Decision nears for 'Redskins'

A high school sports mascot both revered and decried could face its end on Tuesday.

Board members of the Colusa Unified School District will hold a public forum at 7 p.m. on whether to keep Colusa High's "Redskins" nickname.

After the forum, the five-person board will vote on retiring the mascot, which would trigger the process of choosing a possible replacement.

The expected high attendance has led the district to move the hearing from its normal conference room to a theater at the district office, spokeswoman Mary Lytle said Thursday.

Colusa High's eight-decade-old nickname is among several team monikers that Native American advocates have attacked in the past decade as demeaning to native tribes.

Three failed bids by the state Assembly — the last two vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in 2004 and 2005 — would have forced the district and four others to adopt non-Indian names. The Colusa district itself discussed a name change in 2002 but never voted on the issue.

In March, the school board accepted a plan for choosing a new athletic nickname if it dropped the Redskins symbol.

A committee of high school students, faculty and townspeople recommended letting all three parties choose three names each, having the committee pick three finalists from the field, then putting the final choice to a vote of students and residents.

The school board would then have to approve the winning selection.

Any new mascot likely will be introduced during the 2009-10 school year, according to the district.

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Howard Yune at 458-2121, 749-4708 or hyune@appealdemocrat.com

Know and go

• WHO: Colusa Unified School District

• WHAT: Public hearing and board vote on retiring Colusa High School's "Redskins" athletic mascot

• WHEN: 7 p.m. Tuesday

• WHERE: Colusa Community Theater, district headquarters, 745 10th St., Colusa