BENSON, Minn. — The Benson School District will continue to use the Braves logo and mascot after receiving an exemption from the Upper Sioux Community.
“We are deeply grateful to the Upper Sioux Community for their understanding and appreciation for the way Benson Schools uses the mascot in a respectful and honorable manner,” said Benson Superintendent of Schools Dennis Laumeyer.
The exemption allows the district to maintain a mascot that has represented the Benson Schools since 1945. School teams previously competed as the Plowboys.
The Minnesota Legislature in the 2022-23 session adopted legislation that required schools with American Indian mascots to end their use by Sept. 1, 2025, unless they received an exemption from all 11 tribal nations in the state and the Tribal Nations Education Committee.
The Benson School District requested the exemption, but two tribes and the Tribal Nations Education Committee rejected it.
In the last session, legislation was approved to allow school districts to seek an exemption from the tribal community nearest to the school district.
Benson School Board members met twice with the Upper Sioux Community Board of Trustees to make their request for an exemption. The superintendent said they explained how the district uses the mascot to motivate students to be of good character and do well in a very positive and respectful way.
Throughout the elementary school, signs promote the “Braves Way” with the ‘B’ representing positive attributes such “B respectful, B engaged, B my best.”
It was a two-way conversation with the local tribal trustees, according to the superintendent. The Upper Sioux Community indicated a willingness to help the district as it meets state education requirements for instruction about the Indigenous peoples of Minnesota, in particular the Dakota.
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The community has the resources and knowledge to help the district educate its students in an authentic way, the superintendent noted.
The decision to seek an exemption to maintain the mascot and logo came amid overwhelming support from the community to do so.
The superintendent said board members have been discussing the issue for over two years now, and feedback from residents and school alumni was overwhelmingly in favor of maintaining the mascot. Alumni indicated that they would feel as if they lost their school if the mascot was lost, he said.
A major concern too was the potential cost for adopting a new mascot and logo. The superintendent said it was a $1 million proposition. Everything from athletic uniforms to the scoreboards, furniture, gym floors and more would need to be changed.
The legislation provided no funding for schools to make a mascot change. The cost would have come at the expense of educational programming. The district is discussing the possibility of adopting a four-day schedule for the potential cost savings to help maintain educational offerings.
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