09:29 AM EST on Friday, April 2, 2004

By The Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- West Mecklenburg High School is the latest school in the state to drop the use of its Indian mascot, a move that disappoints some students and alumni.

The 53-year-old school will move a sign out front with an American Indian in headdress to another part of campus. It will also change its athletic uniforms and logos, its gym floor decorated with a spear and dangling feather, the schools Bow & Arrow newspaper and its yearbook, the Tomahawk.

West Mecklenburg Principal Craig Witherspoon estimated a cost of at least $30,000 for the changes.

"I think this will be able to open some eyes," said Letha Strickland, executive director of the Metrolina Native American Association. "I know people sometimes think there was honor in those type of nicknames, but Native American students often don't like the way it is displayed."

Students will vote for a new name Wednesday from among five choices -- Aviators, Jets, Hawks, Flyers and Rockets.

The search for a new mascot resulted from a 2002 push from the Advisory Council on Indian Education, a state agency that advises the State Board of Education.

"People are passionate on both sides," Witherspoon said. "I was the facilitator, and everyone had a say. This issue got people thinking. We tried to be as inclusive as possible."

American Indian advocates say Indian mascots reinforce the notion of violence and savagery. It also can lead to ridicule for American Indian students.

Senior Lisa Driver, 18, said the Indian has been a mascot for many years.

"Why now all of a sudden a change? When we come back next year to a football game, we want to see our mascot. It'll feel like we're leaving something behind," she said.

Two county middle schools recently changed nicknames. Coulwood Middle dropped Braves for Catamounts, and Wilson Middle replaced Warriors with Wolverines.

In February, Guilford County schools banned American Indian nicknames at two high schools. Twenty-one of the 350 schools in the N.C. High School Athletic Association have nicknames related to American Indians.

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Information from: The Charlotte Observer, http://www.charlotte.com