The Saskatoon Public School Board says it needs to do more consultation before making any decisions on the Bedford Road Collegiate logo.
A delegation appeared before a packed and at times emotional school board meeting last night arguing the school’s Redmen logo is racist and demeaning to Aboriginal people and it is high time it was dropped.
Sarah Cochran, a mother of three children who lives in the Bedford Road area, says it is frustrating to see trustees hedging on an issue that has long been a concern to a number of people in the community.
“When a community encourages a racist name like the Redmen it affects not only the community that it’s in, it affects the greater community,” she says.
University of Saskatchewan education professor Alex Wilson adds if they don’t see some movement soon, the group will take the issue to a higher level – perhaps a human rights complaint.
“They’re trying to placate somebody but I don’t know,” she says. “What more do they need, they’ve got all the evidence.”
Cochran says she will not let her children go to Bedford when they reach high school age if the logo is not dropped.
Trustee Bronwyn Eyre told the delegation that Bedford has consulted on the logo issue in the past and decided to maintain the status quo.
An Ottawa-area minor football team the Nepean Redskins recently changed its name to the Eagles after a human rights complaint was filed.