FRIDAY 4/9/2021 9:05 a.m.
BOUNTIFUL, Utah (ABC4) – Bountiful High School, after 70 years, has a new mascot.
In fall 2020, school officials announced they would drop the Braves mascot after administrators came under mounting pressure to change the name because of its cultural insecurities.
During a pre-recorded video released on Friday, Principal Aaron Hogge announced the new mascot – the Redhawks.
Folks in the Native American community applaud Principal Hogge for listening to the community and making a switch.
“This is a step in the right direction this is where everyone should be going and I want to give a compliment to Principal Aaron Hogge for making this decision,” PANDOS member Carl Moore says. “Using indigenous people as a mascot you are mocking our sacred selves our sacred identities”.
The decision came after the community provided numerous new ideas, which included the brave, the bolts, the bears, the trailblazers, and more.
Principal Hogge explains that the red-tailed hawk is the most common hawk species in North America. He adds that they are one of the biggest birds of prey found in the mountains above Bountiful.
As of Friday morning, the official logo for the new mascot has not been completed. In the video above, Principal Hogge unveiled a number of preliminary designs for the Redhawks mascot.
The colors and school song at Bountiful High will the remain the same.
Original Story: Bountiful High to announce new mascot replacing ‘Braves’
FRIDAY 4/9/2021 7:20 a.m.
BOUNTIFUL, Utah (ABC4) – It’s an end of an era in Davis County – Bountiful High School will unveil its new mascot on April 9.
In late November, school officials confirmed the ‘Bountiful Braves’ would be no more after nearly seven decades. Administrators came under mounting pressure to change the name because of its cultural insecurities.
The controversy came into question in July when two alumnae, Mallory Rogers and Mykala Rogers, started a petition to get the mascot changed. Those who supported the petition said the mascot perpetuated offensive Native American stereotypes.
Soon after, a counter-petition was started by Brett Baker, another Bountiful High alumnus. Those who supported keeping the mascot said it paid tribute to Indigenous communities.
Administrators formed a consultation committee to identify and discuss concerns that have been presented regarding the school’s mascot. The community also listened to the various perspectives of stakeholders on the issue and discussed potential solutions moving forward.
During this process, officials sought input from representatives of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation, current Bountiful High School students, faculty, staff, and parents.
“It became really a wonderful committee process, and they were able to look at both sides, and really look at the merits of both sides,” Principal Aaron Hogge told ABC4 in November. “Then as an administration, and I, as the principal, then took those recommendations and came up with a decision that now is the time to change the mascot of Bountiful High School.”
The student body was given two months to submit ideas for a new mascot.
Now, at 9 a.m. on Friday, April 9, Bountiful High officials will announce the school’s new mascot. ABC4 will update this story once that information is released.
