Leaders of a nearly all-white northwest Missouri school district have narrowly voted to keep the high school’s “Savages” nickname but will phase out the use of Native American imagery.
The Maryville Daily Forum reports that the Savannah R-3 Board of Education’s 4-3 vote on Tuesday night came after months of dueling petitions and heated debates.
Activists, including those that originally petitioned the board last summer to change the mascot, hoped to have the name and image eradicated.
But many residents wanted nothing to change, and one board member walked out of the meeting after failing to stop the removal of Native American imagery.