Thunderbird High School of Phoenix, Arizona must change their mascot. Their current mascot- The Chiefs- is offensive to the culture of Native Americans. The native headdress, depicted in Thunderbird’s logo, is extremely sacred. It is unacceptable for a high school to diminish its value by mimicking the customs that an entire culture upholds.

In the words of a Native American student who attends Thunderbird High School:

“Being at the assemblies was usually fun and just a good time, but the second I saw white student council members wearing mock headpieces it made me uncomfortable. My friends and I just started discussing how quite frankly stupid they looked, and how it showed how little education they had on Native American culture. But what truly offended me was that the staff at my school allowed this. The mascot being a literal culture is just a free passage way for the students to mock our culture when they know only little to nothing about the sacredness of the headpieces and chants.”

Students at Thunderbird are generally unaware of the racism that their mascot encompasses. This is most likely a result of their school system’s failure to teach about Native American history and tradition. We ask that Thunderbird High School ends its insensitivity towards Native Americans. The first step: changing its logo and mascot.

There are thousands of students across the country taking action to change their offensive mascots. Keller High School in Keller, Texas currently has the mascot- The Indians. In a 2017 petition to change this mascot, the Society of Native Nations stated:

“There are several reasons why the Indigenous people of this land should not be made into caricatures or mascots but most importantly, ‘I am not your mascot’. ‘We are not your mascot’ ‘No people, race, culture, religion or spirituality should not be a mascot’. Native Americans are Human Beings that are alive today, whose Ancestors survived genocide and died to protect our traditional way of life.”

In fact, Thunderbird High School and all other schools in the Glendale Union High School District are built on O'odham, Akimel O'odham, and Hohokam land. Given that our schools have only flourished at the expense of Native American ground, the least Thunderbird can do is to quit flaunting racist imagery across campus.

Our ultimate goal is to create a community of informed and tolerant students. This will never be possible if Thunderbird maintains its derogatory habits.

To Superintendent Capistran, District President Reicks, Principal Latham, and all other members of the Glendale Union High School District board and Thunderbird High School administration:

Show honor and respect toward the Indigenous people of this country. Stop normalizing cultural appropriation. Teach Arizona’s youth the importance of diversity and respect. End Thunderbird’s display of intolerance. Change the mascot.

Sign this petition to demand that Glendale Union High School District removes the current mascot of Thunderbird High School- The Chiefs. It is a simple, attainable step in the direction towards a culturally aware Thunderbird community. The outdated mascot, offensive logo, and mockery headpieces worn at assemblies, all need to go.

Thank you for signing.

Sources:

https://www.change.org/p/change-keller-high-school-mascot​

https://native-land.ca/