Jamestown High School adopts new mascot

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- Jamestown High School officially adopted a new mascot Tuesday: the Red & Green.

The change comes in the wake of the New York State Board of Regents’ April 2023 decision to ban the use of Native American names and imagery in school mascots. Jamestown was previously known as the Red Raiders.

The new mascot was recommended by the school's Nickname Committee and later approved by the district's Board of Education following feedback forms and discussions with community members and students. The other nickname in contention was Catamounts.

The Red & Green nickname will be phased in later this spring and pays homage to the school's longtime colors. It will accompany the "big cat" mascot and logo that was adopted in 2022.

“Following feedback forms and discussions with students and members of the community, the JHS Nickname Committee made the recommendation to continue a return to our roots,” Jamestown High School Athletic Director Ben Drake said in a release. “With the selection of ‘Red & Green’ as a nickname to accompany our original ‘Big Cat’ mascot we are pleased to continue the tradition of excellence that has always accompanied the students of Jamestown High School.”

Jamestown joins Iroquois and Tonawanda as Western New York schools that recently adopted new mascots in accordance with the state decision. Similarly, West Seneca West High School became the Warhawks in July, ditching the Indians mascot they had used previously.

Salamanca schools were granted special permission from the Seneca Nation to continue to use their Warriors mascot last year.