SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Officials at a high school in suburban Chicago are re-examining the use of an Indian mascot after a burst of social media attention.
The Chicago Tribune reports that the Maine West Warrior wears a costume and headdress. His dance routine resembles the one done by the now-barred Chief Illiniwek at the University of Illinois.
An Oklahoma member of the Pawnee Nation noted his offense last week at a Twitter image of the Des Plaines school’s mascot since 1959.
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School officials had believed poet Mary Littlefield had endorsed the symbol on behalf of her Cherokee heritage during a school visit in the 1990s. But Littlefield and Cherokee Nation officials say it isn’t so.
Maine Township High School District spokesman David Beery says officials are reviewing the mascot.
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