Grand Rapids allowed to keep Thunderhawks mascot – Duluth News Tribune

GRAND RAPIDS — The Grand Rapids School District will maintain its “Thunderhawks” mascot after receiving unanimous approval to keep it from the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Tribal Council.

The decision by the Council comes after the district was nearly forced to rebrand in light of a 2023 state law barring nicknames, symbols, or images that depict or refer to an Indigenous tribe, individual, custom, or tradition, which Grand Rapids was told applies to its Thunderhawk mascot.

The cost of a potential rebrand was estimated to be $800,000 or more, according to Grand Rapids superintendent Matt Grose.

The bill that became law, sponsored by Sen. Mary Kunesh (DFL-New Brighton), originally had a September 2025 deadline to make necessary changes throughout impacted districts, but an extension was granted that gives those schools until September 2026.

In order to keep the mascot, public school districts were required to receive consent from the tribal nation located nearest to the school, in this case Leech Lake, which previously did not object.

The original bill required districts to obtain consent from all 11 tribal nations and the Tribal Nations Education Committee.

Grand Rapids has used Thunderhawks since 1995, when the district rebranded away from “Indians.”

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