MARQUETTE, MI-- Residents gave their opinions on the Marquette Senior High School “Redmen” nickname for three-and-a-half hours at the school board meeting Monday night.
The meeting was held at Kaufman Auditorium to accommodate attendees who wanted to speak during the public comment portion.
Lesley Larkin said while the color red was originally traced to the first superintendent’s alma mater, Harvard, the introduction of the chief head as a logo in the 1930s linked the nickname to Native Americans. She says the district must make sure no Indigenous students are affected by it.
“Keeping a nickname that children are telling us hurts them is an egregious abdication of our responsibility as adults in this community,” she said.
But Danielle Neiswonger says when the chief head was retired in 1998 it removed any racist connection.
“But what remains are decades of memories and generations of Redmen who continue to associate a great sense of pride, heritage, tradition and integrity with our nickname,” she said.
Some students suggested changing the name to Mariners in honor of the area's shipping history.
Other speakers thanked the school board for providing a forum to talk about the issue in a democratic fashion.
The school board has not yet made a decision on changing the nickname. Board President Rich Rossway says the board's members need to hear all sides of the issue first.
