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North Haven BOE Votes to Retire Indians’ Caricature as School Mascot

The North Haven Board of Education (BOE) voted earlier this month to formally and finally retire the image of an Indian caricature the high school had been using as a school mascot, the latest step in a years-long process of reconsidering both the word “Indians” and the image. That means old uniforms with the old image on it will be retired. Some of those older uniforms were still in use.

A vote on retiring the “Indians” name will be held at the July meeting with the specific date to be announced in the coming weeks. Both the image and the name are increasingly considered by many to be derogatory.

The discussion of the use of the “Indians” as the mascot for North Haven Public Schools (NHPS) began in 2015. At that time, it was decided that when orders for new uniforms were placed, that the new uniforms would carry the town’s name and not the mascot. The image still appears on some uniforms ordered before the 2015-’16 school year.

Should the BOE vote to retire the name along with the image, it would be effective going forward and “nothing from the past will be removed or erased,” according to Superintendent of Schools Patrick Stirk. If the BOE votes to retire the name, a discussion concerning a new mascot would follow. The public has had the opportunity to speak out on both sides of the issue over the years, and the BOE has done extensive research on the subject.

Last July, the BOE said in a statement that the BOE “sees it as a moral imperative to undergo a thorough review to determine whether or not our mascot continues to align with our vision, core mission, and obligations under state law, including the statutory obligation to ‘reduce racial, ethnic, and economic isolation’ of our students.” The full statement along with an FAQ section and resource documents is posted on the NHPS website, northhavenschools.org, under “News and Announcements.” In addition, the BOE is developing a binder of supporting materials.

BOE Chair Anita Anderson said members of the public can email members of the BOE and that all emails will be read and considered. Email addresses for BOE members can be found on the NHPS website under the “Board of Education” tab.

“The district is currently reviewing and updating curriculum pertaining to Native American history and culture,” said Stirk. “The district’s social studies coordinator and diversity and inclusion coach collaborated to expand upon the district’s current curricular offerings.”