Aloha High School is receiving a new look for the upcoming season, but the Warriors moniker will remain.
Over the weekend, Aloha High School announced on its official athletics Instagram account that it is abandoning its present emblem, which features a Hawaiian warrior who resembles King Kamehameha.
According to Beaverton School District spokesman Shellie Bailey-Shah, “We at Aloha High School and in the Beaverton School District believe that all students belong.” We’re determined to make sure that our mascot and every other element of our school culture embody this inclusivity. As a district, we’re getting rid with school mascots that symbolize particular genders or human figures because they don’t relate to or represent all of the children.
In a survey conducted by the school, Aloha High School staff and students overwhelmingly supported maintaining the Warrior name.
The school wants to combine a wolf mascot and a block A with a shield as its new emblem. According to Bailey-Shah, the district is collaborating with a design team to create potential logos that will be put to a vote in the upcoming weeks.
The final logo update will take place during the summer and be fully included for the 2025–2026 academic year.
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Public schools were prohibited from using Native American names, symbols, or pictures as their mascots by the Oregon Department of Education back in 2012. Schools had until July 1, 2017, to follow the ruling.
The ODE rule states that in order for schools in Oregon to continue using Native American images, they must have a signed agreement with a federally recognized Native American Tribe.
While moving away from Native American imagery, many colleges that utilize the Warrior moniker maintained their designation. This is evident in the athletics of Cleveland, Warrenton, and Lebanon, all of which use letter-based logos and imagery.
Since their emblem features a Hawaiian warrior rather than a Native American warrior, Aloha escaped the alteration. However, this did not imply that everyone in the community appreciated it. Bailey-Shah stated that the district has been discussing the suitability of the King Kamehameha logo for a number of years.
Since the late 1960s, when the school first opened, the mascot has been a part of Aloha. Although the name of the school’s mascot is a direct allusion to the Hawaiian term aloha, which has several meanings (an exclamation used upon meeting or parting with someone, as well as a symbol of affection), it is unclear whether the name of Aloha, Oregon has anything to do with Hawaii.
Only 1% of the 1,575 students enrolled at Aloha High School in the 2023–24 academic year classified as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, according to ODE data.
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–Nik Streng investigates Oregon high school athletics. You may contact him at @NikStreng or [email protected].
