A ‘Big Cat’ Has Been Proposed as Jamestown High School’s New Mascot

Ben Drake with JPS Mascot Proposal

A return to a “big cat” has been proposed as Jamestown High School‘s new mascot.

Jamestown High School Mascot Committee member and Athletic Director Ben Drake gave that proposal to the Jamestown School Board Tuesday night.

The Mascot Committee had decided in 2014 to stop using the Native American caricature and then again in 2020 recommended the board approve changing the mascot and logo to remove all Native American imagery.

The board approved that recommendation in July but voted down a resolution to change the team name of “Red Raiders.”

Drake said the first mascot in Jamestown’s history was a “big cat” in the early 1900s, “And so after lengthy discussions, the committee ultimately was in favor of going ‘back to our roots’ with that original logo. We just felt that it provided a great story behind the re-brand. And the committee felt that story of the Red Raiders, how that logo has changed over the years would be very educational to our students and our community.”

Drake said two local graphic artists were hired to create design proposals with 360 Graphics being ultimately chosen by the committee.

Board Member Pat Slagle said he thinks it’s important to look back at history and working with the Seneca Nation on why the district ever used the Native American imagery, “Why other sports teams and things went that way and why it’s important to go back and to, you know, not just try to bury that aside but to recognize that chapter in our history but I think it’s very important to go back to what the old mascot was and I love the updated version, how we could easily use all kinds of different variations of that.”

Board President Paul Abbott encouraged the community to provide feedback on the new mascot and logo.

The Jamestown School Board must still vote to adopt the new mascot and logo.