Came across this on Pechanga.net. Interesting article on our favorite Indian massacre town Turner Falls. Click on the link for a local news video.
http://wwlp.com/2017/09/06/turners-falls-students-beginning-school-year-without-mascot/Turners Falls students beginning school year without mascotSchool committee voted to get rid of "Indians" nickname back in February
By Mike Masciadrelli and Anthony Fay
Published: September 6, 2017, 12:37 pm
TURNERS FALLS, Mass, (WWLP) – The new school year has begun at Turners Falls High School, but a contentious issue from last year remains unresolved: the issue of a nickname for the school’s athletic teams.
In May, the Gill-Montague Regional School Committee voted 6-3 in February to eliminate the school’s “Indians” nickname and logo, due to concerns that the nickname was offensive to Native Americans.
“Its a fine line, because you want to be politically correct and don’t want to offend anyone,” Christina Chartier of South Hadley said.
But many in the area disagreed with the decision to eliminate the nickname that had been around for about 100 years. In a nonbinding referendum vote in May, about 75% of Montague voters said that they wanted to retain the “Indians.” Voters in Erving (which is not part of the district but sends students to Turners Falls High School) also voted to keep the nickname, but alter the logo.
Many area residents still have “I support the Indians” signs on their lawns.“We have over 100 years of respectful use of a Native American image. We’ve been the Indians, the Indians were in this area long before we arrived. We have a shared cultural connection with them,” Chris Pinardi of Turners Falls said.Superintendent of Schools Michael Sullivan told 22News that the school committee will establish a task force to select the new nickname. The nickname must be non-gender-specific and not represent any group based on its race, religion, or culture.
The school committee will meet on Tuesday, where they are expected to finalize their mascot task force.