Washington state Board of Education pushes schools to replace their Native American mascots‏

Universities and colleges have been harassed over this for some years and now it seems to be the turn of the High Schools

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 resolution 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 Education voted in May to ban Native American mascots, nicknames and logos. Schools in that state have five years to comply. Eight Oregon 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 Psychological Association citing the adverse effects of Native American 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 organizations and tribes for this change.

Ten schools have changed their names in the past decade, including 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-standing history.

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