Changing mascot names are a slippery slope

While an earthquake did not hit Napa, CA, Thursday night like it did in August 2014,
there was definitely a seismic shift on another front.

To the non-surprise but chagrin of some and delight of others, the Napa Valley Unified
School District Board of Education voted unanimously to change the mascot name of
both the Napa High Indians and Redwood Middle School Warriors. Within the past year,
school board meetings have been amplified with both supporters and detractors of the
change.

The Indian mascot will be officially retired on June 30, 2018. The new name is not decided
at the present time.  

Napa High will have until next February to identify a new name and logo, and it must
replace all Indian imagery by June 30, 2021.

Redwood Middle School will also have until June 2021 to replace the current Warriors
imagery with something else.

Changes such as this one have occurred throughout the United States in recent years. Those
in favor of such moves normally make arguments that include but are not limited to using
Native American names and images being offensive and racist to indigenous people.

Supporters of such mascot names insist that the names honor Native Americans rather than
stereotyping them. Such people also lambaste those in favor of the change because of
political correctness.

The view on mascots and what they represent is in the eye of the beholder. That said, I am
not in favor of changing such mascots but to those who oppose my view, I’m not going to
change them. While I’m a firm believer in everyone having the right to their point of view,
the pitfalls are that regardless of issue, too many people think their opinion represents all.
It does not, it only represents yours and those who share your point of view. I have met
those with Native American roots say they don’t like what the mascot depictions represent.
However, I have met countless other utter things to the effect of “I’m part Choctaw, Mayan
Indian, etc, and I don’t find it offensive.” My point is, if it doesn’t bother them, why should
it bother me?

Some of the changes seen in Northern California include but are not limited to Salesian
(Richmond) High going from Chieftons to Pride. Kelseyville went from Indians to Knights.
Vallejo High went from Apaches to Redhawks. Napa Valley College went from Superchiefs
to Storm. Sonoma State went from Cossacks to Seawolves.

Changes like this appear well-intended on the surface but serve as an opening to undraw
other lines. What’s next, bird lovers don’t want names like Cardinals or Eagles? Atheists
don’t want names like Saints? Can you say “slippery slope?” I could name countless other
examples but in the interest of space, I won’t.

As one who graduated from the University of Nebraska, I was there when the marketing
staff began making a push to go from Cornhuskers to Huskers. The perception was that
those on the coastal states thought of Nebraskans as a bunch of hayseeds. As if changing
the mascot name was going to suddenly change people’s perceptions.

The timing of the change for Napa High and Redwood Middle School also shows the
NVUSD’s stupidity. The district is $12 million in debt and with enrollment on the sharp
decline because of housing costs driving families out, that figure is not likely to be in the
black any time soon.

Changing murals, gym floors, band/athletic uniforms and more will cost $150,000 on the
low end and $220,000 on the high end per year for the next three years. Does the phrase,
“putting the cart before the horse” mean anything to you? While we’re at it, does the
phrase of “spending money you don’t have” mean anything to you?

The controversy began when members of the Vallejo-based Sacred Sites Protection & Rights
of Indigenous Tribes (SSPIRIT) showed up at a school board meeting in October 2015 and
demanded the Indian be replaced.

Suffice it to say, the change rigged the game of a board being stacked with those in favor
of the mascot name.

This change is also bound to have some other unintended consequences. Here’s a story that
should serve as a cautionary tale.

I was talking to the Vallejo High Athletic Director Josh Ramos last October when covering
the American Canyon-Vallejo football game as a freelance writer for the Napa Valley Register.
I covered Ramos at a different point in my career (early 2000s) when he was a student-athlete
at Vallejo while his father (Tony) was the athletic director at crosstown rival Jesse Bethel.
Ramos told me that Vallejo High lost a lot of alumni support as a result of their mascot change
from Apaches to Redhawks. It made me think of what we are facing here in Napa.

Loss of support also adds up to loss of dollars. It could also lead to more votes of “No” on
any measures pertaining to NVUSD tax bonds. The lost support could take multiple decades
to regain.

If you don't think it can happen in Napa, you are naive. Look no further than a half hour
South of us.