LANSING — The Michigan Department of Civil Rights filed a complaint Friday with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, asking to ban the use of American Indian mascots and imagery in K-12 school because it denies equal rights to American Indian students.
Supporters say the mascots are a way to celebrate American Indian history and traditions and preserve the group's culture. But according to the complaint, new evidence suggests the use of the mascots "reinforces stereotypes," negatively impacting American Indian students' self-esteem, student learning and achievement.
Mark Dombroksi, superintendent for the Cheboygan Area School District, said he believes the district has used the "chiefs" mascot since the schools opened in the late 1890s. He said the community is heavily populated by American Indians and called the mascot a "sense of pride to the local community."
Three other schools in the region use American Indian mascots: the Petoskey Northmen, the Forest Area Warriors and the Manistee Chippewas.
Region
Complaint: Ban Native American mascots
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Snyder, Stabenow slated to speak at Helen Milliken service
United States Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Gov. Rick Snyder are among those expected to speak at a Monday, June 3, memorial service for former Michigan First Lady Helen Milliken.
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Memorial Day: Weather, gas prices and highway enforcement
An annual ceremony to honor veterans has a new location this year. More than 400 people are expected to attend a service Monday at the Grand Traverse Veterans Memorial Park. The ceremony begins at 10 a.m. at the park off 11th Street near Elmwood Avenue.
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Traverse City schools officials prepare for bond
Traverse City Area Public Schools officials said they’ve learned from last year’s failed bond campaign and hear loud-and-clear what voters want in a 2013 capital improvement project proposal.
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Utility cuts trees beyond easements, property owners say
Lynn Tilson is trying to save 374 of her red pines from the chainsaw. Michigan Electric Transmission Company marked the trees for removal, beyond the 50-foot easement Tilson believes the utility has on either side of its power lines.
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Conservancy offers farmers a shorter-term option for land
For the last 30 summers, Dennis and Barb Dean traveled from their Alaska home to tend to their sweet and tart cherry orchards in Williamsburg.
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Elk Rapids now has authorized baccalaureate school
Elk Rapids Middle School is being recognized for adopting a world-renowned education style, and other local districts are prepared to follow suit, thanks in part to a $3 million Kellogg Foundation grant.
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BATA bus struck during three-vehicle accident
A Bay Area Transportation Agency bus was damaged in a three-vehicle collision at the intersection of Three Mile and Hammond Road.
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Benzie County home destroyed in fire
Benzonia Township Fire Department Chief John Hanmer said units responded to the fire on Thursday at about 11 a.m. He said no one was inside the Cook Road home and the occupants were at work.
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Eligibility issues cut short TC St. Francis baseball season
St. Francis High School’s baseball team’s season prematurely ended.
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Memorial Day-related services in Traverse City region
Memorial Day-related services in Traverse City region:
Continued ... - Thursday, May 23, 2013
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Accused stalker faces more charges
A Grawn man who already is facing stalking charges is accused of breaking into the home of the female victim and attempting to take her dog.
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Victory for medical marijuana patients
Medical marijuana patients and advocates scored a victory after the state’s top court issued a decision on a long-running Grand Traverse County case.
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Parking lot argument chills Bardon's
Robin Bisel and Jean Cline licked ice cream cones at Bardon’s Wonder Freeze off Front Street and wondered how they’d maneuver through traffic when finished with their treats.
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Presidential Scholar has struggled with illness
Nicole “Niki” Tubacki doesn't remember much about her early childhood except for swinging outside in the sun.
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Man said to trade drugs for sex
A man arrested in Leelanau County for violating probation is accused of trading drugs for sexual favors with young women in Missaukee County.
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Car crashes into rocks near house
A Glen Arbor woman told deputies she fell asleep before she ran a stop sign and crashed her vehicle into a row of boulders near an Empire Township home.
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Local educators honored
The Outstanding Educator Award, sponsored by the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District, the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce and TBA Credit Union, is given annually to a handful of public, private and parochial educators in the Grand Traverse region.
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Man enters guilty plea in assault
A man accused of beating his live-in girlfriend in East Bay Township pleaded guilty to assault charges.
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Memorial Day-related services in Traverse City region
Memorial Day-related services and programs in the Traverse City region:
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Clearing the Record: 05/23/2013
Because of a clerk’s error, an incorrect address was listed in a news brief in the Sunday Record-Eagle.
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Traverse City steps up parking enforcement
Barb Meredith recently had an expensive downtown Traverse City breakfast, but not from anything on the restaurant’s menu.
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Snyder, GOP lawmakers agree to budget targets
Republican Gov. Rick Snyder and leaders of the GOP majority in the Legislature reached a budget agreement Tuesday for next fiscal year that doesn’t include an expansion of government health insurance for low income-adults and puts Michigan’s unexpected surplus toward funding roads and K-12 education.
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TCAPS contract talks continue
Traverse City Area Public Schools educators picketed outside the district’s main office building in a display of opposition to TCAPS administrators’ proposed collective bargaining contract.
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Panera Bread is on its way
A Panera Bread franchise likely will rise in Garfield Township despite what some planning officials consider a stale project design.
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Woman retraces father's steps to Indian marker trees
Dennis Downes traveled 200,000 miles over three decades, a journey to locate Indian trail tree markers around the Great Lakes, including two in Traverse City – one at the Civic Center and another at a Washington Street residence.
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Snyder, Stabenow slated to speak at Helen Milliken service
