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2 more Michigan school districts dropping Indian mascots

Native American groups ask NFL to force Redskins name change
Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Bruce Kluckhohn/AP
FILE - In this Oct. 24, 2019, file photo, Native American leaders protest against the Redskins team name outside U.S. Bank Stadium before an NFL football game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Washington Redskins in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn, File)
Native American groups ask NFL to force Redskins name change
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HARTFORD, Mich. (AP) — Two more Michigan school districts are dropping Indian nicknames and images.

Saranac in Ionia County and Hartford in Van Buren County are the latest to make the change.

Hartford Superintendent Kelly Millin said the district, known as the Indians, was greatly influenced by members of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi. The Indian mascot will no longer be used by the end of the school year.

“What once served as a representation for culture, no longer carries the same point of pride for all that see it, and we have been asked to change our Native American logo and mascot," Millin said in a letter to the community.

The Saranac school board last week voted to “respectfully retire the Redskin mascot."

Camden-Frontier schools in Hillsdale County and the Sandusky district in Sanilac County still call themselves Redskins, MLive.com reported.

More Michigan districts still use “Indians.”

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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