SHAWANO, WI (WTAQ) – Shawano School Board has joined the voices in the Wausau School District requesting the state to look at eliminating offensive mascots.
At a recent meeting, Shawano School Board unanimously voted to join Wausau School District in supporting a resolution that would ban Native American related Mascots.
The Shawano School Board president was presented with the information by the Wausau School Board, asking for the board to support their efforts.
Shawano Board Member Mart Grams originally said it is not the district’s business to take a stance on, but changed his mind when he heard voices speak out against the mascots at the last meeting.
“I thought, maybe it is time we stop making fun of people’s stereotypes.”
He said at first, he seemed to be the only one against supporting the resolution, but for him, the tipping point was hearing directly from people who are impacted.
Several area residents spoke out in favor of the board supporting the ban.
One of those voices was a man who spent time dressed as the Shawano Indian Mascot decades ago and wants to see a change made.
“How it affected him I thought that it was time that we just get rid of that stuff,” he said. “I felt that it was more than just a moral position, it was more of a statement that maybe we have been doing this for too long.”
Shawano had previously had the Indian as a mascot until 1993, when the board voted to change it to today’s mascot, to Hawks.
Grams says he still has some Shawano Indian apparel.
“I was proud to be a Shawano Indian, but it might be time to stop.”
He says the question still is what should be included.
“There were some like the Tomahawk Tomahawks or Warrior, that depends on what their mascot looks like on the court or on the field.”
Grams said it was important for the board to take a stance since they have Native American students in their district and Shawano itself is located near three reservations.
“What really grabbed me were two issues. One was evidence that it leads to lower learning and lower reading scores, etc. The one that bothered me … was the listing of the 31 schools with mascots, and I would take those as serious, as demeaning. Even if it is just subtle, sometimes subtle discrimination tends to be the harshest.”
