April 29, 2021 4:30 a.m.
Sports teams at Roseburg High School will continue to be called the Indians, following a vote of the Roseburg School Board on Wednesday night.
After months of discussions regarding the potential of “respectfully retiring the mascot,” the board voted 5-1 to make that move. However, a board policy requires that this level of decision be made unanimously and longtime board member Charles Lee was the lone hold-out to making the change.
Prior to the vote, the board took twenty minutes of audience comments, and heard from a community that is split on the issue.
RHS graduate Jessica Bascom, whose petition to stop the use of the name Indians has drawn 7,000 signatures since last summer, asked the board to make the change, even taking the unusual step of praying at the conclusion of her comments. Mandie Pritchard said “The real issue is and always has been race, and the longstanding racial climate at Roseburg High School has been detrimental to countless students”.
Marcia Jacques was opposed to the change and asked the board to keep the tradition of the Roseburg Indians name. Several other speakers echoed that, one noting that the word Umpqua, part of the local tribal name, is widely used throughout the community.
When board chair Rebecca Larson called for a motion, board member Brandon Bishop called for the mascot name to be retired. A vote was taken, with Lee remaining opposed.
While there was no further discussion at that point, the issue came up again later during the comment period for individual board members. Rod Cotton, who has served on the board for 27 years, said a community discussion regarding perceived racism in Roseburg needs to take place. Cotton said he has heard that some professionals will not move to Roseburg due to the community’s reputation. Lee acknowledged that he received many communications regarding the mascot issue but does not believe the use of the name is harmful. Micki Hall, who attended virtually, said the board made “a huge mistake” by not dropping the use of the mascot. Howard Johnson said the change still needed to happen. He said if the Cow Creek Umpqua Tribe were to back away from a memorandum of understanding allowing continued use of the Indian mascot, the district would have “no choice” in the matter.
The “socially distanced” meeting was held in the Rose Theater at RHS. A Roseburg Police officer was on hand and while words were exchanged between some in the crowd, he did not need to take any action during the tense meeting.