An Indianola mother is trying to share her views in an effort to get rid of the Indian moniker, although the school board has no immediate plans to revisit the matter. Amanda Cawthorn, whose ancestry is Oneida, attended a high school in Wisconsin that also used an Indian nickname, but that school changed its nickname in the early 1990s and she wanted to see the same thing. for her four children in Indianola. “The Indians are a people, a present people, not an extinct people,” she said. “I fully support that,” said Hailey Stanley, a student at Indianola High School. “We are Indianola Indians since my father went to Indianola School and I love Indianola Indians.” Cawthorn says she enjoys chatting with people face-to-face to share her views. “My oldest sons are all signed up for fall sports, and right before they started, he said, ‘Mom, I can’t do it. I can’t wear that uniform. unable to represent my school with the race branded on my chest.”” The School Board held a meeting in 2021 that included public comment on the moniker’s future, but none Indianola School Board President Rob Keller issued the following statement for this story: “Currently the Indianola School Board does not have any plans to further discuss the moniker. and our Indianola symbol at an upcoming council meeting. This past June, the Indianola School Board met with our Executive Director a board conference. We have named the following four areas as the board’s priorities for the current school year: High School Bond Matters, School Safety, Mental Health of our students and teachers, and Technical Education Art Profession. “Cawthorn said she thinks the name will change someday, but she doesn’t know when.
An Indianola mother is trying to share her views in an effort to get rid of the Indian moniker, although the school board has no immediate plans to revisit the matter.
Amanda Cawthorn, whose ancestry is Oneida, attended a high school in Wisconsin, which also used an Indian nickname.
But that school changed its name in the early 1990s, and she wanted to see the same for her four children in Indianola.
“The Indians are a people, a present people, not an extinct people,” she said.
The team’s nickname has been associated with the town for generations, and many in the community want to continue the tradition.
“I fully support that,” said Hailey Stanley, a student at Indianola High School. “We’ve been Indianola since my dad went to Indianola school, and I love Indianola.”
Cawthorn says she enjoys chatting with people face-to-face to share her views.
“My oldest sons are all signed up for fall sports, and right before they started, he said, ‘Mom, I can’t do it. I can’t wear that uniform. can’t represent my school with the race branded on my chest.'”
The school board held a meeting in 2021 that included public comment on the future of the nickname, but no action was taken.
Indianola School Board President Rob Keller issued the following statement for this story:
“Currently the Indianola School Board does not have any plans to further discuss the nickname and symbolism of our Indianola Indians at the upcoming board meeting. In June, the Board of Directors Indianola school administrators met with our Superintendent to organize a workshop We named the following four areas as the board of priorities for the current school year: High School Bond Issues, School Safety Education, the Mental Health of our students and teachers, and Career Technical Education.”
Cawthorn said she thinks the name will change someday, but she doesn’t know when.
