A Pennsylvania school board on Thursday voted to restore the Native American warrior head logo that had been part of the district’s tradition until it was wiped away in 2021.
The Southern York County School District board voted 7-2 to bring back the warrior symbol after intense debate on the issue, according to WGAL-TV in Lancaster.
Douglas Brent, a parent whose children are high school students, was among those who spoke in support of restoring the logo.
“Nobody was trying to be demeaning to the local Indian tribes that were here,” he said. “I think it’s more demeaning to take that away from them. It would be better to reinstate it to show our sense of respect towards that heritage here.”
The effort to remove the logo started with a petition at Susquehannock High School in 2020, according to the York Dispatch.
All seven board members who voted to restore the warrior image were elected since the decision to ban it, according to Fox News. Five were elected in November.
“This vote was the Lexington & Concord moment in the effort to defeat cancel culture,” Native American activist and historian Andre Billeaudeuax said.
He said the logo paid homage to the Susquehannock people who had lived in the region for centuries.
“It took a lot of bravery for people in York County to stand up and fight back against the agenda, like David against Goliath, and the difference they made is incredible,” Billeaudeaux said.
Was the school board right to reinstate the warrior logo?
“The SYCSD school board stands as a role model and blueprint for other communities fighting for their Native names and imagery,” the Native American Guardians Association said in a statement after it presented its case last week at the board meeting.
“This movement was about erasing Native American culture and I wasn’t about to stand for it,” said Jennifer Henkel, who has three children in the district and serves on the board.
Prior to the vote, Katy Isennock, a Native American parent with children in the district, opposed the decision to bring back the former logo, according to PennLive.
“We as a native nation do not need to be remembered and honored through a logo,” she said. “There are better ways to remember and honor us.”
“You have no idea what you are sharing and you have no idea what you are doing when it comes to our culture,” Isennock said. “It is offensive and ignorant. … You are not native and you do not know the culture.”
“You may think you may know all about Native Americans,” she said, “but our government-mandated history has failed all of you and all of us. You are not educated enough to know what is going on in native country and native history to be represented by a warrior head.”
Henkel pushed back against allegations of racism that were hurled during the public comment part of Thursday’s meeting.
“This isn’t easy to do. I’m going to do it because I’m not a coward,” she said, noting most students want the former logo back.
“Every time this issue comes up the results are the same,” Henkel said. “Overwhelmingly the community wants it back. … The majority of the community has spoken. You might not like the results, but here we are.”
Eunice Davidson, president of NAGA, said reverting to the former logo was “the right thing.”
“Why do you want to take away and hurt a culture that is such a minority in this country,” said Davidson, a Dakota Sioux. “I’m happy you folks are doing this. That you are fighting back and taking back your community … that’s why you were elected.”
