Pocatello High School Principal, Lisa Delanos, started the public campaign to retire the Indian logo in Sept 2020, asking that the Pocatello/Chubbuck Board of Trustees NOT listen to opposition voices and to make the decision without public input.
We at, "Save the Pocatello High School" then requested information, from the district, in an attempt to understand the process. We were given over 500 physical pages of documents by the school district. Many were emails, however some were "Word" type documents without date, times, or stamps. One group of pages were various versions of comments to be presented, by Lisa Delonas to the School Board and Tribal representatives.
We have stated that we believe the Bison may have already been chosen as the new mascot of Pocatello High School because of comments in the documentation.
Numerous iterations of these comments, includ this statement:
"We hope that by becoming the bison we can build a connection between our past and our future. Bison are beautiful, powerful, majestic creatures. They symbolize strength and unity and are revered for their power and the good fortune they brought the tribes. We are confident the bison will bring Pocatello High School good fortune as well."
Principal Delonas is now stating that the mascot has not been chosen despite the comments in the paragraph above.
The fact that the statement in question appears in multiple versions, clearly indicates that it was the thought of Lisa Delanos at the time, even if she ultimately decided not to share it with Tribal members or the School Board
A School Principal incapable of trusting the public to make the "correct choice" concerning the retiring of the mascot seems likely to not trust the public to make the "correct choice" in choosing a "new" mascot.
"Save the Pocatello High School Indians" simply asks the public to access the information come to your own conclusion as to how you believe Principal Lisa Delonas and the Pocatello/ Chubbuck School District have handled these important decisions
We are always open to further clarification and documentation from the district and its representatives and will continue to clarify and update information as it becomes available.