Barnstable Schools Drop Red Raider Mascot

BARNSTABLE, MA — The Barnstable School Committee moved forward with replacing the name and image of the high school's mascot, the Red Raiders.

The committee originally voted to replace the mascot in August, which has long been considered offensive by Native Americans and activists. At the June school committee meeting, students called for school officials to disown the mascot, which has also been a target of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. But Committee member Joe Nystrom last month asked the committee to consider keeping the name and replacing the logo.

Nystrom said and unverified local story suggested the name wasn't associated with Native Americans, but honored Dennis Francis Thomas, a U.S. Marine killed in WWII. But Nystrom said he had no proof the story was true, and later changed his mind.

Nystrom change his mind about the Red Raiders mascot during discussions with Committee members Barbara Dunn, Kathy Bent and others.

"If we keep the name Red Raider, it's offensive to some," Dunn said. "We are not being an anti-racist district. We’re not welcoming all."

Bent supported changing the name by making a comparison to a word no longer socially acceptable to use.

"The word retarded means delayed, but that word cannot be used in today's society because it's been tied to people in a negative way," Bent said.

Nystrom said the analogy was "fantastic" and ended up never filing his intended motion to have Red Raider be kept as the team name.