Measure to ban Native American school mascots gets state House hearing
Members of the state House heard strong support and some skepticism Friday, Feb. 5, in a public hearing on a measure to stop Washington high schools from using Native American symbols as their mascots, a step Bellingham High is already taking.
Democratic state Rep. Debra Lekanoff of Bow, who introduced the measure, told The Bellingham Herald that she is optimistic for its passage.
“Bellingham should have pride in this bill. It does reflect our values and the values of the people in this area,” Lekanoff said.
“It’s the right thing to do. Let’s do the right thing,” she said.
House Bill 1356 would ban Native American names, symbols and images in public school mascots, logos or team names starting Jan. 1, 2022.
It doesn’t affect schools within Washington state’s 29 tribes.
Lekanoff, who represents the 40th Legislative District that includes southern Whatcom County and part of Bellingham, is an Alaska native with Tlingit and Aleut heritage and the Legislature’s only Indigenous woman.
“It’s a good time to grow and find balance,” Lekanoff told The Herald. “Respecting your neighbors isn’t a Republican thing or a Democratic thing. We’re still a community, putting politics aside.”
Bellingham Red Raiders
Meanwhile, officials at Bellingham Public Schools are seeking to change Bellingham High School’s mascot from the Red Raiders to distance itself from Indigenous cultural appropriation.
School officials are forming a task force to address the issue, The Bellingham Herald reported last month.
Bellingham High’s nickname has been the Red Raiders since the school opened in 1938, and its mascot was a Native American image until 2000.
That’s when the mascot was changed to a red-tailed hawk, but the Red Raiders nickname remained.
School district spokeswoman Dana Smith told The Herald that the new renaming effort is about “inclusion and social justice.”
Public hearing
Several students, including non-Native Americans, spoke in support of the bill during Friday’s online hearing, according to an Associated Press report.
Bill Kallappa, a member of the state Board of Education and an educational liaison for the Nisqually Tribe, said the state board supports the measure.
State Rep. Joel McIntire, R-Aberdeen, asked if polling had been done to determine if some Native Americans supported the use of such mascots, the AP reported.
As it stands, HB 1536 still must clear the House Education Committee, said Lekanoff’s aide Megan Stockhausen.
If Lekanoff’s measure clears the committee, it still must be scheduled for a House vote and then go to the Senate for a vote before being sent to Gov. Jay Inslee for consideration.
The Associated Press contributed to the report.
