Native Americans: Indian mascots at Connecticut schools no symbol of pride

By Kate Ramunni

NORTH HAVEN >> To many in this town of about 23,000, the North Haven High School’s Indian’s nickname shows a pride in their community and the courage and strength of the athletes playing on its sports teams, as evidenced Thursday night by the turnout at the district’s monthly Board of Education meeting for a discussion on the moniker.
But for many Natiive Americans, the use of an image of an Indian is offensive and shows how little Americans understand about Native American history. This was never more evident than during the discussion Thursday night that ended in a shouting match when Talia Gallagher, a member of the NHHS class of 2013 and a sophomore at Clark University in Massachusetts, urged the board to consider changing the school’s mascot, saying using the likeness of an Indian is offensive.

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