WAKEFIELD, Mass. — Wakefield is a town divided. Last month, the town voted to keep the Warriors mascot after the school committee ruled it needed to go. Imagery like this is considered offensive, according to local Native American tribal leaders like Faries Gray, Sagamore, Massachusetts - Ponkapoag Tribe.
”It was really discouraging to us to know that a majority of their community doesn’t want to change the mascot,” says Gray. “‘It is a form of racism. And everyone needs to understand that.””
The Joint Committee on Education heard testimony Thursday on a bill that would ban the use of Native American mascots by public schools in the Commonwealth.
The ban would apply to things like school athletic uniforms and images on school buildings.
Wakefield’s vote is non-binding, with school officials having final say.
It comes as districts across the state grapple with the same decision saying mascots are a part of town tradition and culture.
Officials in Wakefield told Boston 25 news a Native American family in town approves of the Warriors logo use.
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