School board to seek exemption on Braves name

By Reed Anfinson

District 777 will submit a request to the state’s 11 Native American tribes and the Tribal Nations Education Committee requesting an exemption allowing Benson Public Schools to continue to use the Braves name and logo. The logo consists of a feather draped over the right side of a capital letter B.

The board of education voted unanimously to submit the letter at its meeting Monday night.

This past spring, the Minnesota Legislature passed a law stating that, “Starting Sept. 1, 2025, a public school may not have or adopt a name, symbol, or image that depicts or refers to an American Indian Tribe, individual, custom, or tradition to be used as a mascot, nickname, logo, letterhead, or team name of the school, district, or school within the district, unless the school has obtained an exemption.”

That exemption has to come from the state’s 11 tribes and the Tribal Nations Education Committee, and the deadline for submitting the request is Sept.1. The tribes have until Dec. 15 to rule on requests.

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