As members of the Athol High School community, we are proud of our school. However, the current Red Raider mascot and team name do not reflect Athol High School’s defined core values of respect, integrity and excellence. 

The current mascot was created in the 1970s as a caricature of phys ed teacher Winnie MacDonald, a white man. This caricature was created during a time when the detrimental nature of Native American mascots was not yet fully understood. Now that we understand how detrimental these mascots are to our whole community, we support retiring the Red Raider mascot and team name and upgrading to a new, improved mascot and team name that do not run counter to the school’s values. 

Research shows that the use of Native American mascots are not educationally sound, because they have negative psychological effects on Native American students and teach non-Native students that the use of stereotypes are acceptable. 

If your first instinct is to label this issue as needless political correctness, then please read on. We encourage you to watch this brief mini documentary about the movement to remove Native American mascots.

The vast majority of Native American groups support the elimination of Native American sports mascots, including: 

• The National Congress of American Indians (‘Ending the Legacy of Racism’)
• The Massachusetts Indigenous Legislative Agenda
• The Chappaquiddick Tribe of the Wampanoag Nation
• The Nipmuc Nation

Here you can view a two-part event named 'The Living Presence of Our History' hosted by a Massachusetts Native American organization called Ohketeau (located in Ashfield, MA). Part I discusses the history and presence of Nipmuc and other Tribes in Massachusetts. Part II discusses the mascot issue.  

Here is a video of a panel that presented at a recent meeting of the Hanover Public Schools school committee. The Hanover School Committee voted unanimously in August to remove their "Indians" mascot. Other Massachusetts towns that have recently removed their school's Native American mascots include Barnstable, Braintree, North Quincy, Turners Falls, and Winchester. 

As members of the Athol High School community, we value our traditions but we know that just because something is a tradition doesn’t mean it should be held on to forever. It is time to retire the Red Raider mascot and team name and change them to ones that all members of our community can be proud of.

For more information, please visit https://www.retiretheraider.com or email ahsmascotcommunitytaskforce@gmail.com.