Enterprise School Teams Still Savages

Enterprise school teams will remain the Savages for another school year, the school board has decided after hearing from angry residents.

The board voted last month to do away with the mascot nickname in light of the return of the Nez Perce tribe as Oregon landowners. Some vestiges of the smiling Indian caricature and the name have been removed, including a sign at the west entrance to town.

But Monday night the board decided the name could remain for one more year after 250 to 300 people showed up at a board meeting, many to protest the July decision, and a petition containing 500 names was presented.

Chants of “Recall! Recall!” rang out when one board member said the Savages name must be dropped.

Board members stand behind their initial decision, though they said it may have been made hastily.

By the end of the 1997-98 school year, a new mascot and nickname will be in place for the following year, the board decided.

In the meantime, board member Tim Melville wants students to meet with members of the Nez Perce Tribe and the school board.

“We have to have a nickname,” student body president Sarah Gerner said. “We’re willing to look at other names. But we shouldn’t make the change now during the summer when a lot of people are gone away.”