(Radio Iowa) – The Indianola School Board has voted to table discussion about changing the district’s “Indians” logo and mascot until after November’s school board election. School Board member Carolyn Langenwalter says the district has bigger issues to deal with right now. “My priority is the education of the kids at this point,” she said. “…I’m not disagreeing that we should talk about it, but I also think it’s something that we delay until we get through the pandemic.”

Several Indianola residents spoke during a period of public comment during Monday night’s board meeting. One woman who favors keeping the Indian mascot called it a symbol of bravery, courage and pride. A critic of the mascot said it promotes the idea Native Americans are historic or fictional figures. School Board member Ken Bresnan says it may take up to a year to have a respectful discussion in the community about the Indian mascot and whether it should be changed. “If we don’t take our time and shoot from the hip, the community hasn’t learned anything and we haven’t done our job,” Bresnan says. “We need to have time to share and to talk.”

The board asked for suggestions on how to gather community input. This isn’t the first time the issue has been debated in Indianola. One board member said her father was serving on the board 25 years ago when a similar discussion took place about Indianola’s mascot. Simpson College, also in Indianola, changed its mascot from the Redmen to the Storm in 1992.