TREMPEALEAU, Wis. (WTAQ) - The new state law against Indian mascots has already made one Wisconsin school drop theirs. The Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau School Board voted 7 to 2 Thursday night to stop calling themselves the Redmen, and to drop the logo of an Indian in a headdress.
A panel of students, parents, and residents will come up with 10 choices for a new team name – and the public will make the final decision. The school board will decide next month how long the process will take.
It was a week ago when Governor Jim Doyle signed the bill that forces the state school superintendent to act on public complaints about Indian logos and mascots. If the superintendent finds the moniker offensive after holding a public hearing, the school board must drop it – or pay fines for not doing so. About 3 dozen schools have Indian names, and many others have dropped them in recent years. Some districts have said they’ll fight to keep their names.
