School board wants community input on North Central HS mascot

SPOKANE, Wash – The future of the Indians as the mascot of North Central High School will be based, in part, on community input.

The Spokane School Board decided Wednesday night to move the issue to public comment, as is the process when someone requests the renaming of a school or mascot.

This issue is already on the minds of Washington lawmakers, who are considering banning the practice of schools using native or culturally-insensitive mascots unless they’re on reservation lands or work with a local tribe.

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Not waiting for the bill to pass or fail, some students at North Central brought the issue to the school board Wednesday night.

Student advisor to the board Ivy Pete made a passionate presentation to the board about the history of the mascot and also the history of the controversy at North Central.

“I request that the board protect me and other students like me. Those dissenting voices in the 70s and those in the building today by supporting our request,” said Pete, a North Central junior who has also made her case to state lawmakers.

The board approved moving forward to seek public comment on the issue; the decision to do so was unanimous.

“Thank you so much, Ivy, for your passion and your advocacy for doing the right thing and continuing to push us and moving our district forward,” said School Board President Jerrall Haynes.

North Central Principal Steve Fisk was also credited with allowing a space in his school that allowed this type of discussion.

The district leadership is working on scheduling public forums, then the issue will be brought back to the school board for a decision.

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