By Greg Gielczyk
LocalSportsJournal.com

 
MANISTEE —It wasn’t a decision the Manistee Area Public Schools (MAPS) Board of Education made lightly, or in haste, but starting with the 2023-2024 school year the school will have a new mascot.
 
When this school year ends, “Chippewas” — a mascot Manistee High School has been called for the past 93 years — is out, and “Mariners” is in after a recent 6-0 vote by the boards to adopt the resolution.
 
The new name was chosen after much deliberation, conversations with the Student Advisory Committee (made up of eight students) as well as such indigenous groups as National Congress of American Indians and the United Tribes of Michigan which launched an educational campaign to make communities and school districts about the impact of using Native American surnames.
 
They said it perpetuates a stereotype of indigenous culture that “does not reflect diversity, but instead presents imagery that is primitive and warlike.”
 
It also involved feedback from the community. The student committee formulated a survey which was sent out, asking for ideas for the new name.
 
MAPS superintendent Ronald Stoneman was pleased with the results, as he said 1,160 votes were returned. Mariners was on about 60 percent of the votes cast.
 
Stoneman also reported that 43 percent of the votes came from students in the school system.
 
“We started talking about this late summer, early fall,” said Stoneman. “I think we were looking at a process starting in the fall, involving some education for us and the board, related to the impact of the name. We heard from some indigenous people, not local, but from across Michigan, so we had a strong understanding of the situation with the name.”
 
A public hearing was held early in the fall, with those indigenous groups mentioned above in attendance to provide any answers to questions community members might have.
 
Now that the new name has been approved, the school is working on applying for grant funding, as it becomes available and formulate a budget and begin the transition.
 
Obviously, the major transition will be in the gymnasium, where the floor will have to be refurbished to reflect the new mascot, but Stoneman said that since the approval was just made, no steps have yet been taken to look into it.
 
But active school materials bearing the retired mascot, and related imagery will be phased out as funding is available.
 
“Any past awards displayed, class composites, yearbooks, and other items representative of our alumni will remain. We want everyone to understand that the Chippewa name is being retired now, but not banned,” said Board Secretary, Shelley Johnson.
 
The name Mariners is meant to “invoke ideals of hard work, loyalty, unity and respect.” The other option was “Manistee Whitecaps.”
 
Further, a MAPS press release stated: “Mariners: Honoring both the heritage and modern day of our community built around a deep-water shipping port, Mariners are a symbol of perseverance throughout centuries.”
 
In the late 1990s, MAPS worked with local tribal representatives to remove Native American imagery associated with the district’s mascot.
 
However, keeping the name, or even using “chips” as an abbreviated version, is offensive to Native American culture, Stoneman said.
 
Stoneman hopes that the district will retain its school colors and Block M.