After more than a year of careful study, Saint Joseph High School is nearly ready to announce its new mascot after dropping the nickname “Indians.”
The school has narrowed its new nickname down to three finalists.
The Catholic high school in South Bend has treated the issue with time and care.
At the start of last school year, a school board committee recommended that the board form a committee to evaluate whether it should change the nickname, which many Native American groups find derogatory. The school formed a 13-member group representing a cross-section of alumni, faculty and staff, parents, and students from the 1960s to today.
And now, they’ve narrowed the search down to three finalists: Buffalo, Huskies and Rams. The school invited its community to submit votes by survey that ended January 26.
The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians has praised the school for making the change. When the Pokagon band last month announced its annual grants from casino profits to 12 local organizations, it gave the most money, $100,000, to the school to support the mascot’s “retiring and rebranding.”
Principal John Kennedy Tuesday said the school plans to announce the new name after its school board meeting at the end of this monthly.
