WINCHESTER, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Winchester High School will no longer be home the Sachems. The Public School Committee has voted to remove the mascot that many consider to be racist against Native Americans.
Winchester High School is joining the list of schools across the country that are moving to replace their Native American mascots.
The committee voted unanimously to retire the Sachems mascot and logo during a virtual meeting Tuesday night, which included hours of public comment.
Joyce Rain Anderson, a professor of U.S. Ethnic and Indigenous Students at Bridgewater State University, said the overall use of Native American imagery is damaging.
“The psychological damage to Native children to see some of the things that fans do. For example, painting themselves with red paint on their face,” she said. “We’ve done away with black face. Why do we have red face?”
Currently, there is no timeline for when the Sachem mascot will be replaced.
WBZ NewsRadio's James Rojas (@JamesRojasWBZ) reports
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(Photo: James Rojas/WBZ NewsRadio)