BOISE, Idaho — After an hour and a half of public testimony at a packed school board meeting Monday night, the Boise School District Board of Trustees unanimously approved a motion to change the Boise High School mascot from the Braves to the Brave.
Public testimony underway for Boise High proposed mascot change from Braves to Brave. Full house at the school district meeting. pic.twitter.com/ogpZYrvlZc
— Karen Lehr (@KarenLehr) August 12, 2019
Nearly every person who showed up to the meeting was passionately in favor of the change, citing respect for native tribes who requested the change.
“The indigenous people of this area find it offensive. Therefore it is. Period,” Deborah Watts testified.
“We know better than to use this term that brings so much pain and anguish the Native Americans every time they hear it," Tara Sahli said.
Among those who testified were several current and former Boise High students, parents and faculty, but it was testimony from Antoinette Cavanaugh, a Western Shoshone enrolled with the Duck Valley Indian Reservation who received a standing ovation.
"We’re people just like everybody else, and I think it’s important to recognize that and stop with all of the name-calling," Cavanaugh said.
Leaders of the initiate to change the mascot say it will take three to five years to fully transition the old logos and mascot names off of the Boise High campus, a timeline they say tribes support.
