Canton High School Drops Chiefs Name, Arrowhead Logo

CANTON, MI — The Plymouth-Canton school board voted Tuesday night to retire Canton High School's "Chief" mascot and arrowhead logo.

The 6-1 vote to get rid of the name and mascot comes after board members said they received lots of complaints from the community, including from students, who believe the name, logo and mascot are offensive to Native Americans.

"I am mixed-ingenious to the Americas, unlike a lot of the folks that I graduated with," one person said, according to WDIV. "I, unfortunately, had to compete under the arrowhead mascot, which I always took to be a symbol of Colonialism which was very, very near to my family background."

Other families, including some with Native American heritage spoke against changing the name, logo and mascot, saying they find them honorable.

"I, personally, as a native person find them very honorable and respectful," a Navajo parent said, according to WXYZ. "It’s not like the Cleveland Indians Chief Wahoo, a caricature, or anything like that."

Board members said Canton High School will most likely keep its red and white colors as students pick their news mascot and logo.