RedHawks chosen to replace Redskins

Colusa High School's new mascot will be the RedHawks starting with the 2011-12 school year, replacing the Redskins moniker that has symbolized the school's sports teams for eight decades.

In a Nov. 21 election, students in grades 7-12, Colusa High alumni and district residents voted on three choices. With 1,310 ballots submitted — half each from students and staff on one side and city residents on the other — the RedHawks won with 48 percent of the vote, beating out the RiverHawks (33 percent) and Cougars (19 percent).

The outcome was announced Wednesday by Larry Yeghoian, superintendent of the Colusa Unified School District.

School board members narrowly voted in April to discontinue the American Indian-themed mascot at the high school. The 3-2 vote came in the face of strenuous opposition from townspeople who defended the nickname, despite complaints from local Wintun and Maidu tribe members that the "Redskins" tag was offensive to Native Americans.

With a new symbol in place, Yeghoian was ready to leave the year-long controversy behind.

"For me, it's part of the process of change," he said this afternoon. "I'm satisfied we got through this in a smooth manner, and I'm happy for the support we've had to get to this point."

Egling Middle School and Burchfield Primary School will now select a mascot similar in theme to the high school's RedHawks.

In the next six months, a new committee and high school representatives will work on logo designs and related artwork for the new mascot, according to Dave McGrath, the Colusa High principal. A ceremony to unveil the school's new athletic symbol is planned before the school year ends in June.

District officials have estimated the cost of replacing the mascot at $60,000.

Colusa High's change mirrors a similar move more than a decade ago at Miami University of Oxford, Ohio, whose sports squads also were known as the Redskins. The university adopted the RedHawks name in 1997.