BARAGA, MI (AP)-- Cheerleaders with the Wakefield-Marenisco School District have apologized to Native American tribes for an offensive poster that was displayed at a basketball game.
The sign said, "Hey Speedboys, Get Ready to leave in A Trail of Tears!! Round 2." Trail of Tears is known as a historical reference to the forced removal of Cherokee Indians in the 1830s.
The Daily Mining Gazette says the sign was displayed at a Feb. 7 game between Wakefield-Marenisco and Bessemer, whose nickname is Speedboys.
A letter to the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community was read at a tribal council meeting Tuesday. The Wakefield-Marenisco cheerleaders apologized for what they described as their "lack of good judgment and sensitivity."
Superintendent Cathy Shamion says students didn't recognize the connection to U.S. history.