A school district of the town of Peru, NY, has announced that it’s insensitive sports alias and mascot is no more.
According to the official statement from the Peru Central School Board of Education, the name in question, The Indians, is now officially retired after a vote. The white-and-blue mascot and logo, stylized with ‘tribal’-like pair of feathers supposed to resemble a Native American headdress is gone too.
The district will come up with a new name and symbol as soon as possible.
The town’s school district is one of the many other U.S. educational institutions that use Native Americans-fetishizing racial slurs and imagery as nicknames and mascots for their athletic teams. Numerous human rights, educational, political and even health organizations have been calling for their retirement.