No more T-Birds? School Board to consider Resolution to retire Shorewood Thunderbird Mascot at October 5 meeting

Shorewood High School Thunderbird may be retired

At their regular board meeting on Tuesday, October 5, the Shoreline School Board will take action on a resolution to retire the Thunderbird as Shorewood High School’s mascot. You can find a draft of the resolution here. The resolution is being considered in accordance with Washington State House Bill 1356.

House Bill 1356, which was passed by the Washington State Legislature in April, prohibits the inappropriate use of Native American names, symbols, or images as public school mascots, logos, or team names by January 1, 2022. 

The Thunderbird is a powerful mythological creature that is a part of the history and culture of many Native American tribes and indigenous people. It was adopted as the Shorewood mascot in 1975.

If the resolution is adopted, a process will be established to select a new mascot before the Thunderbird is retired at the end of the calendar year.

This regularly scheduled board meeting will be held at 6:00pm in the Shoreline Room, Shoreline Center 18560 1st Ave NE. You can find information below on attending the meeting in person or via Zoom and submitting public comments online.

Attending the Meeting via Zoom

Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83509133010?pwd=VGZzUmc5MlZvMiszaUNqck9NNCtxdz09
Passcode: 136840
Webinar ID: 835 0913 3010
Dial-In Phone Numbers: 1-253-215-8782 or 1-669-900-6833

If you would like to provide written public comment, you can do so by filling out this online form by 12:00pm on Tuesday, October 5 and it will be provided to the Board. 

There will also be a live public comment period during the in-person meeting. The full meeting agenda, including a copy of the resolution to be considered, will be posted on Shoreline Schools School Board Agendas and Minutes webpage and on their website calendar by Friday evening.