A group in Cottage Grove wants to save an Indian head mosaic from destruction.
The emblem was installed in a hallway floor of Park High School in 1965, when the school’s teams were called the Indians. Last week, officials announced they were removing it, citing worries that it might be offensive to the American Indian community.
But Tim Cornwell wants to rescue it.
“There are plenty of Park alumni out there who are not happy about this,” said Cornwell, who graduated in 1973. “They are proud of the mascot and its heritage.”
He knows there was pressure put on school officials by American Indians to remove it. “But what about the rest of us out here who don’t see it that way?” he said.
Cornwell said he has formed a four-person “task force committee” to preserve or move the emblem. He said he intends to address the school board at a meeting in April.
School district spokeswoman Shelly Schafer said the district has not had any communication with Cornwell or his group.
“The decision to remove the emblem from the floor has already been made,” she said in an email. There is no timeline for the removal, she said. “We are still determining the next steps.”
The district is not asking the public for ideas to preserve the mosaic, but is asking for other ways to “honor Park’s past, while being respectful to the present.”
Cornwell isn’t sure how the emblem could be saved. It might be possible, he said, to move it into a permanent home in a museum or some other public place.
He admits it’s a relic, but says it’s a part of school history that should be preserved.
“The Indian head has probably survived its full life cycle already,” he said. “Today’s political climate is obviously different than 40 years ago.”
In the 1980s, the state Board of Education passed a resolution opposing school symbols related to American Indians. In 1994, the school switched mascots from the Park Indians to the Park Wolfpack.
Uniforms and signage were changed, but the emblem in the floor remained.
Cornwell said the mosaic does not denigrate American Indians, but celebrates their culture. “It’s a very beautiful piece. It’s very important to us,” he said.