Legislation would ban use of Native American mascots, logos, team names

Some state legislators are looking to prohibit public schools from using Native American-themed mascots, logos or team names with a bill moving through the legislature.

Cody Marlow, principal of Wahluke High School in Mattawa, said he is OK with House Bill 1356 passing. The school’s teams are named the Warriors, and the logo includes a design of a profile of a Native American.

If HB 1356 is signed into law, public schools would not be able to use Native American names, symbols or images as mascots, logos or team names. However, there would be an exception for schools that meet certain requirements, according to the bill’s text.

One of the requirements is consultation with a tribe located in the school district, according to the bill’s text. For a public school to use a name, symbol or image, the tribe would have to authorize it through an “appropriate enactment or resolution.”

Marlow said his school district does not feel the need to make any changes to its mascot, logo or team name at this time because the school has a good relationship with the Wanapum tribe.

“I haven’t had any personal experience with people being negative about why we have a Native American logo,” Marlow said.

The Wanapum, which means River People, live along the Columbia River, according to the Wanapum Heritage Center’s website. The Grant County Public Utility District has been working alongside the tribe for more than 60 years to preserve natural and cultural resources.

Marlow said Wahluke High School has been working with the tribe since day one. A conversation about the school’s mascot began sometime around 1986. The idea for the school’s logo came from two students who attended the school in the past.

Lorraine Jenne, school board president of the Wahluke School District, said the school’s mascot not only honors the Wanapum people, but also received the tribe’s blessing. Tribe members also helped with some of the design and artwork on school buildings.

“The relationship that we have with the Wanapum people is good,” Jenne said. “We work with them. We reach out to them. We respect them, and they reach out to us.”

Marlow said other school districts in the nation may have received backlash for their use of Native-American imagery because they did not build a connection with the tribes around them.

“I am really fortunate to be in this community and extremely fortunate to have the relationship that I do with the Wanapums,” Marlow said. “It’s been just a great relationship, and I look forward to many more years.”

As such, WHS may be able to keep its team name and logo if HB 1356 becomes law, if the school takes the bill’s prescribed steps.

Rep. Debra Lekanoff, D-Bow, is HB 1356’s primary sponsor. Lekanoff, a Tlingit tribe member, is the only Native American serving in the state legislature.

The bill passed out of committee Friday. The House had not voted on HB 1356 as of Tuesday.

The National Congress of American Indians says there are about 1,900 schools nationwide that continue to use tribal mascots. There are 31 in Washington state, Lekanoff has said, according to an Associated Press report.

“We have to respect everybody’s culture,” state Rep. Alex Ybarra, R-Quincy, said Friday in support of the bill, according to AP. “We have to listen to their points of view. This bill will help that effort.”

State Rep. Bob McCaslin, R-Spokane Valley, said he wanted to ensure schools that have already consulted with tribes about the use of Native American mascots are accounted for.

“There is no one-size-fits-all for every school district,” he said in an AP report.