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Team names under scrutiny

State ban on Native American mascots proposed

By Angie Landsverk


The Weyauwega-Fremont School District is waiting to see what comes of a proposal to ban Native American mascots and nicknames in the state.

Earlier this month, the Wausau School Board unanimously approved a proposal recommending lawmakers introduce legislation to get rid of mascots in Wisconsin that may be seen as offensive and intolerable.

The resolution is being sent to the Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB) later this year.

WASB will then decide whether it wants to to put it before the school boards for a vote when the annual state education convention takes place in January.

While “Indians” is W-F’s nickname, the district uses a motion W-F for its logo and does not have a mascot.

As gym floors were resurfaced through the years and new athletic and band uniforms purchased, the district transitioned from using the nickname, replacing it with the motion W-F logo.

The Menominee tribe is believed to have been the prevalent group in the area when Europeans settled the territory in the early 1840s.

The name “Weyauwega” is said to be of Menominee heritage and to mean “here we rest.”

Community heritage

During past discussions, former administrators noted the nickname was based on the community’s heritage and said no one from the community had ever complained that the use of the nickname was offensive.

Board member Tim Baehnman noted the only place he sees an actual picture of a Native American is on the side of the old fire station.

Jodi Alix, principal of the district’s middle and high schools, said school organizations have tried to stay away from using the nickname.

“Either way, I think we’re going to have to address it down the road,” Baehnman said.

District Administrator Phillip Tubbs said at some point, the district may want to survey the community about the topic.

Board President Kurt Duxbury grew up in Mosinee.

That district’s nickname is also “Indians.”

Duxbury said the same discussion has been going on there for years.

Prior legislation

This is not the first time this has been a topic of discussion in the state.

In 2010, former Gov. Jim Doyle signed a law allowing any resident of a school district to complain about race-based team names and logos to Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction (DPI).

The department could have forced the district to change the name if it found it discriminatory.

That law was rewritten in 2013, during Gov. Scott Walker’s administration.

It then required that the equivalent of at least 10% of a district’s student population sign a complaint for it to be valid, and also removed the ability of the DPI to conduct its own hearings.

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