The Calgary Board of Education says it is working with Western Canada High School to review its logo and sports team name.
The school's sports teams are known as the Redmen and many say the logo and monniker are offensive.
Saskatoon’s Public School Division voted to change the “Redmen” name at Bedford Road Collegiate on Tuesday saying the name perpetuated a derogatory view of First Nations people.
That decision sparked a call to review the name at Western Canada High School in the city's southwest.
The CBE says the process to change the name at Western Canada was initiated in late 2013
School officials say conversations and consultations have already begun among various groups that represent the wider school community.
In a release the CBE says it “is committed to supporting changes to ensure that schools and the CBE system respect and reflect the diversity of our students, our communities and our city, including First Nations, Métis and Inuit people.”
The CBE met on Thursday afternoon and decided to support a name and logo change for the school.
"For us it's a step that's very important for us to take and really it's high time that we put some serious thought and consideration into the utilization of the Redmen name," said Calvin Davies, From the CBE.
The board says school directors and principals are encouraged to review school names, mascots and logos to ensure they are respectful of other cultures.
Davies say there will obviously be some cost involved to replace logos and uniforms.
"From athletic uniforms to resurfacing the floor of the gym. Those are going to be some substantive costs. We as an organization will be looking to see where we can find the costs to help support the school so they don't have those additional costs to bear," said Davies.
The CBE says the process is ongoing and selection of a new name for the high school will honour the traditions of the school and concerned stakeholders.
There is no word yet on when the name change will take place.
