One would think that an institution called “Aloha High School” might be allowed to honor the first king of Hawaii, Kamehameha, with its logo – but it will no longer be tolerated.
The Beaverton, Oregon, high school received a bit of pushback last year over its longtime logo, which represents the team name, the “warriors.”
Here is the former logo, considered “inappropriate” by some, featuring King Kamehameha:
While the school will keep the moniker “warriors,” the new symbol representing the name will be a wolf, officially introduced with the new school year.
As KOIN-TV reports, Oregon has prohibited public schools from using Native American mascots and team names, unless they reached an agreement with federally recognized tribes across the state, since July 2017.
While the school’s mascot depicts the first king of Hawaii instead of a Native American figure, and “warriors” is permitted as a team name as long as it isn’t combined by imagery associated with American Indian Tribes, Aloha High School revealed in spring 2024 that several people had raised an issue with its branding.
Subsequently, a committee was formed to consider replacing the iconic Kamehameha.
Apparently, part of the problem with the king is his “specific gender.”
“In the Beaverton School District and at Aloha High School, we believe that all students belong,” the district said on its website. “We’re committed to ensuring that all aspects of our school culture reflect this inclusivity, including our mascot. As a district, we’re moving away from school mascots that depict human figures or specific genders, as these types of mascots do not connect to or represent all students.”
The student body eventually voted to approve a new logo depicting a howling “warrior” wolf. It is unclear what gender the wolf identifies as.
While countless schools and professional sports teams have changed mascots to assuage community sensitivities in recent years, the Trump administration is restoring “inappropriate” names of military bases and other facilities that had been 86’d during the Biden years.