A new mascot is coming to Chippewa.
The Near North District School Board has given the go-ahead to form a new committee to continue the work of rebranding Chippewa Secondary School’s sports teams. To be clear, this committee is only interested in changing the team’s brand, not the school’s name.
Currently, all teams compete under the school’s name. The red and gold outfits are adorned simply with “Chippewa.” Previously, the teams flew the Chippewa Raiders banner. Public pressure spurred the board to drop the Raiders moniker. The previous mascot, Joe Raider, was put to pasture in 2010.
At that time, the Chippewa Student Council Advisors penned a letter to students regarding Joe Raider's fate. Advisors noted “We have developed greater understanding of the multicultural issues surrounding our mascot. We truly feel that our school must be a place where students of all cultures can be educated and feel comfortable.”
See: The letter students received about Joe Raider's fate
The school’s thunderbird logo has also come under scrutiny in recent years. Chippewa’s principal, Krista Tucker-Petrick, noted in December of 2022 that she had concerns that “The use of the thunderbird (cultural teaching with meaning and symbolism) out of any context, is appropriation.
See: 'Unacceptable' Chippewa Raiders name must go — school board
School Board Trustee Bill Steer expressed similar concerns. At the February 13 board meeting, he tabled a motion that would permit Chippewa to begin the process of picking a new team name, logo, and mascot.
The motion allows for the creation of the Chippewa Secondary School Committee, helmed by the school’s principal, to establish the terms of reference for the committee, which would include its composition – how many members will be from the school and from the community. The rebranding process, and how those decisions will be made, is in the school's hands.
As for the controversial decision to rename the school, that move was rescinded by the school board last December. At that time, school board Chair Erika Lougheed noted “there is no formal plan or next steps for naming/renaming.”
See: Will Chippewa Secondary keep its name?
Another purpose of the committee, the motion outlined, is to “identify the educational opportunity to address cultural appropriation respecting and extending the tenets of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report.”
Steer’s motion – the Naming Resolution – “enables the director to transition this rebranding to the school,” Steer said, speaking of the Director of Education, Craig Myles.
“This is good for students,” Steer said, “and good for the community.”
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
