Franklin High School, a public school in Reisterstown, MD, currently sports the racially offensive mascot of the “Franklin Indians.” This must be changed.

The mascot of the “Indians” is part of a long history in America of using Native American people, referred to as “Indians”, as a mascot for sports teams or schools as a whole. The use of Native American people as a mascot is historically derogatory and harmful, as it creates negative stereotypes, and marginalizes Natives Americans today.

Adding to this, the logo of Franklin High is the letters “FHS”, with two cartoon feathers added onto it. This refers to traditional Native American headdresses. After winning a battle, Native American warriors were awarded with a feather, a sign of high honor upon the warrior. Using this symbol so freely is highly offensive, as it takes away from the religious and spiritual meaning of the feather. This is cultural appropriation, as the founders of FHS were white, and did not do anything to deserve those feathers.

Please sign this petition to support our movement and remove the racially offensive mascot of the Indian from FHS grounds.