North Hills School District holding town hall to discuss Indian mascot future

Like other school districts that have used an Indian as their mascot, North Hills School District will host a town hall for residents to voice their thoughts regarding a possible change to its mascot.

It will be held at the North Hills High School auditorium at 6 p.m. June 22.

Those who would like to speak at the town hall must be a resident, taxpayer, employee or alumni of North Hills School District, and are required to pre-register by noon that day. Registration can be completed here.

The district said that the purpose of the meeting is to gather public input on the matter. No decision will be made during the meeting but will be discussed and possibly voted on at a future school board meeting.

According to the district, school board members will review the transcript from the June 22 town hall, as well as the submitted online comments, to determine the best course of action.

“We value the feedback from the public and look forward to providing this opportunity so we can hear what our community and alumni have to say about our mascot so we can best determine next steps,” school board president Allison Mathis said in a statement.

Courtesy North Hills School District

The North Hills High School 2022 yearbook’s cover design was not approved by high school or district administrators.

The town hall comes after the North Hills High School marching band was told it couldn’t perform at Walt Disney World with an Indian logo on their uniforms. The band wore its summer uniforms to the performance, which do not have an Indian mascot on them.

Additionally, on May 20, the school district sent a notice out to families, students and staff regarding the 2022 ‘Clear Your Path’ yearbook, which included a photo of the cover that includes a totem pole in its design, and said that the cover design was “a misrepresentation of our Indian mascot and the pride, tradition and excellence of the district.”

“Yearbook is both a class and a club at the high school. Each fall, students work with an artist from Jostens, our yearbook manufacturer, to design the cover,” said Heather Pelat, director of communications for North Hills School District. “This cover was designed last September, but never approved by any administrator at the high school or district level.”

The district announced that the yearbook would be delivered with the original cover, but replacements with new cover art will be offered at no cost to those who chose to complete a form.

According to district director of communications Heather Pelat, the Indian mascot dates back to 1939 and the former West View High School.

“The Indian logo is present in the 1939 school yearbook, the first graduating class of West View High School, although there is no official designation of Indians as the West View mascot,” Pelat said. “North Hills High School’s first graduating class was 1959 and, in their yearbook, ‘North Hills Indians’ is identified in the summaries of the sports programs and scores.”