Those speakers included founding members of the Coalition of Natives and Allies - a group aiming to "bring awareness to the trauma caused by negative and archaic stereotypes used for sports mascots" - and state Rep. "Ignoring this issue is not going to make it go away," Wolfe said during a speech. On Tuesday, Wolfe was one of about 20 who spoke, urging the board to consider the views of Native American community members who feel marginalized by the mascot. Wolfe said that despite two years of attending meetings to spur change and a petition to change the mascot, which has garnered 5,700 signatures, the board has yet to act on the matter. Twin Valley senior Arden Wolfe started the campaign Retire the Raider in 2020, and when it comes up board members have said the pandemic is the dominant issue and that the Raider would be considered later. Most of the comments were against the Raider among the crowd of about 50 students, residents and indigenous community activists. But the public comment period centered on the issue and some board members did discuss it with the audience and with one another. An initiative early in the meeting for putting the Raider issue on the agenda failed by a 5-3 vote.
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