Connecticut school board votes to restore Native American mascot

A Connecticut high school is reinstating its former mascot — just months after it was ditched because some deemed it racist.

The Killingly High School Redmen mascot has been restored to the school after a vote from the town’s board of education last week, according to the Hartford Courant.

The Redmen logo features a side-profile of a Native American wearing a headdress.

After last week’s vote, Connecticut’s Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation told the Courant they “believe the mascot doesn’t honor or represent Native people and has no place in our school system.” The tribe implored the school board to “rethink their decision.”

Last July, the town had voted to switch the mascot from the Redmen to the Red Hawks.

The vote passed 5-4, largely along party lines.

The switch infuriated the school’s athletic director, Kevin Marcoux, who testified at the meeting, “Everywhere we go, we are the laughingstock of the state.”

When Republicans gained a majority on the school board, they promised a return to the Redmen name.

Republican Board member Jason Muscara, who voted in favor of the switch, said he was contacted by students who supported the Redmen mascot, but were afraid to go public.

“If we’re going to talk about respecting our students and protecting our students and doing what’s best for our students, we need to respect the opinion of all of our students, not just the ones we agree with,” Muscara said.

Other defenders of the Redmen have claimed the mascot actually praises Native Americans, but Democratic board member Hoween Flexer disagreed.

“How many more Native Americans need to come to this meeting and tell you they don’t want the honor?” Flexer, who voted against the change, said at the meeting.