DEERFIELD — What started as a complaint to a school board about the local high school’s mascot turned into a contentious issue within town and spurred a large open forum, an outcry from alumni and the public and continued for months.
It’s easy to assume the situation described above is the current “Indian” mascot debate in Turners Falls, but it also describes what happened nearly 20 years ago when another local school district decided to engage in a public discussion about its Native American mascot, which led to the Frontier Regional School changing its mascot from the “Redskins” to the “Red Hawks.”
Times have changed, but the two debates, one ongoing and one resulting in a change, are so similar it begs the question: Is local history repeating itself?
Concerns about the Frontier mascot were brought to the school through a letter sent to the superintendent in June 1997.
Speakers then showed up to voice concern at school committee meetings and they held a public forum in November of that year where about 100 people spoke and shared opinions on both sides of the debate.
Former Frontier superintendent John J. Welch said he received a letter from Glen Douglas, a Sunderland resident. He said others had also questioned the appropriateness of the mascot.
Welch took a stand on the issue, and said he did not think the mascot of the time was appropriate, either. Current officials in Turners Falls have remained neutral on the issue.
The issue was decided by a Dec. 9, 1997, 5-4 vote of the Frontier Regional School Committee. Opponents eventually formed a Save the Redskins Committee and brought the issue to a vote before all four of the district’s member towns.
During the same time as the debate, the school was also asking for an additional $1 million dollars from the towns for new computers and there were threats about not giving the money to the district because of the change.
“If you want another million dollars, we have to see something, too,” former Deerfield Selectman John Paciorek said at the time.
The Frontier school committee wanted to make sure students were involved in the process, so they delayed the vote several months to give time to plan and coordinate before the forums and votes. In the case of Turners Falls, the board has involved the students through the four upcoming educational or inquiry events.
Several Turners Falls students have also spoken out at the forums. Those who have spoken have done so in favor of keeping the mascot and say the student body largely feels the same way, which is also what students said during the Frontier debate.
Former Frontier student Julia Deane, who was in favor of keeping the mascot, spoke at the forum in the late ’90s. Her statements echo what many have said during the Turners Falls process.
“It’s too bad we’re letting a minority speak for the majority,” she said.
During the process, there were calls for a referendum of the town, for the alumni to vote, and for the students to vote. Many had concerns about how much this would cost the Frontier district, just like those who have questioned how the Gill-Montague School Committee will pay for the change at Turners Falls.
The Save the Redskins Committee also circulated a petition, just like the Change.org petition to “save the Indians,” both of which received more than 1,000 signatures. Those trying to change the mascot have also started a Change.org petition with 903 supporters.
All of the themes and commentary have reappeared during the Turners Falls debate. During Tuesday night’s final public forum, many who want to keep the mascot questioned the School Committee’s process and said they were taking democracy away from the people by not organizing a vote.
Ultimately, the Frontier School Committee made the decision to change the mascot, and then let the students vote what the new mascot would be.
Parents of current students and alumni are the main people fighting to keep the mascot. Many who have spoken at the forums say the decision should be left to property owners in Gill and Montague, whose tax money goes to the school district.
As many similarities exist between the current debate in Turners Falls and the previous one in Frontier, the biggest difference is the use of social media in today’s discussion.
The school district provides updates on its Facebook page and website, and the petitions to keep and change the mascot have been circulated online this time around.
Those who want to keep the mascot have created a “Save the TF Indians logo” Facebook page where they post updates and commentary and criticism from the meetings as well as photos and they’ve sold shirts as well.
“This is not the time to take your foot off the gas,” said a post on the page from Wednesday, after the forum. “We need to continue to contact the school committee and make sure that they hear our voices. With a board that is so obviously in favor of their own personal agendas we need to make it clear to them that we will not tolerate it. It is against Mass. General Law for any member to act on their own agenda — AGAINST THE LAW folks. We can’t sit silently by while they push this thru.”
Those advocating for changing the mascot have also posted their views and responses on a wordpress website called Sokoki Sojourn.
Since the last debate, the national debate about mascots has also become center stage. In 2001 the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights condemned the use of Native American images as sports symbols.
The road ahead on the Turners Falls debate is a long one. The public forums have wrapped up but there will now be four educational forums. After those forums, the school committee will ask for submissions from the public for mascot ideas.
The committee has said that it expects and encourages one of the submissions to be the current mascot, but it will have the final vote on the mascot, just like in the Frontier situation.
The Frontier mascot debate is something that has been discussed during the Turners Falls debate.
Denise Milkey, who is an alumna of Turners Falls High School but now works in Deerfield, said when she wears her “Save the Turners Falls logo” shirt to work, she gets many comments on it from Deerfield residents.
“I’ve been told, ‘Don’t give up,” Don’t let what happened to us, happen to you,’” she said during the forum.
Over the past 20 years however, the district has moved on with the new mascot. Lynn Carey, Frontier’s current superintendent, said she is new to the community and doesn’t have ties to the time the school district changed the mascot, but that it hasn’t diminished school pride.
“Our community is deeply involved in and proud of our students, whether it is in the arts, sports or academics,” she said. “The Red Hawks are well known and our district is deeply proud of our accomplishments.