Skowhegan Field Hockey's Leah Savage: It's Past Time To Retire The Mascot

"Skowhegan goalie Leah Savage makes a save on a shot from Messalonskee forward Chloe Tilley, right, during a Class A North game. Staff photo by Michael G. Seamans"  Photo from Waterville Morning Sentinel

I am thrilled to share this statement by a member of my extended family. If you're from Skowhegan, Leah probably needs no introduction. If not, read on. Her statement will be read at tonight's public forum.

"Skowhegan's Leah Savage competes in the girls triple jump event at the Class A track and field state championships Saturday in Bath. Portland Press Herald photo by John Ewing"

My name is Leah Savage and I was a student athlete at Skowhegan Area High School. By the time I graduated in 2018, I had earned two state titles as the goalie for the field hockey team, multiple conference recognitions for both field hockey and track, three most valuable track athlete awards, and in my senior year was named female athlete of the year.
I now continue my athletic career at Adelphi University as the starting field hockey goalie. My point in sharing these accomplishments is not to boast of my high school glory, but to show that I was a successful member of the Skowhegan athletic community.
I hold a lot of respect and gratitude for the programs I was offered by the Skowhegan school system, however I attribute absolutely none of my success or pride to the Indian mascot this district so blindly holds on to. I choose to place my “pride” in the administrators, coaches, and supporters of Skowhegan.  In fact, the realization that so many members of this community insist on holding such prehistoric views makes me resent the programs that have brought me so far.  

I carefully chose the word “prehistoric” because we are in the 21st century. It is literally 2019 and here you all are fighting about whether or not we should keep as a mascot a name given to Native American people that, first of all, isn’t even geographically correct, and second of all, is offensive. I recognize the argument, “Why does this need to be changed now when it has always been the mascot?” or “This change has been voted against so many times already” but that is just the point. It has been so many years of throwing this to the side, and turning a blind eye to a group of people that has already been given the short end of the stick time and time again since the birth of this country.
It is important to understand this is not a new fight brought on by a bunch of liberals.
We are, as my former Enrichment Resources teacher would say, missing the bus when we could have been driving it.
To explain this to people who were not lucky enough to be taught by Mr. Ross, I mean that we are sitting behind behind and watching a movement that we could have led. Schools all over the United States have have been voting against Indian mascots for almost 50 years now. I know everyone has heard of Stanford University, but perhaps you aren’t aware that their mascot was an Indian until 1972 when it was changed to the Cardinals. This is far from a new fight.  

I do understand that many people here hold pride for our town's mascot, however,  I am afraid that this “pride” claimed by some of you in a Native American mascot has been horribly lost, and is now only in your side's imagination.
I cannot understand why actively offending an entire group is not enough to say that enough is enough.
Now I do know that there is a very large possibility I am incorrect in that statement. I am just an 18 year old kid, and I hope that you do prove me wrong. I hope that we can overlook our personal agendas and see the bigger picture. And with this pride that we hold for the Native American people we can learn and teach more about their history in this area, as well as the rest of the country. Because I will admit that I, like many of you, know far too little about Native Americans for someone who grew up in a town where we wore t shirts with pictures of them on the front.  

Let us make 2019 the year that we get on that bus. 

Thank you.