Adidas is offering its expertise and services to American high schools. (Adidas Twitter logo)
Adidas, the Germany athletic shoe and apparel maker, is offering to help American high schools change Native American mascots and identities at their respective schools. The company made the announcement Thursday at the White House Tribal Nations Conference in Washington, D.C.
Adidas said it will offer financial assistance to schools looking to change Native American mascots, nicknames, imagery or symbolism. Schools interested in making the change can contact Adidas via email.
Twenty-one schools in Connecticut have Native American nicknames and mascots including Canton (Warriors), Farmington (Indians), Conard-West Hartford (Chieftains) and Hall-West Hartford (Warriors). Conard and Hall have recently changed their logos and mascots to remove references to Native Americans.
“Sports have the power to change lives,” said Eric Liedtke, an executive board member at Adidas. “Sports give young people limitless potential. Young athletes have hope, they have desire and they have a will to win. Importantly, sports must be inclusive. Adidas is proud to provide a pathway for high schools and communities who want to create new identities.”
According to Adidas, there are more than 27,000 high schools in the United States and approximately 2,000 of them use names that cause concern for many tribal communities. The new program will be voluntary for high schools interested in changing their identities.
“Extraordinary things happen because of sports,” Liedtke said. “There are countless stories – Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics, Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier, Billie Jean King igniting a women’s movement. Today, we can add another story on how sports bring people together and provide common ground to ignite change.”
High schools interested in changing their mascot identity can email their request to [email protected].
Other Connecticut high schools with Native American references in their nickname include:
Derby (Red Raiders), Enfield (Raiders), Glastonbury (Tomahawks), Killingly (Redmen/Redgals), Manchester (Indians), Montville (Indians), Newington (Indians), Nonnewaug-Woodbury (Chiefs), North Haven (Indians), Norwich Tech (Warriors), RHAM (Sachems), Valley Regional-Deep RIver (Warriors), Wamogo Regional-Litchfield (Warriors), Watertown (Indians), Wilcox Tech-Meriden (Indians) and Windsor (Warriors).
Northwest Catholic in West Hartford dropped the Indians nickname earlier this month and will now will be known as the Lions.
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