Radnor School Board Devotes Four Hours to Raider Nickname Discussion
Last Wednesday (August 4), the Radnor School Board conducted a special session to discuss whether to discontinue the use of the nickname, The Raiders.
Davis Giangiulio reported in the Delaware Valley Journal that, “Mike Petitti, the district director of communications, explained the history he and others were able to uncover about the usage of Native American imagery in the school and the Raider name.
Petitti concluded that the Raider name created in the late 19th century and early 20th was not intended to have any relation to Native Americans.
Click here to watch Radnor School Board Discussion about Raider Nickname
School legend has it that the Native American symbols began to be used sometime in the early 1960s to honor a teacher, Emerson ‘Chief’ Metoxen, a member of the Oneida Indian Tribe and a beloved staff member for more than 20 years. Metoxen was critical in teaching students who would be wearing it how to be respectful in its usage.
By 1968, the Native American image appeared on the school’s newspaper. And by at least 1977, a version appeared of the Native American head that remains on the side of the building today.
Leslie Greenfield, granddaughter of Metoxen, read a statement from the family addressing the issue in which their late family member has been invoked.
‘We would like to express our deep conviction that using Native American imagery, along with the name Raiders, perpetuates racial stereotypes,’ she read from the statement. ‘We all need to understand that associating Raiders with Native Americans in general, or with my grandfather in particular, is simply no longer acceptable.’ “
In 2013, Radnor High School removed the costumed mascot, but image of the Indian head remains on the side of the building.
Instagram account of student group opposed to Radnor Raiders nickname.
July 16 FOX-29 report on Radnor student effort to remove the Indian head and eliminate the nickname Raiders.