Kamiakin HS will keep the Braves name for now, but changes may come to imagery used

Kamiakin High School will get to keep “the Braves” mascot name, but may need to make changes to images around the school.

That was the decision this week after the Yakama Tribal Council signed off on a one-year agreement with the school district that would let Kamiakin to keep using the name.

While Kamiakin gets to keep its name, for now, Legacy High School got a new name Wednesday night. The tribe decided it couldn’t support the name Thunderbirds, since it was a symbol from coastal tribes.

District leaders, school administrators and students worked to put forward the Ravens as the suggested name, and school district leaders unanimously approved it.

The moves come in the face of a new state law that requires schools to stop using Native American names, symbols or images as part of their mascots, logos or team names by Jan. 1, 2022 with one exception — that they get permission from neighboring tribes to keep them.

Several school administrators traveled to Toppenish on Tuesday to speak with the tribal council, Superintendent Traci Pierce said. The members signed off on a one-year agreement with the district that will allow the high school keep using the Braves name and mascot for the next year.

During that time, school officials will work with the tribe’s education committee to update “images and use” around the school to make sure they honor the tribe, Pierce said.

“We are very pleased and grateful for the Yakama Tribal Council’s decision, and we look forward to this next phase of consultation and time to build an ongoing positive and collaborative relationship with the Yakama Nation,” she said.

It’s unclear what imagery might need to be changed.

The decision comes after months of the district working with the Yakama, Umatilla and Colville Confederated tribes.

Kamiakin’s history

Kennewick officials have been hoping that Kamiakin’s link with the Yakama Nation would help their case. The Yakama Nation signed off on letting the school district use the chief’s name.

The school was named after Chief Kamiakin, a leader of the Yakama, Palouse and Klickitat people in the mid-1800s in southeastern Washington.

Officials said they picked the name out of respect for area indigenous people. At the time, administrators worked with the tribe and Kamiakin’s relatives, school officials said. Tribal members, including Kamiakin’s great-great-great granddaughter, were involved with opening the school in 1970.

Events included a presentation about the history and culture of the Yakamas.

The Braves name was chosen to symbolize “courage and strength,” school officials said. And in recent years, the Yakama Nation has not complained to the district about the name or imagery used.

Changes have evolved

This is the latest in a series of requests that schools move away from using Native American names and symbols for mascots.

The state Board of Education adopted a 1993 resolution asking districts to review “building names, mascots, logos, activities, events, portrayal of caricatures and behaviors” to make sure they weren’t derogatory.

The board returned to the issue in 2012 with a resolution directing districts to stop using the names and mascots. At the time, Kennewick leaders said the topic had come up over the years, but there was never a serious push to change it.

The state returned to the issue during the recent session of the Legislature. The bill had widespread bipartisan support, passing 92-5 in the House and 40-9 in the Senate. Tri-Cities Reps. Matt Boehnke and Brad Klippert and Sen. Sharon Brown voted against the bill.

In Washington state, 35 of the 420 high schools in the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association had Native American-themed names, such as the Raiders, Chiefs and Red Devils.

The movement reflects similar changes and sentiments playing out in college and professional sports around the country. One of the most notable is in the NFL, where the Washington, D.C., franchise dropped its longtime nickname of Redskins, one most Native Americans found to be offensive. The club has not yet adopted a new name and for the past two seasons has been known as the Washington Football Team.

This story was originally published December 10, 2021 at 1:41 PM.