Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
REARDAN – Substitute House Bill 1356, which would ban the use of Native American names, symbols or images as public school mascots, logos or team names has passed through the House fairly convincingly and is in committee in the Senate, indicating it may be well on its way to passing legislature and landing on the governor’s desk.
However, after advocacy from superintendent Eric Sobotta and an amendment to the bill inserted before passing through the House, the bill wouldn’t apply to the Reardan-Edwall School District, which uses the “Indians” mascot…if the Spokane Tribe gives its approval.
The first writing of the bill included exceptions to the mascot rule for public schools located within or with enrollment boundaries that include a portion of “Indian country,” or public schools in a county that contains all or part of a tribal reservation or tribal trust lands, if those schools consulted with the tribes in question and the tribe authorized the usage. For example, this exception would apply to the Wellpinit Redskins, who are located on Spokane Tribe land.
However, the original writing of the bill wouldn’t have included an exception for Reardan, despite Spokane Tribe Land being 20 miles north of town, because Lincoln County doesn’t have any tribal reservation land.
Sobotta testified during the bill’s public hearing Feb. 5, requesting an amendment to include an exception to Bill 1356 for counties bordering counties with tribal land. He cited the relationship he desires his school district to have with the Spokane Tribe that includes developing curriculum to teach Salish, the tribe’s native language, as an elective course.
The bill was thus amended to include language stating that a school located in a county adjacent to a county that contains all or part of a tribal reservation or tribal trust land is an exception to the bill, provided the tribe is consulted with and authorizes the use of the mascot.
“This is a prime example of the importance of legislative advocacy. I am grateful that legislators listened and added the amendment,” Sobotta said. “We will continue to focus on fostering a flourishing relationship with the Spokane Tribe, which will benefit all of our students and community.”
The substitute bill easily passed through the House with 92 “yeas” and just five “nays.” Legislative District 13 representatives Tom Dent and Alex Ybarra were among the many “yea” votes.
The bill is now in committee in the Senate. It is scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education at 8 a.m. on March 12. If it passes the Senate, it moves to the governor’s desk, where Gov. Jay Inslee would likely act to sign the bill into law.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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