California schools’ ban on Native American-themed mascots has been a conversation starter

Whether or not schools keep their mascot names, the California Racial Mascots Act, or Assembly Bill 3074, has been a conversation starter at schools.

“This is why this is such an important bill — to start this conversation,” Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo, D-Santa Clarita, said in 2024 as the revised law moved through the Legislature. “There are people who are really being harmed by it, and that’s why we have to have this conversation. We have to ... make sure that that education happens.”

Updated legislation expands restrictions

California became the first state in the nation to ban the racial slur Redskins as a school or team name or mascot in 2015 under the initial California Racial Mascots Act. By 2017, schools were prohibited from using the term.

The updated law bans a list of terms for Native Americans, adding to the already-prohibited Redskins and capturing others with language that notes derogatory terms are “not necessarily limited to” those included in the bill. The list ranges from terms for tribal leaders such as Chief to offensive terms some Native American groups only refer to as the “s-word.”

Though less than 25,000 of California’s 5.7 million students identify as Native American, according to state data, many report being mocked or feeling isolated due to their school’s stereotypical portrayal of mascots or traditions that claim to honor the group.

Julia Estrada, one of a few Native American students at Hart High School in Santa Clarita, told state lawmakers in 2024 that she experienced disrespectful behavior from classmates because of the school’s mascot at the time — the Indian. Her peers, with hands over their mouths, would make whooping noises as they came from a teepee during pep rallies, she said. She led a successful yearlong effort to change the mascot in 2020, which hadn’t been the norm.

Several Native American students had petitioned their schools to change their Native American-themed mascot names prior to the 2024 iteration of the law, but were turned down by school boards or administrators, according to Assemblymember James Ramos, D-San Bernardino, the legislation’s coauthor. Growing up on the San Manuel Indian Reservation in San Bernardino County, he said he attended schools that didn’t respect his culture.

“It goes deeper than the name being changed,” he said. “It goes deeper to the person being able to go to a campus, feeling welcome. If you’re going to a school that doesn’t even have respect for the Indian people ... how does that individual feel and how are they expected to excel in education?”

Legislation creates conversations

The state law has led some schools to engage Native American groups in decision-making, and educate school communities on American Indian culture, as lawmakers hoped.

Since 2024, when the revised law passed, some schools have discussed with Native American tribes whether to change their names.

For example, Fullerton High School in Orange County is changing its mascot as a result of a two-year process, the Orange County Register reported. The school attempted to retain the Indian name by seeking approval from tribes. The Native American groups declined and requested that the school change it.

Fresno Unified School District in the Central Valley changed three school mascots after what it described as a “comprehensive engagement process.”

The district created a mascot change committee with members of school leadership and its student inclusion and American Indian education departments. The committee conducted surveys of students, families and educators.

“We were especially intentional about listening to our Native American students and families, whose perspectives helped deepen our understanding and guide the process,” said Ryan Duff, principal at the 800-student Tenaya Middle School, which will go from being the Braves to the Titans.

The 1,400-student Clark Intermediate School in the neighboring Clovis Unified School District was on the verge of changing its mascot as well. Incorporated in 1869 as part of the school’s founding, the Chieftain mascot, adopted as a sign of respect, had a deep history, district spokesperson Kelly Avants said.

With the legislation specifically naming Chieftain as derogatory, the district had conversations with members of local tribes, students, families and staff about the mascot’s future. Without tribal support to retain the name at first, the district moved forward with plans for an alternative mascot.

“People understood why the conversation was taking place,” Avants said, “but there was a lot of expression of sadness over saying goodbye to a symbol that has always been meant to celebrate and respect the indigenous culture of our community.”

Generations of families who attended Clark experienced that respect. So, the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians, the largest tribe representing Clovis Unified students of Native American descent, authorized the continued use of the name and mascot in December.

“There are generations of family, community, friends and tribal citizens that attended Clark Intermediate School and are proud to claim Chieftains as their mascot,” a letter from the tribe said.

The tribe said it recognized Chieftain, a noble leader, as a prideful term, not derogatory.

“The authorization that was given by this tribe, we feel, carries a great responsibility with it for us to honor that,” Avants said.

Greater ‘responsibility’ to educate students about Native American culture

Tribes have signed off on long-standing school names not only in Clovis Unified but also in Sierra Unified and Sanger Unified, all in Fresno County.

For Sanger High School alumni and educators, the Apache had become a symbol of pride, said Ronnie Scott, the school’s activities director. Derived, in part, from the Lipan Apache Band of Texas, the Apache signified strength, unity, tradition and pride for Sanger High School students, who in 1931 voted for the name.

Over the years, because of the school’s respectful use of the term, Scott said the tribe has blessed the use of the name at sporting events, both in 2006 and within the last seven years. The North Fork Rancheria tribe, with the Lipan Apache Band, provided written permission for its continued use.

“It gives us honor because you’re doing it in a respectful and honorable way,” said Richard Gonzalez, chief of the Lipan Apache Band tribe.

Following the support, Sanger High raised the Lipan Apache Band flag on campus — the first of many ways the school hopes to further honor the name. According to Scott, Sanger High wants to incorporate lessons about the tribe’s origins and values as well as different symbols, including the flag and its significance.

Using the Native American names creates a responsibility among schools, Clovis Unified’s Avants said. Already, the district has a Native American parent and community group that meets to discuss ways to ensure students understand the responsibility that comes with having American Indian-themed representation, she said.

More to be done

As the legislation takes effect, some schools may continue to struggle with proper depictions of Native Americans.

The legislation has been an opportunity for tribes and school districts to work together on ways to respect and honor Indigenous groups, Ramos said. Yet, many school districts are still not including the Native American perspective, he said.

“Until we start to unravel that, how are we going to start to move forward?” Ramos said. “I think the whole goal, and that would be my hope, is that we would start to be more inclusive of tribal culture, not against it.”