Story co-written with Emma Hodes.
Cullowhee Valley School will change it’s mascot in 2021-22 school year. Photo by Tessa Bradshaw.
Since 1958, the Rebel has represented Cullowhee Valley School as their mascot. But after a Jackson County Board of Education meeting on January 26, the Rebel will be retired.
The topic of the mascot change was one main topic discussed in the meeting, along with COVID-19 vaccinations, spring season sports, virtual learning, and more. The mascot change was brought up in the preliminary portion of the meeting by Kelley Dinklemeyer. Although Dinklemeyer was the one who spoke about the mascot change on the day of the meeting, she considers herself a “small part of a lot of work” by others.
One of the people she was referencing is Annie McCord Wilson who started this journey when she was only in 8th grade while attending Cullowhee Valley School. Wilson said that she realized that the Rebel had a deeper meaning other than pride when she attended a field trip that discussed how Native American mascots were deemed unacceptable. This eventually led her to believe that the Rebel mascot her school was “prideful” over was actually as sign of hate.
At just age 14, she wrote a letter to the editor to ask for change. Wilson said most of the community was supportive of the change while others were not. “It was a scary experience,” Wilson said in an interview, and that she received a “threat call” to her home.
Dinklemeyer discussed her personal background during the speech along with her feelings towards the South and southern traditions. She believes the Rebel used to be a symbol of pride for the Confederate states, but now it is considered a symbol of hate and racism.
Students have learned about the meaning of their mascot and Dinklemeyer says her daughter and her friends do not support the Rebel. For over a year, the Board of Education has received numerous letters asking for the mascot to be changed.
The Rebel mascot is officially set to change before the start of the 2021-2022 school year. The 586 students who attend Cullowhee Valley School will be able to suggest ideas and vote for a new mascot. This change will not cost the school any additional money according to interim Superintendent Tony Tipton. The only things that will need to be changed are two murals of the mascot that will be painted over.
