List of secondary school sports team names and mascots derived from Indigenous peoples information

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Among the categories of names for sports teams in the United States and Canada, those referring to Indigenous peoples are lesser in popularity only to the names of various animals. In a list of the top 100 team names, "Indians" is 14th, "Braves" is 38th, "Chiefs" is 57th.^[1] The typical logo is an image of a stereotypical Native American man in profile, wearing a Plains Indians headdress; and are often cartoons or caricatures. Other imagery include dreamcatchers, feathers, spears, and arrows. Individual schools may have performance traditions, such as the tomahawk chop, a mascot or cheerleaders in stereotypical Native attire, and chants adapted from Hollywood movies. These fictional representations stand in the way of any authentic understanding of contemporary Indigenous peoples, and promote racism.^[2]

The documents often cited to justifying the trend for change are an advisory opinion by the United States Commission on Civil Rights in 2001^[3] and a resolution by the American Psychological Association in 2005.^[4] Both support the views of Native American organizations and individuals that such mascots maintain harmful stereotypes that are discriminatory and cause harm by distorting the past and preventing understanding of Native American/First Nations peoples in the present.

The trend towards the elimination of Indigenous names and mascots in local schools has been steady, with two-thirds having been eliminated during the 50 years prior to 2013 according to the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI).^[5] In more recent years, the trend has accelerated, particularly in July 2020, following a wave of racial awareness and reforms in wake of national protests after the murder of George Floyd, and the decision by the Washington Commanders to change their Redskins name and logo.^[6][7][8]

In a few states with significant Native American populations; such as Colorado,^[9] Maine,^[10] Nevada,^[11] Oregon,^[12] Washington,^[13] and Wisconsin,^[14] change has been mandated by law. A law was passed in Connecticut which withholds tribal funding provided by casino revenue from any school that retains a Native mascots after July 1, 2022. Most have complied, but four school districts have decided to keep their mascots; Derby Red Raiders, Killingly Redmen, Windsor Warriors and Nonnewaug High School Chiefs.^[15]

The school board in Cambridge, New York voted in June 2021 to eliminate the name and logo of the Cambridge High School "Indians". After the seating of two new members, the board voted to reverse this decision in July 2021. A group of parents favoring removal filed an appeal to the New York State Department of Education which issued an order requiring removal of the mascot or lose state funding. This order applies only to Cambridge, although there are 70 schools in the state that have Native mascots.^[16] In a final order, the state Education Commissioner ordered the school to entirely eliminate the mascot by July 1, 2022, citing the evidence that Native mascots "inhibits the creation of 'a safe and supportive environment' for all students".^[17][18][19] The school board voted 3-2 to file an appeal with the state Supreme Court, arguing that the state Education Commissioner's order singles out Cambridge while allowing other schools to maintain their mascots. It is the state's position that the order to remove the Cambridge mascot alone is in support of the prior board's decision.^[20] In December, 2023 the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division unanimously dismissed the appeal as "moot."^[21]

The list below for secondary schools in the United States and Canada remains substantial, with 358 teams currently calling themselves "Indians", 158 "Warriors" using Indigenous imagery (there are many with the name using generic, Greek or Roman mascots), 113 "Braves", 66 "Chiefs", and 36 "Redskins". The latter has shown the greatest decline, due to an association with the Washington Redskins name controversy. Since the NFL team began the process of changing its name to the Washington Commanders, eleven high schools previously using the name also changed. Snell Middle School in Bayard, New Mexico also dropped the name.^[22]