Mascot Modification: SMSD’s new policy will retire offensive mascots such as the Belinder Braves and the SM North Indians

The Shawnee Mission Board of Education voted 7-0 on Jan. 25 to implement a new district-wide mascot policy that will change all insensitive school mascots by the end of the 2020-21 school year, including the Shawnee Mission North Indians and the Belinder Braves. 

SM North sophomore Olivia Torline feels the removal of the mascot is a good thing for the new, socially conscious age, but she knows a lot of people who are nervous about what it’ll mean for the school overall. 

“I know some upperclassmen who support the mascot change, but are nervous because there are a lot of gifts from previous classes that are related to the Indian mascot such as a Native American mural and feathers that are all around the school,” Torline said. “[The upperclassmen] say that just to throw it all away would be a slap in the face to previous generations, and want us to put it somewhere to show that this was our tradition, but we’ve changed.”

The policy gained momentum after a group of SM North alumni started a petition calling for the district to change SMSD mascots referencing Native Americans, but the board has stressed that this policy will be executed in an organized fashion.

“I just want our community to understand that the purpose of this [new policy] is to make changes based on our strategic plan and the public outcry,” SM Northwest area board member Jamie Borgman said during the policy committee meeting.

According to SM North area member and policy committee chairperson, Sara Goodburn, the new plan regarding mascots will be listed directly after the current policy which prohibits discrimination, harassment and retaliation. 

The policy includes a list of five requirements that all school mascots must meet: mascots won’t be derogatory or offensive to a person or class of persons, mascots won’t make reference toward a person or class of persons, mascots will be culturally and racially sensitive and appropriate, mascots will depict individuals with fairness, dignity and respect and mascots won’t run counter to the district’s mission of creating a fully unified, equitable and inclusive culture.

If the board determines that a mascot fails to comply with these guidelines, then the mascot will be retired and a new mascot for the school will be selected through a process approved by the superintendent.

Following the policy’s adoption, the board will enact a resolution stating which mascots fail to comply, which will then be reviewed by legal counsel. However, it has already been decided that any Native American mascot is not in compliance under the new policy.

SMSD Superintendent Mike Fulton plans to work with individual principals to identify a transitional process that works for each school’s community. The process is anticipated to differ from elementary schools to secondary schools.

Students will have a role in helping choose their school’s new mascot by voting on it. According to Torline, there haven’t been any official mascot options proposed to students, but the voting will likely be conducted via Google Form.

Once a new mascot is decided, it will go through the school administration and community, with Fulton having the final approval.

SM North is encouraging students to stop dressing up as Native Americans for sports games and has stopped producing merchandise with the name “Indians” on it.

According to Fulton, changes in schools’ signage, team uniforms and other logistical factors won’t happen overnight. Although the full implementation of new mascots might take time, the decision on a new mascot will be made during the spring semester.

“It’s not unreasonable to think it can be done by the end of the school year, [or] by the following school year,” Fulton said in an interview with the Shawnee Mission Post. “There are considerations to make sure the process really has time to vet itself out.”

Two opposing groups, led by SM North alums, have remained active in promoting their differing opinions on the issue through online petitions and Facebook groups.

One petition “Change the SMN Mascot by the School’s 100th Anniversary” gained more than 4,800 signatures and the counter-petition, urging the mascot to remain, reached over 3,350 signatures as of Feb. 2.

“North has a lot of pride and spirit, and I don’t think just by changing your name it’s going to stop that,” Torline said. “Especially being in the band, everybody loves screaming and playing super loud. I don’t really think it’s going to be any different.”