Retire the "Savage" Mascot
Retire the "Savage" Mascot
Why this petition matters
The small town of Lamar, Colorado has been under pressure to change its mascot for decades. It has managed to avoid this by gaining community support for a term that's used as a racial slur outside the town's boundaries. Inside, it's seen a source of pride.
In 2016, the Colorado Commission to Study American Indian Representations in Public Schools visited Lamar to discuss the mascot. Their published recommendation was to eliminate use of the name and image of the Savage mascot. (https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sites/default/files/atoms/files/CSAIRPS-Report-2016_0.pdf
From page 12 of the Commission’s report, according to the American Psychological Association, studies have demonstrated that the use of American Indian mascots impact both the American Indian and non-Native communities.
An ever-growing coalition of alumni are calling for the school to take seriously the Commission's report, and change the mascot. We are committed to helping support the Lamar School Board come into compliance with the recommendations, and we ask that we, the community and the board, repair by making a public statement of acknowledgement—by admitting we were wrong. We are committed to helping form a formal partnership with a federally recognized tribe to collaborate on curriculum that includes the reality of the genocide of Indigenous peoples in our history, and Lamar's part in that, which includes the tension of the Lamar mascot being preserved for so long, alongside the events that happened at the Sand Creek Massacre Historic Site outside of town. We must teach future generations to become accomplices for the liberation of Indigenous peoples now.
We believe in the dignity of our Indigenous siblings and neighbors, in the resilience of the Lamar community, and in the hope that we can take a step forward together. We want to build a Lamar we can ALL be proud of. #LamarProud #NotYourMascot #RetireTheSavage http://www.lamarproud.com
Decision Makers
- Lamar Re-2 School Board