdress with a spear is different. Maybe as long as they always have a Native American student be the one wearing the costume this can continue a bit longer but I would think this is living on borrowed time.

The Redskins logo was drawn and submitted by the Blackfeet tribe in South Dakota. They wanted to be associated with the organization. Didn't matter in the end.

They will all be changed. Chiefs, Indians, Warriors, Braves, Tribe, etc., are all mocking Native American culture, according to the people who are offended by them.

 

[mthawkeyes]

The Redskins logo was drawn and submitted by the Blackfeet tribe in Montana. They wanted to be associated with the organization. Didn't matter in the end.

They will all be changed. Chiefs, Indians, Warriors, Braves, Tribe, etc., are all mocking Native American culture, according to the people who are offended by them.

 

[iowanole1]

The Redskins logo was drawn and submitted by the Blackfeet tribe in South Dakota. They wanted to be associated with the organization. Didn't matter in the end.

They will all be changed. Chiefs, Indians, Warriors, Braves, Tribe, etc., are all mocking Native American culture, according to the people who are offended by them.

Not even close to the same thing. The Seminole tribe of Florida and FSU have amazing relationship. FSU honors the tribe (there are displays in Moore Athletic Center), provides scholarships to any tribe members who want to attend and works hand in hand with the tribe on decision making. The Marching Chiefs (FSU's band) plays at Seminole tribe events. The garb that you see on Osceola and Renegade are authentic and provided by the Seminole tribe. There is a huge difference in what FSU does and teams like the Braves, Redskins, ect. The Seminoles aren't going away.

 

[strummingram]

Not even close to the same thing. The Seminole tribe of Florida and FSU have amazing relationship. FSU honors the tribe (there are displays in Moore Athletic Center), provides scholarships to any tribe members who want to attend and works hand in hand with the tribe on decision making. The Marching Chiefs (FSU's band) plays at Seminole tribe events. The garb that you see on Osceola and Renegade are authentic and provided by the Seminole tribe. There is a huge difference in what FSU does and teams like the Braves, Redskins, ect. The Seminoles aren't going away.

Yes, they are going away. It's just a matter of time. Sorry.

 

[iowanole1]

Yes, they are going away. It's just a matter of time. Sorry.

There's a better chance of the ACC having decent leadership that isn't part of the tobacco road mafia than there is the Seminole name being removed from FSU. The odds on the first one is zero (as you are probably well aware of).

 

[Douglas C. Neidermeyer]

Mason City’s mascot was named after the punk style haircut of the 70’s and 80’s. Right?

So…that should remain.

anyone? Anyone?

 

[Mountain Man Hawk]

There's a better chance of the ACC having decent leadership that isn't part of the tobacco road mafia than there is the Seminole name being removed from FSU. The odds on the first one is zero (as you are probably well aware of).

I don’t disagree about the name, but what about the guy riding a horse dressed up in war paint? With all of the talk recently about cultural appropriation and blackface, it’s hard to make a case why that is different.

 

[kc78]

There's a better chance of the ACC having decent leadership that isn't part of the tobacco road mafia than there is the Seminole name being removed from FSU. The odds on the first one is zero (as you are probably well aware of).

I think at some point it's going to go away whether we like it or not. While the Florida Seminole Tribe likes it, they aren't the only Seminoles and others have pushed against it.

For now I think we're safe due to how much push we get from the local tribe, but at some point, the NCAA is going to likely ban all names of that form and we'll be forced to change. I don't think it'll happen soon, but one day.

 

[hawkcub]

I think the Oklahoma Seminoles have a problem with it while the Florida ones do not. Also read the Florida Seminoles pretty much makes it rain while the Oklahoma one is very poor.

 

[alaskanseminole]

That's coming... I mean, going.

Not as long as we keep payin....er um, I mean working with the Seminole Tribe of Florida.

 

[alaskanseminole]

I think the Oklahoma Seminoles have a problem with it while the Florida ones do not. Also read the Florida Seminoles pretty much makes it rain while the Oklahoma one is very poor.

This.

It's all about the Benjamins.

FSU Admin was pretty smart on this one.

 

[fsu1jreed]

That's coming... I mean, going.

Considering that the Seminole in Florida backs the school, then it will be awhile on thos instance.

 

[Mattski]

Marion High School still stubbornly clings to the Indians (with the FSU spear logo). Not surprising if you know Marion...

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Not surprising a lefty reporter paints a town of 30,000 as a collection of horrible racists, and one of our resident idiots laps it right up.

 

[CJBauer]

about 3 years ago there was an online petition to change our high school's mascot...it had 1500 or so signatures...the counter petition to keep the name had over 4500 signatures and the matter died down...but it looks like the conversation is starting up again...

https://www.echo-pilot.com/news/20200713/neshaminy-council-rock-north-nicknames-under-scrutiny-again

 

[mnole03]

What about Dog-Faced Pony Soldiers?

 

[Menace Sockeyes]

Not surprising a lefty reporter paints a town of 30,000 as a collection of horrible racists, and one of our resident idiots laps it right up.

Not what she said, but I don’t expect you to grasp nuance. Talk to someone from Cedar Rapids about the Marion PD.

 

[strummingram]

There's a better chance of the ACC having decent leadership that isn't part of the tobacco road mafia than there is the Seminole name being removed from FSU. The odds on the first one is zero (as you are probably well aware of).

I'm sorry. I don't have any control over that, either. I thought it was a myth that fans of schools outside of NC actually whine about such things.

Native American themed mascots are on the way out.

 

[HotelAlphaWilcoKilo]

Marion High School still stubbornly clings to the Indians (with the FSU spear logo). Not surprising if you know Marion...

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Devil's advocate positions are microaggressions?

 

[HotelAlphaWilcoKilo]

Mason City’s mascot was named after the punk style haircut of the 70’s and 80’s. Right?

So…that should remain.

anyone? Anyone?

Hey, they got rid of the giant anorexic Mohawk painting in the gym. Isn't that enough?!

 

[blhawk]

The Redskins logo was drawn and submitted by the Blackfeet tribe in South Dakota. They wanted to be associated with the organization. Didn't matter in the end.

They will all be changed. Chiefs, Indians, Warriors, Braves, Tribe, etc., are all mocking Native American culture, according to the people who are offended by them.

Braves already said they aren't changing

 

[strummingram]

Braves already said they aren't changing

So did Dan Snyder... before. He even said "NEVER... you can use all caps." Never came pretty quick.

 

[Nat Algren]

 

[IamHawkeye]

The Redskins logo was drawn and submitted by the Blackfeet tribe in South Dakota. They wanted to be associated with the organization. Didn't matter in the end.

They will all be changed. Chiefs, Indians, Warriors, Braves, Tribe, etc., are all mocking Native American culture, according to the people who are offended by them.

Chiefs, Warriors, do not have to be associated with Native Americans. I would also say tribe doesn't either. And Brave? Wasn't there a movie.............?All those words were used long before they were applied to Native Americans.

 

[IamHawkeye]

With it looking likely that the Cleveland Indians will choose a new mascot, it’s logical to wonder if that will extend down to high schools. Off the top of my head I can think of many Iowa high schools with similar names. Some like Sigourney Savages seem the most likely to change I would think. It’s also interesting to think of teams like the Indianola Indians finding the Indians inappropriate while keeping Indianola. Obviously in Iowa it’s pretty common for both the town name and the mascot to be based on Indians (Oskaloosa Indians, etc).

The tipping point for the pro teams was their corporate sponsors like FedEx threatening to dump them if they didn’t change and there probably won’t be any financial pressure on high schools so it could be quite awhile before things change. I’ll be surprised if they don’t all change sooner or later but it may take many years for it all to happen. For instance I was reading that the Stanford Indians changed to the Cardinal 40 years ago so this could be a very gradual process.

Anyway, just curious if anyone is hearing of any changes at the high school level that appear imminent.

I thought Sigourney became the "Savage Cobras."

 

[strummingram]

Chiefs, Warriors, do not have to be associated with Native Americans. I would also say tribe doesn't either. And Brave? Wasn't there a movie.............?All those words were used long before they were applied to Native Americans.

Okay... keep telling yourself that! lol

You must not be aware of the times in which you live.

 

[Mattski]

Not what she said, but I don’t expect you to grasp nuance. Talk to someone from Cedar Rapids about the Marion PD.

Did you read the article and not read the 2nd tweet you posted? There is nothing nuanced about her thoughts on the subject, but nice job going along with her generalizations of an entire community. Wouldnt expect anything less of you.