Bonner Springs School District has a long history of defending their harmful and racist mascot: the "Braves". Despite numerous objections from students and faculty, USD 204 continues to uphold multiple racist mascots and publications. Cultural appropriation among students is not only accepted, but encouraged. Students often wear face paint and headdresses to sporting events. Bonner Springs High School also publishes a newspaper called the Powwow, a yearbook called the Totem Pole, and a news show called Teepee Talk, undeterred by The Kansas Scholastic Press Association which defines these terms as "offensive". 

In 2014, USD 204 spent thousands of dollars to transition all schools in the district from previously inoffensive mascots to this offensive portrayal of Native Americans. Despite publicly denouncing cultural appropriation and racism, the Bonner Springs School District continues to perpetuate harmful stereotypes at these predominantly white schools. Many of the staff claim to be "honoring" Native Americans, while simultaneously ignoring the voices of actual Indigenous students.Michael Young, a 2019 graduate of Bonner Springs High School and Mvskoke Native stated, "This country uses Native culture when it is convenient, despite a long history of stripping real Natives of their culture through 'reformation'".

If the Bonner Springs School District actually valued equality and integrity, they would change their mascot immediately. Help us push USD 204 past this tradition of blatant racism. 

"The intolerance and harm promoted by these 'Indian' sports mascots, logos, or symbols, have very real consequences for Native people. Specifically, rather than honoring Native peoples, these caricatures and stereotypes are harmful, perpetuate negative stereotypes of America’s first peoples, and contribute to a disregard for the personhood of Native peoples."

- National Congress of American Indians

Learn more: https://www.ncai.org/proudtobe