The William S. Hart Union High School District on Wednesday February 3 announced plans to discuss the removal of the mascot of the Hart High School Indian, which officials say garnered criticism as being insensitive to Native American culture. 

Hart High School’s mascot has been “The Indians” since 1940. In a letter issued on Wednesday February 3, parents of the high school stated that it is in strong opinion that the mascot disrespects the Native American culture. 

See Related: The Insensitivity of “Indian” Mascots 

At Wednesday’s district board meeting, the board heard from guest speaker and representative of the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, Rudy Ortega, on the issue of the mascot and impacts on the indigenous population of Santa Clarita. This is the second board meeting in which the topic of the mascot was discussed. 

Additionally, 11 comments were submitted by the community to the board in support of changing the Hart High School mascot and four were in support of keeping it. 

The district has said that no official decision will be decided during any of the meetings. The district hopes to continue holding meetings to gather information on public opinion for the removal of the Hart mascot in the coming weeks. They have yet to release a set date on when the decision will be confirmed.