Pocatello High School unveils new Thunder the Bison mascot logos

District 25 school board chooses Thunder as new mascot for Pocatello High School
Idaho State Journal
Shelbie Harris
12/17/2020
The Gate City’s oldest high school will adopt the Thunder as its new mascot.
After what will be 129 years in June 2021, Pocatello High School is officially retiring its Indians mascot and replacing it with the Thunder.

School board picks Thunder to replace Pocatello Indians
KPVI Channel 6
12/15/2020
In September, the Pocatello-Chubbuck School District No. 25's Board of Trustees voted to retire the Pocatello High School Indians mascot at the end of this school year. Tonight, after months of debates, public surveys and work sessions the board made a surprising decision.
Phantoms edge out Bison in recent survey for new Pocatello High School mascot, board to vote next week
Idaho State Journal
Shelbie Harris
12/8/2020
POCATELLO — Data obtained from over 1,100 responses to a recent Pocatello-Chubbuck School District 25 survey indicates a narrow majority supports the Phantoms to replace the Indians mascot and moniker for Pocatello High School.
Board of Trustees leaning toward bison mascot for Pocatello High School
KPVI
12/8/2020
Since September, we've been following the process for selecting a new Pocatello High School mascot. Last month, the community was invited to take a survey about the top five choices. The votes are in and the Pocatello Bison and Pocatello Phantoms are the top two choices.
OPINION COLUMN: Eradicating the Indians
Idaho State Journal
Steven McCurdy
12/5/2020
Dealing with the elites at School District 25 is always like going to war. They make every disagreement a battle, every dissent a lose-lose proposition. Save Pocatello High School is once again fighting the school district’s inability to listen to their constituents. It is why so many are pushing to have board members recalled.
Here are several reasons why:
OPINION COLUMN: Without public comment
Idaho State Journal
Billie Johnson
12/5/2020
I first encountered Pocatello High School Principal Lisa Delonas at a funeral in January of 2014. Nineteen-year-old Nick Borzog-Omid died in a car accident on New Year’s Eve. Mrs. Delonas delivered his life sketch to the packed Catholic chapel on North Seventh Avenue.
Letter: From staff and faculty of Pocatello High School
Idaho State Journal
Letters To Editor
12/3/22020
We, members of the staff and faculty of Pocatello High School, are in full support of changing the mascot and team names of our school.
Letter: From staff and faculty of Pocatello High School
Idaho State Journal
Letters To Editor
12/3/2020
We, members of the staff and faculty of Pocatello High School, are in full support of changing the mascot and team names of our school.
Letter: Proud to be an Indian
Idaho State Journal
Letters To Editor
12/2/2020
I graduated from Pocatello High School in 1955. I was proud to be an Indian and I do not consider myself as racist. The word Indian represents courage, resilience and strength.
Former PHS student body president seeks to keep Indians mascot
Idaho State Journal
By Scott Kraus
Nov 18, 2020
POCATELLO — A Pocatello man with a deep history at Pocatello High School plans to attend the meeting of the Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25 Board of Trustees at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to advocate for the board to put the question of a new PHS mascot up for a public vote.
Jeff Edwards says that’s a better route to go than just having the board pick a name. more
PCSD seeks feedback about Pocatello High School mascot selection
Local News 8
11/18/2020
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) – The Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25 Board of Trustees are seeking additional public feedback regarding the selection of a new mascot for Pocatello High School.
Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25 Board of Trustees seeks additional public feedback regarding the PHS mascot selection
Idaho State Journal
Nov 18, 2020
POCATELLO – The Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25 Board of Trustees is seeking additional public feedback regarding the selection of a new mascot for Pocatello High School.
The survey will ask participants to consider the top four (4) choices with the addition of a 5th and modified mascot: Pocatello Bison; Pocatello Phantoms; Pocatello Thunder with a Bison mascot; Pocatello Thunder with Thunder mascot; and Pocatello Mountain Lions. more
Survey On line Pocatello High School Mascot Finalists Evaluation
5 replacements possible for Pocatello Indians mascot
Idaho State Journal
11/18/2020
The Pocatello-Chubbuck School District 25 Board of Trustees forged ahead with deciding on a new mascot to replace the Indians mascot at a meeting in the district office on Tuesday evening in Pocatello. More
Pocatello High School Indians Mascot
District 25 releases replacement options for Indians mascot
Idaho State Journal
10/25/2020
POCATELLO — The community now has nine options to consider to replace the Indians as the official mascot of Pocatello High School.
The Pocatello-Chubbuck School District 25 Board of Trustees will discuss the options during a Nov. 10 work session and is expected to take action on a new mascot on Nov. 17.
The committee created an advisory survey — tinyurl.com/SD25-PHS-Mascot — to accept feedback on the short list of options from students, staff, alumni and the community at large.
Letter: Thank you, Lisa Delonas
Letters to Editor
Idaho State Journal
10-27-2020
I'd like to thank Lisa Delonas for being a positive advocate for Pocatello High School students and our greater community. As a PHS neighbor and a parent of two future PHS students, I am thankful to her for seeking a positive mascot (or logo, if you want to split hairs) for the school, one that doesn't rely on a caricature of an entire group of people.
I am proud that my children will attend PHS and I cannot wait for her to be their principal and their high school memories to center something fun, like a mountain lion, a bison, a mustang. High school memories should never supplant the rights and dignity of people and I see a lot of people blaming her for a change that, by absolutely any real metric, should have happened decades ago
So thank you, Principal Delonas, and keep making Pocatello a place for everyone.
You're just spam
Idaho State Journal
10/24/2020
Steven McCurdy
A few local residents have referred to Pocatello citizens opinions expressed thru the Save Pocatello Indian Petition as spam. And that is exactly how SD25 is treating you. Here is why. More
Letter: Poky High School’s 'mascot' controversy
Letters To Editor
Idaho State Journal
Oct 23, 2020
I enjoyed Shelbie Harris’s well-written article on Poky High School’s “mascot” controversy (11 October, A1). This letter proposes to interject a degree of precision into the argument.
Controversies are more productively argued about when terms are accurately defined, a service best provided by standard dictionaries. This issue involves three aspects. One is nickname, “a descriptive name added to or replacing the actual name of a person, place, or thing.” School nicknames are normally but not always plural. “Indians” is the nickname for PHS—it’s not the mascot. Two is mascot, “a person, animal, or object” that in some way embodies the spirit of a group, “such as a sports team.” A mascot is a singular concept, a personification, usually, of the nickname. “Indians” is not a mascot. Three is logo, “a symbol . . . designed for easy and definite recognition.” Poky’s, in the photo of Joseph Felde, is a stylized Indian profile. more
Behind closed doors
Idaho State Journal
Oct 24, 2020
By Clayton Armstrong
The more I find out about the process of the name change of the Indian logo for Pocatello High School the more disgusted I become with the actions of the School District administrators, board members and especially Pocatello principal, Lisa Delonas. more
Pocatello High School wants input on nine possibilities for new mascot
KPVI
10-20-2020
Pocatello High School is moving forward with the process of selecting a new mascot.
A committee made up of alumni, parents, school staff and community members looked through 185 submissions and narrowed it down to nine possibilities.
District 25 releases nine possible replacement mascot names for Pocatello High School Indians
Idaho State Journal
10-21-2020
POCATELLO — The community now has nine options to consider to replace the Indians as the official mascot of Pocatello High School.
The Pocatello-Chubbuck School District 25 Board of Trustees will discuss the options during a Nov. 10 work session and is expected to take action on a new mascot on Nov. 17. more
Decades of research supports mascot change
Idaho State Journal
10-17-2020
“As professionals, we are bound to recognize and implement the most current and relevant research in order to provide the best education and the best educational environment for our students.”
I made the above statement in my address at a school board meeting on Sept. 15.
Opposition to Pocatello High School Indians mascot change mounting
Idaho State Journal
10-09-2020
Though the Pocatello-Chubbuck School District 25 Board of Trustees has voted to retire the Pocatello High School Indians mascot effective June 2021, opposition to its departure is mounting. More
Letter: New names for Pocatello High School mascot
Letter to the Editor
Idaho State Journal
Oct 6, 2020
Pocatello High School is changing the name of its sports teams. Here are some suggestions for new ones:
Pocatello Pioneers
Pocatello Puma
Pocatello Platypus
Pocatello Porcupine
Pocatello Pilots
Pocatello Pelicans
Pocatello Panda
Pocatello Pill Bugs
Pocatello Poodles
I'm sure your readers can come up with many more. Please add to the list and send them to Pocatello/Chubbuck District 25 on facebook.com.
Keith Ellsworth & Karen (Mayer) Ellsworth,
Class of '73,
Pocatello
Pocatello High School Indians Mascot
The History and background of the Pocatello High School Indians Mascot begins in baseball.
Idaho State Journal
Editor’s Note
This is the first article in a four-part series on the history and origins of the Pocatello High School Indians mascot.
History of Indians mascot is tied to baseball
Recently a question has resurfaced concerning Pocatello High School’s tradition of using the name “The Indians.” Such monikers provide a sense of group identity and belonging that is hard to define, but deeply felt. So the words “history” and “tradition” play a large part in the discussions. More
History and background of the Pocatello High School mascot
Idaho State Journal
Editor’s Note
This is the second article in a four-part series.
The man behind the PHS Indians name
The man behind the Pocatello Indians baseball club of 1900 was a local celebrity named Billy Trapp. Billy first appeared in Hailey, Challis, and Clayton in the 1880s as an amicable gambler, saloon owner, and musician. He eventually moved to Pocatello where his reputation grew. Billy loved horse racing, loved women and loved baseball. More
The original Pocatello school built in 1892 that would become Pocatello High School, but in the beginning they were not "the Indians." The "Pocatello Indians" was a private baseball club.
COURTESY OF ARLEN WALKER
History and background of the Pocatello High School mascot
Idaho State Journal
Editor’s Note
This is the third article in a four-part series.
Pocatello High becomes home of the Indians
Pocatello did not stay small for long — 1903 was the land rush and the city boomed. As early as 1907 Pocatello High School had enough students to field sports teams in baseball and football. More
Submitted Photo from Idaho State Journal
History and background of the Pocatello High School mascot
Idaho State Journal
Editor’s Note
This is the fourth article in a four-part series .
Pocatello High School once again makes local history with mascot retirement
In 1946, the Pocatello High School yearbook had something new on its cover — a cartoon of an Indian with a mohawk and spear. The cartoon theme continues throughout the book. The Medicine Men are apparently gone, but the cheer club continues the tradition of wearing headdresses. Beneath their photo in large text reads, “Youuuu Redskins, Fight!!” More
D. 25 trustees open to more discussion on proposed PHS Indians mascot retirement
Idaho State Journal
9-11-2020
POCATELLO — The Pocatello-Chubbuck School District 25 Board of Trustees will have the opportunity Tuesday night to take action on a proposal to retire the Indian as Pocatello High School’s mascot. More
It's time to retire the Indians mascot
Idaho State Journal
9-11-2020
I would like to take a moment to share a few of my thoughts regarding Pocatello High School’s mascot. More
On June 13, 2016 the Idaho State Journal published this article
According to school Principal Lisa Delonas, the company will refurbish the sign — paint and fix rust spots, build a cabinet around the sign and add neon lights so the sign can shine again.
Records show Tribes' wavering support of PHS Indians mascot
Idaho State Journal
9-15-2020
POCATELLO — The stance of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes on Pocatello High School’s use of the Indians moniker and mascot has been one of both support and opposition over the years. More
School District 25 board votes in favor of retiring Pocatello High School Indians mascot
Idaho State Journal
9-17-2020
POCATELLO — It was standing room only during the Pocatello-Chubbuck School District 25 Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday evening, which ushered in the end of a century-plus-long run for the Pocatello High School Indians mascot. More
Pocatello High School Retires 'Indians' Mascot
Boise Weekly
- Harrison Berry
For more than 100 years, Pocatello High School's mascot was the Indians. That century ended on Sept. 15, when the Pocatello-Chubbuck School District 25 Board of Trustees voted 5-1 in favor of retiring that mascot, the Idaho State Journal reports.
INDIANS NO MORE
Idaho State Journal
- By Clayton Armstrong
To say that I was disappointed in the Pocatello/Chubbuck school board’s decision to retire the mascot “Indian” of Pocatello High School would be a huge understatement. But there are some pertinent facts and statements that need to be pointed out to the public. More