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October
9, 2006
VOL.
44, NO. 17Oakland,
CA
Salesian High
to retire Chieftain mascot
seen as offensive to native peoples
Salesian High
School in Richmond has decided to retire its longtime mascot, the Chieftain,
after administrators agreed that the symbol, though portrayed on campus
as a wise and positive figure, had unintentionally offended people of
native cultures.
The decision came after a year of research and dialog within the school
community, said Salesian Father Nicholas Reina, Salesian High president.
The school spent the past school year educating students about the controversy
surrounding the mascot and how some mascots are viewed negatively
“In our history we’ve never portrayed it as something derogatory,
but at the same time some people feel that it could lend itself to that,”
Father Reina said.
Originally the site of a seminary for the Salesian community, the high
school was established in 1960 and the mascot of the first sports team
is believed to have been the Chiefs.
At some point in the mid-1960s the name changed to the Chieftain, Father
Reina said. The mascot, an Indian head with an Indian headdress, was portrayed
as a noble figure, he said.
Within the past decade, the use of Native American images as team mascots
and in team names has come under increased scrutiny by Native American
organizations.
In 2001, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights called for an end to the
use of Native American images and names by schools that were not associated
with native communities.
Although Salesian High linked the symbol of the Chieftain to school pride,
it did so without understanding the deeper meaning behind the image. A
document called the Principal’s Position Paper, posted on the school’s
website
(www.salesian.com), acknowledged
that the image “had nothing to do with indigenous culture from the
Bay Area nor tribal history in California.”
Explaining that Native American people do not feel honored by mascots
that make use of “Indian” references, the position paper said
there could not be any compromise such as the suggestion by some to keep
the name but not use the headdresses and drums often associated with the
mascot at school activities. The decision to change the mascot is right
“because it is what we ought to do now,” the paper stated.
Although the decision to change the mascot was announced earlier this
year, the mascot issue has been raised repeatedly over the years, going
back to at least 1995. The issue was tabled every time it was raised for
a variety of reasons – in hindsight, according to an article on
the school’s website, “perhaps they were excuses.”
When the mascot issue was again brought to the school’s Administrative
Council in the fall of 2005 each member was urged to research the issue.
The school’s alumni association was also called upon to look at
the issue and seek feedback from its members.
Following months of discussion, the administrative council decided unanimously
to act on the mascot change. The decision was subsequently endorsed by
the board of directors and the governing body of the Salesian Community.
While the decision to change the mascot has garnered both support and
resistance, most people have endorsed the decision after learning more
about the issue, said Father Reina. Most students are excited about the
change and the novelty of having “something new,” he said.
Students are playing an active role in helping select the new mascot and
have been encouraged to visit the website and offer their suggestions.
It is hoped that a new mascot will be chosen by the spring of 2007 to
coincide with the dedication of newly renovated athletic fields at the
Salesian campus. “As we dedicate the new fields we hope to introduce
the new mascot,” Father Reina said.
