“Indians” Sign Removed from Owego Free Academy Entrance
After three decades, a large sign proclaiming Owego Free Academy as the "Home of the Indians" is gone from the high school's main entrance.
As students started their first day of classes on Thursday, the spot where the sign stood at the corner of George Street and Sheldon Guile Boulevard was bare - covered in dirt.
The sign was removed two weeks ago as part of the requirement that school districts in New York state remove indigenous names, logos and imagery by the end of the new academic year.
The large granite sign was donated by the Owego Free Academy Class of 1986. The school district is working with members of that class to find a new location for the sign.
Last September, the school district announced that the "Indians" nickname was being replaced by "River Hawks."
The new nickname was chosen after a lengthy process involving Owego-Apalachin School District students and residents.
Some expressed opposition to the change, insisting "Once an Indian, always an Indian." But the school district moved forward to comply with a state education department order that Native American mascots be phased out.
Randy Squier, who was president of the Class of 1986, now is superintendent of the Coxsackie-Athens School District near Albany. In an online post, he wrote "it was an honor for our class to donate the granite edifice with our respected Indian logo adorning the sign."
Squier, who has been school superintendent for 14 years, noted the Coxsackie-Athens district retired its Indian mascot prior to the state mandate. He said some residents and alumni had expressed anger about the change but ultimately were able to embrace the move.
For now, the Owego Free Academy "Home of the Indians" sign is being stored on campus until it can be moved to a new site.
Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.
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