2 more Michigan schools take steps to move away from Indigenous mascots

Matt Jaworowski
·2 min read

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Two more Michigan schools have announced their next steps moving away from Native American mascot imagery.

In the last month, Marquette Area Public Schools and Camden-Frontier Schools in Hillsdale County have both picked new mascots. Marquette will now be known as the Sentinels. Camden-Frontier will become the RedHawks.

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Over the last several years, schools and professional sports teams have faced scrutiny for using Native American mascot imagery, particularly the term “redskin,” which is considered a slur by Indigenous groups.

Camden-Frontier was the last school district in the state to use that name. Last May, Superintendent Chris Adams said the decision to retire the mascot does not overshadow or erase the school’s history.

“The passion, memory and sentiments of alumni is not to be forgotten nor will artifacts be thrown away. We will be preserving the history of the Camden-Frontier School District. The retirement of the mascot is about looking to the future, not erasing the past,” Adams said in a statement.

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Marquette Area Public Schools is taking public submissions for a design of its new logo. Since moving away from the school’s “Redmen” and “Redette” last year, the district has used the school’s other logo, a block M.

Officials told News 8 affiliate WLUC-TV that the name change will cost the school district an estimated $40,000, covering everything from new jerseys and equipment to signage and website domain names.

Several Michigan schools have worked with the Native American Heritage Fund to cover those costs, including Paw Paw, Saugatuck, Saranac and Hartford. Since its launch in 2016, the NAHF has distributed more than $1.5 million in grants to cover those efforts.

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Many schools and universities still use Indigenous names or imagery, but most have entered local partnerships that are meant to educate and help teach the history of Indigenous tribes.

Central Michigan University, which goes by the Chippewa, entered an agreement with the Saginaw Chippewa tribe in 2003. The university regularly holds cultural events dedicated to Chippewa history and culture and has developed educational initiatives to preserve that history and culture. In describing the partnership, CMU says the university uses the nickname “as a sign of pride, honor and respect for the tribe’s rich heritage.”

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