North Hills School District removing Indian mascot from band uniforms

An incident involving a Texas drill team and Walt Disney World is causing the North Hills High School marching band to get new uniforms sooner rather than later.

During the April 21 voting meeting, the North Hills School Board unanimously voted to replace the home uniforms of the band.

“While our band uniforms are already beyond life expectancy, and the board would need to plan to replace them within the next two years, we want to provide background in order to be extremely clear about why there is an immediate need to purchase uniforms for next year,” school board president Allison Mathis read from a prepared statement prior to the vote.

Shortly before the music department trip to Disney World, band members were notified that they would not be permitted to perform due to the Indian logo on the back of the home uniforms.

In March, Port Neches-Groves (Texas) High School drill team members, named the Indianettes, were told they were not permitted to perform in Disney World if they wore the headdresses, or war bonnets, that are part of their uniform.

The group complied with the request but were recorded chanting the words “scalp ’em, Indians, scalp ’em” during their routine.

The performance brought some backlash to Disney World, and the company later issued a statement apologizing for the performance, stating that the team’s audition tape did not include the chant, and the corporation had “put measures in place to ensure performances reflect the auditions.”

The North Hills marching band was able to make the trip and perform at the resort by switching to its away uniforms, which do not have the Indian mascot included in the design.

The cost of 250 new uniforms is $186,377. The current home uniforms are 13 years old.

“Right now, we are addressing a singular issue. In order to have new uniforms for the start of the next season, we cannot delay this purchase,” Mathis said.

When asked if there were any upcoming discussions planned regarding a change to the high school mascot, Mathis said via email, “As soon as the district has a plan and structure, we will announce it.”

District staff and officials declined further comment.

The new uniforms will be available to band members on Aug. 15.