A school board in the western Canadian city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, has voted to retire the name of “Redmen” for a local high school’s sports teams.
Bedford Road Collegiate, one of Saskatoon’s oldest schools, adopted the logo and name Redmen for its sports teams almost one hundred years ago.
The issue of the logo and name was discussed in 1996, and subsequently again in 2005, and 2011, which resulted in minor modifications to the logo each time.
The issue of cultural insensitivity was brought yet again up about two-and –a half years ago by a student.
It came to a final vote Tuesday night at a packed school board meeting where participants expressed opinions for and against a name change.
In the end school trustees voted 8-2 in favour of a name change and to retire the Redmen name and logo at the end of this school session.
Trustee Kevin Waugh who voted against the name change said an aboriginal elder who consults with the school board told him the First Nations logo attracts some students to Bedford as a sign of cultural inclusivity. He questioned whether the board was making a decision too hastily only a month after the issue came to trustees.
A new name for the start of school in September has not yet been decided upon.
The decision comes on the heels of a similar case in Nepean, Ontario, just outside the capital, Ottawa. A human rights complaint was filed last year about the name of the Nepean Redskins youth football team, who took their name in 1981 from an American NFL team, the Washington Redskins, as they had the same team colours.
They have decided to change their name to the Nepean Eagles. Some have said that might cause confusion however, as a local minor baseball team is already known as the Nepean Eagles
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