On March 15th, the District 12 School Board will finally vote on whether to retire the "The Indians" as CMHS's mascot. 

PLEASE SEND ONE FINAL EMAIL: boe@cmsd12.org

Encourage the Board to replace the mascot and reform all instances of Native appropriation across the district. Students deserve a mascot that they can rally behind without causing further harm to Native communities. Demand that the district implement social studies curriculums and invite Native speakers, performers and leaders to teach students about the history and culture of Indigenous peoples in Colorado and the USA. 

Let's break down some facts before the vote:

1. The American Pyschologocical Association called for the official retirement of these mascots in 2005.
"The symbols, images and mascots teach non-Indian children that it's acceptable to participate in culturally abusive behavior and perpetuate inaccurate misconceptions about American Indian culture."
Source: https://www.apa.org/pi/oema/resources/indian-mascots

2.  Cheyenne Mountain High School has never had tribal permission to use an Indian mascot despite passing along a folklore to the community and students for decades about being "blessed" to use the name. 

3.  CMHS doesn't offer any Native specific courses to educate their students on the people who once lived on the land where the school sits and whose name they now claim.

4. In 2016, the Governor of Colorado recommended all schools to remove Native-based mascots or partner with a local tribe. CMHS failed to do either but painted over a mural and banned tomahawk chops at sporting events. It was not until 2020 that the school removed the stereotypical Indian Chief from their front sign. 
Read the report here: https://www.denvergov.org/content/dam/denvergov/Portals/643/documents/Commissions/DAIC/2018/CSAIRPS-Report-2016.pdf?fbclid=IwAR353wVRoMePgpCsTLRhkxCUMCitLTkU7b0vK84hGCJYGaGmrGvN3F69ofA

5. A majority of Native Americans oppose the use of all Native-related mascots and imagery.
Source: https://record.umich.edu/articles/study-opposition-high-to-native-american-mascots-names/?fbclid=IwAR1S-64uUdmc195qg4ak0dDpCjR9BuU3jW8CFkLdSDQ4IOYNKoE27mxgvQw

6. The CMHS student population who identify as Native/Indigenous has always been less than 1%.
Source: https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/colorado/districts/cheyenne-mountain-school-district-no-12/cheyenne-mountain-high-school-4026?fbclid=IwAR0Cklz8VdCllGRmWyu4m2IgpOT5XlNI5oB8qQMcgC-XDytpY68n2yL3sUM

7. No local Colorado Tribe is willing to partner with CMHS.

8.  CMHS introduced an Akicita ceremony to induct freshmen into the school. After some research, we found that it was traditionally a Lakota ceremony for warriors to woo women. This is just one of serval cultural inaccuracies that the school is perpetuating. 
Source: https://www.lakotatimes.com/articles/guardian-angels-akicita-or-monsters/?fbclid=IwAR3gQ2DQIW2tlTN3LNKGu8LhbWi7UHFYz3N21S1dcALNNjNMr8DOU-KImQw

9. This isn't a new fight. Local Native members of the Colorado Springs community have been asking CMHS to retire the Indians for decades.

Please write to the school board and ensure that CMHS is on the right side of history.