Minnesota education bills, which include ban on American Indian nicknames, move to conference committee

The prohibition of American Indian nicknames is one of the many differences in the education omnibus bills that the Conference Committee on House File 2497 will work to resolve.

May 3, 2023

WARROAD, Minn. — As legislation addressing the use of American Indian nicknames in Minnesota public schools is debated in a conference committee, not everybody with ties to Warroad Public Schools is supportive of efforts to allow the school district to keep its nickname.

Tréchelle Bunn, an Indigenous woman, Warroad High School alumni and former Warroad High hockey player, sees the Warroad Warriors nickname as outdated. Growing up in a small town in Manitoba just across the U.S.-Canada border, she said she first experienced racism when she transferred to Warroad Public Schools in middle school. It was perpetuated by other students wearing Warroad Warriors clothing.

https://www.dl-online.com/news/minnesota/minnesota-education-bills-which-include-ban-on-american-indian-nicknames-move-to-conference-committee