An initiative by the sports-apparel company Adidas to fund the removal of high school American Indian mascots is receiving mixed reviews in Colorado.
The voluntary program, announced Thursday, would give schools access to Adidas’ design team for logo and uniform redesign across all sports for schools searching to eliminate American Indian mascots, nicknames, imagery and symbolism in the name of respect and inclusivity to tribes. The company also pledged to provide financial support to ensure that the cost of changing is not prohibitive, The Associated Press reports.
State Rep. Joe Salazar, D-Thornton, carried a bill last session that would have required tribal approval for public schools to continue using American Indian mascots. The bill was killed by a Republican-led Senate committee.
Salazar was thrilled when he heard about Adidas’ actions.
“We have a major athletic company saying that we have to do something about this and that we’re going to put our money where our mouth is,” he said. “This is the right side of history.”
In October, Gov. John Hickenlooper signed an executive order creating a commission to discuss American Indian high school mascots.
The group, aiming to find common ground, would include tribes, local community members and state agencies.
Salazar hopes a partnership between Adidas and the new commission will speed up the process of ousting such mascots, which he finds offensive.
Lamar High School, home of the Savages, found itself at the center of Colorado’s American Indian mascot controversy earlier in the year, when Salazar’s bill was first proposed.
The school, which does not identify with a particular tribe, uses a logo of an Indian in a headdress.
Students and administration were opposed to changing the mascot, claiming that the name exuded pride and strength.
On Thursday, principal Rocky Robbins said he would not comment on whether Adidas’ proposal was something Lamar High would consider.
“We just kind of tried to stay out of the limelight until legislation has taken action or not,” he said.
Officials with the La Veta High School Redskins, about 50 miles north of Trinidad, also declined to comment.
“Our school board voted in May 2014 to retain the use of our mascot unless or until state or federal law requires it to be changed,” La Veta High principal Bree Lessar, who is also the district superintendent, wrote in an e-mail.
Salazar was disappointed to hear Lessar’s stance.
“I would much rather not have to bring legislation next year,” he said, “to force them to do something they should be doing already.”
Elizabeth Hernandez: 303-954-1223, ehernandez@denverpost.com or @ehernandez
