10/17/22 - AHS Mascot Selection Committee

001foreign [Music] my goodness I feel like I never left okay we're gonna start we're going to get here in a second uh but just a friendly reminder that uh today we are live and so we are live now on zoom and on YouTube um that is a microphone right there and so it picks up our conversation so whatever yep so we don't have to pass out the microphony thing so even if I turn around and say hey like that it's still it's gonna pick up that conversation so there's a brand new reminder uh that we are not even under your breath saying anything okay um hi everyone good to see you all uh we're gonna go again go ahead and get started since there are people virtually joining us maybe perhaps we have no idea

002um but uh we wanted to start out as usual with a little bit of an icebreaker just the opportunity for us to kind of connect get to know each other a little bit more now this I trigger is rather controversial so I want you guys to be aware of it um so what we'd like to hear from you is for the sake of folks who are live streaming in tell us your name tell us your affiliation and then tell us what is the worst animated Disney film in your personal opinion and why all right everyone got that name affiliation worst animated Disney film in your personal opinion like you could say you're a student yeah yeah whenever people are ready yeah and if you want to I mean this is what I do with my

003students um about your ideas and we'll bring it back yeah one more time worst animated this is the film worse worse worse but not the best worst yeah I'll start okay yeah you'll look it up all right I am the superintendent uh here in Azusa and I just I don't know why but I think I remember not really liking Hercules very much yeah you got to give us a reason I just I don't know I just thought I remember like seeing it it wasn't that uh impressive but I was young but that's probably probably that's what I would do probably okay okay my name is soya Ford and I think the worst animated Disney film that I ever saw was Sinbad it was years ago and I was young and I was like I can't

004stand this thing I I like movies where they sing but I just couldn't get into the movie so I never watched it again okay and I'm a Disney fan through and through so what was it about it that like you couldn't get into the whole movie just the whole like theme of the whole movie I just couldn't understand it okay okay I like ten commandments the the long version when I was a kid I used to watch it so watching Sinbad I was like I can get it yeah like you are the diamond no no no none of that interested okay okay worst Disney movie ever anyone else got one okay so hi my name is high school I represent them I'm a senior uh I guess the worst animated movie from Disney in my

005opinion would have to be sleeping beauty and here's why I just don't see any reason why you know like the like the point to it and the meaning behind it all I see is just somebody kind of like a man trying to save a girl with ambulance dress [Music] but I don't think it gives off the right meaning or at least the way they intended it to but there was no music so there's that too okay is there I'm kind of the same opinion so I'm Jess that's Wong um I'm a consultant um and I had the same thought I watched Cinderella a lot when I was growing up but the only part that really stuck with me with the mice which I really liked um at the very end where her dress changes colors

006you guys remember this part it's like conflicting of that school but the rest of it was pretty other facts yeah I'm Diana Benavides and um I agree same movie Cinderella um for the same exact reasons but you will be shared yeah I'm Patricia Sanchez I uh represent CSEA and I don't care for the rescue groups whoa those are fighting words I'm sorry the animation drawing illustration was not appealing to me and um yeah I didn't like the actors in it either so I was I was bored it was like I mean sorry it was that okay okay the first one or the second one the first one the original was Ava Gabor and Bob Newhart yeah okay okay what else so I guess I'll go um so it was name and affiliation affiliation so my

007name is Jacqueline Hernandez I am a ghs alumni and uh I know some people might disagree but The Emperor's New Groove I did like some parts of it but not really the funky settled apart like makes them seem like the good guys that was weird um so yeah that's kind of the part that I don't like about it I can't read the people-heartedly on that I was gonna mention that mainly because I know it was referencing Peru my family's Peruvian yeah so just seeing that my parents had didn't feel resonated with it they didn't feel like you know it was historically or culturally adapted so that was frustrating and to see that they just didn't see the point to it as well yeah all right who's next I'll go so I'm Nathan Nunez um gabrielano

008also known as tongva and I would have to say that Frozen would be his favorite movie because of the song in particular in times I've heard that song we've stopped him forever I appreciate it I appreciate that movie thank you all right she's next yes um I'm very Santos I'm a junior at senior high school and from like my family's at Disney family so we enjoy watching the movies but one that I don't think necessarily at the worst but one that I had to like sit down and fully watches um Robin Hood I think yeah every time I like they charge again it's probably a good movie but I just can't sit down and watch it because it just doesn't catch my attention so I have something embarrassing to admit when I was really young

009I had a crush on Robin Hood no big deal are you jealous of me Marion um all right next uh Sierra High School and my worst Disney film would be Bambi because Among Us what about um Dumbo how do you feel my number Dumbo similar feelings I'm not gonna lie I really don't like Disney that much I'm in the same boat you're only having two daughters Frozen long car rides okay so my name is Carolina Dominguez and I'm going to stay here at Watson high school I'm gonna be honest I don't really watch like TV so I don't really know a lot of Disney shows or movies but I would say the one with the Dalmatian dogs um 101 Dalmatians yeah I don't just that's like what keeps playing I'm like trying to think of

010other things that I can't because that one's just like right there and I'm just like okay what is it that you don't like about that movie I think it's just boring I can't like just sit and watch it and I I remember I like tried watching it but it just I could never sit and watch it but yeah okay okay thank you I can go next my name is Violetta Ramirez I am an Azusa High alumni um and I have never actually sat down and watched it um but I would say Aristocrats Aristocats um just because I have this irrational fear of cats like make myself sit down and watch it but yeah where does your fear of pets come from do you know I don't know I just have a very like early memory

011of like just being just suddenly being this like terrified of cat so yeah okay uh my name is Sarah Serrano Luna I'm uh alumni and I think my least favorite Disney you're not really big on Disney but I don't like Wreck-It Ralph uh my nephew went through very big I hate that face so now we're on Luca and I don't mind it foreign ER at Sierra um I have to say I don't really I don't really dislike any Disney movie like it's gonna grow up to them so I mean I did go in and out you know I had a kid so that's what entertained them so if I was going in and out I'm like I don't care they like it I'm good you know so I can't really complain the singing is always

012good because then they sing along so I don't have a one that I don't like okay so they like it that means you like it yeah there you go you got some time to do your thing yeah appreciate that other folks I don't know what about you my name is Kevin Nunez and um Gabrielle uh Tribal member um I don't think really any of Disney movies I would say maybe one being native I guess Pocahontas that was a gross exaggeration of true representation I mean really uh talking facility movie didn't resemble at all the real Pocahontas and you know it's played up as a this journey of uh Discovery but that falls into manifest Dennis Stephanie in Westward Expansion he plays into the stereotypes representations that people think natives are from the truth the song

013was good there's that all right uh stop my name is Maria merito and um I'm a Glaston parent and it's not that I don't like it it's just that I got tired of seeing it like I used to take care of my knees and they always watch um pinocho so it's not that I don't like to show that they repeat that again again I guess actually that isn't that everything all right uh all right well thank you so much for uh engaging in that um just a piece of housekeeping before we get started um just a reminder to all of us about what we said in terms of how we want to be together as a committee we know that we want to be vulnerable respect for one another have an encourage to speak having

014and cultivating humility uh creating room for us to make mistakes it's okay to make mistakes um the imagination creativity to create something new and open-mindedness and then I knew it at the end uh when we are in disagreement to start with questions to help us to try to understand one another all right um so at this point we'd like to invite one of our committee members Nathan to go ahead and read a statement that was drafted by a subject sure okay good evening parents students and the community accompany us today is our third meeting for the mascot committee our first two meetings were not live streamed because we were introducing ourselves determining Community Values and establishing a plan going forward this committee is composed of a diverse group of community Representatives including students parents teachers

015alumni and Indigenous Community the indigenous members within our own City tonight we'll begin the mascot-related discussions and start the process of identifying an appropriate mascot the committee has voiced the intention to identify and make a decision related to the mascot in four to six weeks this decision will be within the parameters established by the Board of Education those parameters include the authority grants in the committee to decide on a new mascot or no mascot the board of education has determined this is a high school name the word Aztec and the colors will remain but that the current Aztec mascot would need to be addressed the committee has agreed on core values to guide conversations and decisions on the future mascot representation additionally we will provide a timeline of events and cultural awareness and topics related

016to indigenous cultures we hope the community can join us in the sharing these core values as conversations are held and decisions are made these core values include transparency with the community timeliness on a mascot decision Foster encouraged a sense of unity between the high schools a mascot that is culturally appropriate unifying and empowering and the importance of indigenous education for the committee and students timeline of events to increase transparency and accuracy a timeline and no worthy events will be shared the Board of Education decided Azusa High School will be the one Comprehensive High School in our district with Gladstone to close as a high school on January 18 2022 the Board of Education voted some merge merged schools and have a new name new colors a new mascot for merger the board of education then

017decided to reverse the decision and maintain this is a high school name and colors but change the mascot the merger will happen in 2023 the board of education then grants the committee authority to decide on a new mascot or no mascot for the high school or redesigning of the mascot next section cultural awareness understanding our history is of utmost importance when tasked with decisions on cultural identification and representation therefore it is necessary to understand the general verb is associated within the context of this discussion the term indigenous for first those people with pre-existing sovereignty who are living together as a community prior to contact contact with cellular populations in the context of this discussion those who are indigenous to the concept of America include the pre-settler indigenous peoples of the north South Central and South

018America the term Native American commonly refers to people's living within what is now the United States prior to settler contact American Indian is an art term used similar to Native Americans and is often used in the legal sense by tribal governments and the United States however in the context of identity and visibility those of American indigenous descent will prefer to use the name of the individual's particular indigenous Community or nation of people for example the gabrieleno also called the tongva or Kish are the indigenous peoples of the Los Angeles area and they are also known as American Indian Native American and indigenous it is important to remember acknowledge indigenous people have experienced displacement cultural racial identity loss generational trauma and the hiding of culture from the different waves of colonization across Americas given these reasons

019names and identifiers related to indigenous culture must be observed through a historical cultural and modern day lens resetler arrival and to the present-day the constant of America's home to thousands of tribes each having their own Traditions rituals protocols and ways of life items such as musical instruments including the drum are considered sacred and only played by those who have undergone cultural trial protocol and in specific cultural settings with spiritual intentionality specific dress such as regalia are the closed headdress you see indigenous people wear are considered sacred and earned over years of ritual tradition Rank and cultural immersion due to the inaccurate portrayal of the American indigenous person in movies and books and the lack of education on business history there are many stereotypes of how an American indigenous person looks behaves speaks lives and demonstrates

020culture therefore approaching conversation centered on business culture involves an understanding of the significance and medium cultural items persons objects and the historical historical portrayal of the American indigenous person the topic of mascot representation has been an ongoing conversation for many years now examples of recent changes include the Washington Redskins commanders the Cleveland Indians Guardians and the San Diego State Aztecs logo mascot change conversations about the cultural accuracy of this of the Aztec mascot at Azusa High School started in the 1990s these concerns are again voiced to the board of education on January 18 2022 by multiple indigenous peoples groups from primarily mashika Aztec dancer groups and Families please know that we are not taking this decision lightly this can be an emotional divisive issue for many people the committee's hope is to make a choice

021on a mascot that might bring a sense of unity and belonging to not only our students but to the whole community thank you for joining us through this process as we move forward just thank you Nathan just to uh to reiterate uh what was uh said in the statement um and to create reiterate here and I know that we heard this already multiple times but uh just for purposes of the audience and those that may be listening and watching I'm going to one more one more time State uh what our Authority and what our work here is um the board of education has already decided that Azusa High School will remain Azusa High School uh we're not changing the name of the high school they have also decided that the colors that they currently have

022right now will remain the colors of Azusa High School so again we don't have authority to change the colors blend the colors those kinds of things they have also decided that Azusa High School will continue to be known as the Aztecs um so again we cannot change that reverse that drop that modify that uh so those three decisions have already been made uh to what Nathan read the decision that has been rendered upon this committee though is that we must not might not consider not think about but we must change the current mascot that we have at Azusa High School for reasons stated in our statement right um and so that is artwork our work is to is to to think about again like it says in our statement what are we going to do

023about the mascot knowing that we're still as was a high school knowing that we're still the blue black white colors and knowing that we're still uh the Aztecs so just wanted to uh point that out and I forgot to say this is um so just wanted to again bring us back and ground Us in that conversation get one yes all right so um we are going to move and Jessica and I are gonna do this together uh we're going to move to uh some ideas that this group has proposed for possibilities for the mascot of Azusa High School um and what we're going to be asking is that the person who put out the idea give us a little bit of their points their case their why this is why I think this should be

024considered uh to be in consideration uh for the mascot this is why I think it's a good it's a good one once they State their case anybody in the committee may have a clarifying question for the person like oh you said this can you can you tell me more about that this is not like he's not idea is not good why did you think of that not those kinds of questions right these are questions to try to get a better understanding inside the head uh of the why of the person um once we have kind of also any any kind of questions that we have and some of those questions might not the person who presents might not be able to answer it themselves that's okay right and so this is an opportunity if we

025have communal knowledge that we can contribute and great and if not we can make a note that we need to do more research about this particular question right so any question that you might have around the image suggested thank you once questions are out there and they have been out there um if there is a need or a want we can further discuss that idea that's currently on the table um and then once we have discussed it talked about it heard about it we're going to move to a boat now it's very very important to note I'm going to wrap right now that the vote okay um it's important to note that we are not voting to say oh yes this this should be the mascot what we're going to do is we're going to

026say hey this mascot right here doesn't meet the criteria that we have laid out for the mascot if the Mesa criteria whether I love it or hate it is doesn't matter all we're trying to say is does it meet the criteria if it meets the criteria then it goes in a maybe pile and we can worry about what happens to that next if it doesn't meet the criteria we can be very specific about that and then we say okay well that one cannot move forward for consideration so again we will be and we'll talk ad nauseum about this but again we're not going to be voting to say oh my gosh yes that's the one where there's going to be voting doesn't mean the criteria cool we'll leave it for consideration uh in the near

027future yeah and the criteria that we laid out before together was the mascot image has to be culturally appropriate that helps bring about Unity that offers a sense of belonging and representation and that it's an image assumed to be proud of right those are the criteria that we laid out before everyone good with all that anything that we need to discuss before we get started any questions or concerns all right now some of the ideas that were sent in were sent in just in words so there's not an image per se uh and some did come in with the image when we get to the ones that have an image for those of you watching us or hearing us on Zoom or YouTube we will post that image if there's no image then please note

028that the reason there's no posting is because I'm not an image Associated uh with that yeah all right with that being said um I believe that this was uh the first one is from Diana if I'm not mistaken yeah um so take it away okay well I thought I thought about this for a long time even before being on the committee that the Jaguar would be a good idea for a mascot because um as we know and as Nathan read in the statement it's so important to honor our ancestors the indigenous um and native people of this region particularly and of the Aztecs since we hold the Aztec high school name the Jaguar is um a very symbolic power animal spirit animal teaching animal um honored animals that fits all regions so it goes It

029goes way back um from the incense um the Mayans and the Aztecs held this animal in very high regard and um even here um um I don't know if it's a it's it's related to the mountain lion um and so in this region of zusa we've heard of mountain lions even being caught here in canyons in the last few years two of them and so I felt that the Jaguar would be very appropriate um for student staff and City members to feel really proud of I wrote some things down here about what the Jaguar actually symbolizes could I read it out loud yeah so um here just some research that I did and I've been doing for years because this is actually an I don't know but I highly highly respect um and have personally

030learned a lot from its characteristics but it says here for my research Jaguars are an animal and symbol from the North to South America from the Mayans Aztecs engines the Jaguar represents the power to face one's fears or to confront one's enemies however they are also associated with vision which means both their ability to see during the night and to look into the dark parts of even the human heart the Jaguar often wears warrants sorry of disaster he it does not offer any reassurance along with physical Vision Jaguars are also associated with prescience and the foreknowledge of these come cats have monocular vision meaning each eye can work on its own which provides them with better depth perception this gives more evidence to their connection with vision and foresight some jaguar cats they have no

031Predators they rule the wild that they inhabit due to their strength their speed their agility and fear fearlessness they are the largest cat on this side of the planet symbolical North Central South America the Jaguar teaches us courage in the face of fear instinct to be and to do our best at all times to aim higher to have confidence to take leadership and to help others the Jaguar is an integral part of the Aztec and Mayan of the Mayan civilism representing leadership wisdom and clever use of innate skills medicine people trusted the Jaguar as a spirit animal or a guardian against ill evil Jaguar had motherly aspects graceful and nurturing and a fire in the belly that's not extinguishable the tribe's respected Jaguar's planning and use of intention in getting What It Wants here Jaguar

032Spirit may change the human connection with all the four elements water air fire and Earth and provides a burn Foundation it is fertile balanced and saturates every corner of creation so that is um my first um it's respected in many cultures and and many parts of the world so yeah any clarifying questions for Diana regarding the Jaguar or comments any any questions in general so I'm going to play the devil's advocate here and say as if there's any opposition as to why this would not be a good you know logo because from what I'm from what I'm seeing it's like learning something that could be symbolic to everybody but I wonder if there's something that could you know not potentially be convenient for everybody and if there is whether it be something that consider when

033considering the Jaguar so let's open it up are there is there anything we can come up with or think of that might like cause an issue we were to choose this as an image well how does this relate to something indigenous to our region I wanted to ask Kevin and Nathan put their thoughts on if that's okay well as far as a direct connection no it wouldn't help um though the respect and admiration of the big cat is in our tribal beliefs important or even in horticulture but um there's not a direct connection I mean as the Jaguar was native to this area so we don't have anything within our cultural teachings or history that would connect this amount shots or anything you want to follow up on yep so if it meets our criteria

034that's not a human so it wouldn't be gonna be too much of a stretch outside of our the culture of our region to I mean it still goes back to the Mind against in the assets but I know that that connection is going to exist simply because for me actually yeah that that's it does have relation to the meshika people so um and that respect yeah would be an accurate connection but um again since the retainment of the name Aztec it would be difficult to connect culturally our people to their people and our guests more than 1500 miles separates us we're entirely different cultures thank you foreign things we want to explore a little bit more question would there be anything on this Jaguar that we would include or why not anything on it is

035it just an animal correct just the animal yeah that's it maybe a quick side note uh because as you can as you can see here there is no visual representation um I think with whatever we land whether it's a jaguar or a chair a brick whatever that is uh part two of this and not not here and now um and we can think about how to involve a lot of people will be um design feedback um right because probably to your point there's a million different ways that we can be the Jaguars if this is where you were gonna go but making sure that it still fits the criteria that we established number one and then number two again maybe getting like a broader uh voice of people saying like oh I like number one

036or I like number three years you know contacts that kind of thing that we design what those possibilities may be um can we do it backwards can send like voting yes or no for you to say should anybody in here think that this does not fit our criteria yeah either way okay all right all right so does anybody in the room object the Jaguar not because you don't like it but because it doesn't fit what we have been talking about and again if we move it forward it's only to be considered in the future there's not this does not mean that we're going to become the Jaguars anybody have an objection let's go and do our EA books that's a lot of pressure for that one person like all right let's do it yeah okay

037all right uh so everyone in favor of moving the Jaguar forward into consideration pile not a yes pal but just we're considering it are we raising hands yeah [Music] I'm not opposed but I'm not against it okay that's fair that's right all right so I think uh all right Diana it's you again yeah I have one more because the Jaguar's been used before and I also thought about being unique you know to this region um also for the students and Community to feel proud the only um symbol on the Mayan calendar but also um sorry Aztec uh calendar but um also a very important symbol for the F6 in general is this a symbol of movement you know and so um this is actually used now um this concept in different educational Frameworks in ethnic

038and social uh justice studies and it alludes to four perceiving ages or sons in history so I'll read a little bit about this symbol so the Dale leans regarded by the mesoamericans as an auspicious State speaking action not for being passive it also signifies a kind of disorder to find order again to undo to redo transformation and seismic changes the day sign only is the symbol of naviolin concept of Aztec cosmology it features two differently colored interlaced lines each with two Central ends the symbol also features an i in the center so the way this works is there's four sites four lines that come around it each line represents one of the four directions North East Southwest it also represents the four elements water fire earth and air um and it's also the movement that

039we see when we look up at the skies so um when we line or trace the lines of the Big Dipper and the small Dipper and you connect them at the four different seasons on the exact dates of um like um The Equinox um and Solstice of every year for each of the four seasons um it marks exactly if you were to trace on that day um a line that eventually creates a cross if this makes sense um and so this is the cross so it's a representation of what's happening in the sky um as an imprint of what's Happening Here on earth and the eye in the center is like the center of this the the Earth as the center of this space um the Universe um and so this symbol would represent the

040center um being the center of the whole Space here in our community um and one more thing I'll read here at the bottom the concept of a lean has been popularly used as an education oh I've heard that already that's it that's all I have so there's that oh and you can also see there's an arrow going through the eye between um the four ends thank you Anna questions uh about um this particular uh idea or any questions in general about this one or comments so it's a it's a literal real symbol that the Aztecs use and it's actually represented on their calendar so it's actually in the middle of the Aztec calendar so if you look at the middle the whole Aztec calendar right in the center is this very exact symbol but in

041the Aztec calendar it's a base with the tongue sticking out so here instead of the face with the tongue sticking out it's the eye okay um that and um it's also um you can see it so in on the Aztec calendar they have 20 days instead of 30 31 days and it represents one the energy or the symbol for one of the 20 days because each of the 20 days has its own a symbol that represents it one of them is also the Jaguar but there's the eagle there's um the element of water in the other of the 20 days and this movement so this is one of the 20 days Fox questions I have a question how do you imagine or maybe it's a question for all of us with a symbol like this

042how do we imagine you know at the current moment we have students who dress up right as a mascot how do we imagine this like what might that look like well maybe this wouldn't be a Mascot Lane okay got it yeah so what was on a uniform or something what would follow that If This Were the logo how could you represent that without being offensive you mean like as a mascot like yeah it is right I think that when we get to something like this that we don't have a physical mascot mascot that goes to events and I don't want to in any way shape or form make any assumptions so I'm going to ask so like for instance the Jaguars like it it we could still be the as a high we could still

043be as was a high school assets and leave it like that but we could also videos there's a high-stick Aztec Jaguars this one I'm going to assume that we would be the high school Aztecs and again this becomes again like a logo a logo that we can use but or or would you say no we could still be because it was a High School Aztec Marines I haven't thought about it that far okay yeah that would be for everyone to decide but that would be like saying the Aztec movements because what it literally means is movement so I don't think it would be appropriate to say all the means but we could make it work I could be wrong you know I would have to we'd have to look into that and see if that

044can work and we brought up right we brought up that there's a lot of places that have logos and don't have a mascot like my unfortunate doctors this weekend there is like there is nothing that goes out during the game and dances around isn't there like a guy with a big baseball head yeah he's like a baseball hat no those are bobbleheads but that's not we have to stay at least correct but that's what I'm saying we don't have a master we don't have somebody dressing up as you know something where other teams do right they have the pirate the pirate or they have the Philly whatever that guy is Natalie had something um this kind of coincides of whatever logo we decide but what would become of the warrior and where you're at I

045think she's a high school because those are Aesthetics right and they're trying to get the tree off space so when it comes to making a logo I think we all kind of you know are reading more towards for now the logo and not a natural mascot so when it comes to representing that logo and the name Aztec what would become of the warrior so that's those are yeah those will be conversations afterwards depending on where we land but again I'm going to keep falling back on and I'm not saying I agree or disagree uh but there are schools that do not have mascots and so the people that run out there are people who are dressed in a and Azusa and come on cheering people on and you know those kinds of things um so

046again I don't think that there's anywhere that we have to say that there has to be somebody dressed as something right to do school spirit or to run around or whatever and again I'm not saying I'm opposed I'm not saying I'm four I'm just saying there is that reality but those conversations will happen after this group decides you know what it is we're going to be I do just want to oh go ahead I do want to just bring a concern that I saw from the last game associated okay every students were wearing like a headband with a you know with a feather and that's kind of a problem you know what I mean like when we associate it with the assets as soon as I feel like that is okay and it's kind of

047it's really not it's not okay here it's not okay anywhere else so it's just kind of like to show students to not understanding that degree and I'll say Jacqueline inside the students I think it's adults too yeah a lot a lot of them so you know that's the only concern that I saw that I'm like I thought about it when I saw the pictures I'm like and we still associate something with the ethic it's still going to fall into something like that and also the signs like I don't know even like not indigenous people think it's a spirit animal or something it's just weird like it's inappropriate so it's just some of the signs too it just didn't feel appropriate so that's just what I wanted to to voice yeah that's a that's a great

048point right that's the work that has to come as we as we continue to to think about these types of things um that that is work that now that we have to do okay so uh two comments um first one is you know we've already established that the name Aztec we'll we'll stay and seeing someone who's Gabrielino how do we convey this movement idea without erasing the people who were here before first question second question is how does Gladstone students feel Unity from this image when it's very different from their current reputation so questions that could be for the whole committee does that speak for Dan Ethan can I ask you just to um to start out so your first question was uh around how do we um can you can you read it sure

049so regarding movement related to the symbol how business not overshadow the symbol that logo overshadow the Gabrielino people who are still here invisible got it got it got it so that's the first question did you I mean do you have ideas like are you thinking like this isn't possible or or do you have ideas of how that might happen I think if this is put forward then it's inevitable that there will be that overshadowing there will be that that continued invisibility so that's my concerned and is it because it's so clearly connected with the past like Aztec imagery correct okay got it it's helpful what are other folks now I have a question for make them so because gabrielinos are native to the area do you want gabrielino's to be more represented as opposed to

050the Aztec is that that's a that's a loaded question so again like I said in the beginning Aztec is chosen the words in a state right so we understand and we all understand that it's not going to be a representation of gabriellinos right because it can't be connected so that's what I'm saying representatives of the Native Community we have two rules really one is tribally speaking in the interests of our drive and preservation of our own culture and the prevention of racial um that's in addition to what we have here that's something that has just been a personal um perspective that we can bring as well as our um tribal chairman asking us to be here in that role in addition to that it's our as members of the indigenous native Community we keep a

051finger on the pulse of the community to understand what the community is thinking so in that case if I were to put our tribal thoughts aside because my son I think did a good job speaking on that and to look at movement um this complex um representation and any culturally complex representation requires a deep amount of understanding of their spiritual cosmology religious beliefs this goes beyond my ability to speak on behalf of the mishika people because they would have to speak on that this is representation how do I make that more clear well I wouldn't be one to speak on representations for the Catholic faith or the Islamic faith this is not something in a history book that's in the past nor is there culture in the past it's alive now and there are people

052whose the machine could have their their religion their beliefs and it's alive and well it's not something that we're just looking at as a side note so as to what their thoughts would be that's you know that's that's something that they would have to chime in with but again it is um a very strong cultural representation to which I don't know the entire history of it so I couldn't elaborate further but I would say that I would defer to them if it were to be decisions like this should involve the tribal group most effectively represented by it so maybe we can put asterisk here and say if this image moves forward that we do need to be checking in right and and ask folks that are part of that Community right and in addition to

053that one in having um spoken to the elders about the decision that was made at Gabriel little high school um again there was a discussion of what is religion and separation of uh church and state and public education so um murals that can be painted represent religious acts and again that's something that has to be considered yeah of course too bad too so in an Ideal World what would be a presentation for gambling well for us yeah that's that that's I know that's all about it's not a not a sense we're not actively evolved tribally in deciding representation of our tribe in a high school I don't think that that would fit in this because the name is text not we're not looking at consideration as we want to build a new high school we're

054taking the high school we've come to you as a tribe and we're asking you what that's going to work we're not in this conversation because this isn't about our credit um yeah um but our school is working at making sure that we are going to offer classes for our students correct that they'll be able to understand our history so I'll say it a different way I think that one of the things that not only here uh but in other circles and in other outlets um I think that there has been a request or a thirst that um education be part of what uh has transpired what is transpiring and so yes we do have plans to think about how that gets done yes anything else before we take a vote on this one um I

055have a question about the voting yes is it a simple majority what if people feel that this is not culturally appropriate but only three people say that is is one note that we considered that what does a group think um because this one might just based on the conversation might have uh yes but like yeah I mean that we can move it forward if we speak to people who have some background and some skin in this and they say yeah that would be perfectly okay or we can say if they say I don't know that's that's a little dicey or look like that's that doesn't really serve us well then then we say no but I guess the question is I mean the question right now yeah yeah so we're we're creating that caveat right

056if you say like if this is going if we vote Yes on it right now that there needs to be additional research done and people that we contact right to get to to see whether or not this is actually appropriate right but recognizing that would that caveat do we want a simple majority or do we want to say like if there are certain people on the video you aren't aren't okay with it then you know it doesn't go into our movie path um it's more of a comment I think it's a little hard to make a I'm just looking at it right we have already only seem to kind of hard to decide what even to consider just because I mean we're already I'm I'm sitting here and I'm looking at it and I'm kind

057of thinking ahead I'm like okay if we consider Jaguar what we'll go with that how do students feel not just how we feel here how do the students feel knowing that it's a Jaguar representing it and it's okay right or let's say we go with this how are the students going to feel knowing that this is going to be the representation not just us I mean I'm just a parent and I look at it like what are you gonna do with that even a Jaguar what are you gonna do with the Jaguar you know anything else so I feel like maybe we can see what they are first and then kind of go based on each one and see how we feel how we can add so that maybe I don't know it just builds

058a little kind of like we're already making a decision um even if we're putting it to the side and it's being considered that's kind of how it feels so it almost feels like okay if we don't make that choice then it's not going to be on the list but then it might be something good somebody might like it I just feel like I don't I'm not really knowing how it's gonna set like I think I'm thinking ahead that's all I'm just thinking of how the loved oneself is going to represent it so that's why I said I'm not opposed to it but I'm not against it so I don't know I don't know if anybody else was this way kind of deciding on those people like how do you feel like we should get through

059the um what we have and then decide yeah how we want to vote for it yeah okay you can do that um can I make a suggestion for calling the board with the second one I wanted to get out you know because um because of what Kevin said this is a Aztec chica representation and we really need someone from that Community to educate and I am learning I mean I'm here as an alumni I feel like I'm a student and I'm listening and I'm learning and so to me these ideas when I did the research seemed great and all encompassing but when I hear from other perspectives I realize there's more learning to be done and more consideration to be taken before really looking at this as a serious option so I would like to

060um yeah we drive yeah and I appreciate that I think the truth that we are all learning right this is the learning process that we're as we go through this we are learning more and more right so you're you're definitely not alone in that so yeah I think so I mean we're going to move forward and I agree with that too because we should look at them first but um I think off the end when we do look at them we can kind of maybe you look up a checklist of like what's really appropriate I could recycle through appropriate but what does that mean right I think a lot of folks might wonder like what does that mean so maybe having a checklist of like businesses and check that so that way we can look

061at them once we're done and then have like a little like checkbox so we can feel a little more comfortable too what a culturally appropriate means James I I agree with her um I think that after kind of going through this to kind of do a little bit more research based on what we kind of okay we're gonna put this aside and get a little more in depth to what we're kind of choosing if it's not a symbol yeah um just to make sure that we're not offending anybody um and I agree with Diana that we're taking this out because to me we're only representing one group and it can be offensive to some other people who are not of that descent um so I just I think doing you know kind of okay we're

062gonna put this aside we're gonna put this aside but then to kind of look into it a little further and do a little more homework to make sure that we're not going to offend somebody else sure and but also what I heard you also say was the issue of uh Unity right like it represents one group but it doesn't it doesn't represent everybody yeah other folks okay yeah I think I think it needs to be more more about unity and not representing the Aztecs okay um the next one uh the reason there's two is very subtle I don't know if you see the A and one and not the A and the other one um but this one has the mountains uh stars of Canyon City um that mountain range right there does show up

063in a lot of beams uh the a because obviously that a lot of mountain represents Azusa and then the hands showing the three high schools coming together um again let's pretend that this was the one yeah that we found it uh we would uh again uh go through a process of designers and all that good stuff and different representations uh of that um so questions or comments about this one I think this picture just looking at it brings Unity yeah bringing everybody together um because that's what we want that's the the I think that's the what we're trying to portray for everybody is bring everybody together I know that um you know some kids and adults spoke at December board meetings and January board meetings and things like that asking for Unity and changing things

064to represent everybody um because of the fact that that Gladstone is merging with the Souza and you know giving them kind of a new identity and I think this is a good representation of that yeah I think it can be worked on um but it's really good like I like the mountains I mean it is um you know we see we are we all see him when like when you get out of your house and you go to school like you see that and I think that's pretty cool yeah when I was getting just through these images this one caught my eye because uh it's a powerful powerful image and what it suggests and what it brings about and um it's it's a very created in the now and represents those that are in the

065community now and their feelings what really what this is a should be yeah and I like it with the a yeah I would also like to make a good comment because when I was trying to like make you know some ideas regarding the logo all I could think about were the mountains and this was mainly because somebody from New York had visited Us in Azusa and they were so wowed and fascinated by mountains and I'm like oh yeah they're there like every day you know you see them when you wake up I see it when I go to school I see VA and I see you know in a way like how that Representatives as a whole especially to the residents here and to the people who've lived here for you know centuries and I

066find that the mountains is a way that could apply to everybody without it being something that can appealed to only one because in general it is really just you know an equilibrium it can resonate with people and it can be subjective but it can't be the solely one like it's not biased because it's an inanimate object from what you can see and it can just be based on the interpretations of other people so that's why um I'm not sure if I mentioned this if we we mentioned this but a student board Representatives we asked a bunch of students their thoughts on the Aztec logo and you should be represented and I believe a few of them although wealthy a lot of them actually did say that they would like mountains to be on there simply

067because it is something that they see every day and they strongly resonate with me all right the same as you when we left that room I thought about the Manchester I was like how I don't know but I was thinking like even making the a little bigger but however the designer can you know like I said it can work on there can be many designs that we look at and pick out so I I it's funny because I thought about that too so I think it's a common thought that we're all having just I think I'm obviously not a designer but I mean there's lots of A's in here there's the a the obvious one but that middle Mountain looks like an a yeah the three halves coming together it also looks like an a

068yeah and like you said a designer would do much better than that I mean there's some some place but but and again this would be like a logo right this would be our our representation yeah our questions is this I really like this I like what everyone has said I agree with them to bring more Unity with the other two high schools is it possible to add an accent color like red to it like say this one could you just accent of it to the logo so yeah they feel more included in it yeah anything's possible right and again once we get to the the design phase um they'll have a transcript of this video and they'll hear what people said and you know and again right now we're not deciding right like that that's

069at a later part but if if we were to land here then again some of comments or suggestions or ideas and how do we interpret that then in a graphic design of that any up uh um what do we say we want to do yays that's what you want to do okay yeah raise your hand if this is okay to keep moving on again we are not just this doesn't mean yes I want this logo it just means yes it can move forward thank you all right moving on to uh number four uh sorry about the copyrighted up there um so this is actually something that we currently use already right now so this is not anything new I believe that the idea here the person that submitted was we're using this it has the

070pyramids as you can see right now in the center there uh pyramids and Aztecs are connected why not move with this questions or comments about this one quite honestly to me it looks more like Chichen it it's like a little bit higher so Mike can't pick you up okay I think like I'm not opposed for like a poster if I'm not like against it but I feel like if we want our community and like we want our students like from Gladstone to feel United I feel like this doesn't really like touch on that because it's just like how you said earlier it looks like kind of the same as the old um logo or like the logo they have now but it's like there's no correlation to making the Gladstone kids that are going over

071there feel United like it's just it's just the a the college still there but it's like um if we want like a master like a logo we want to make sure that our Gladstone could feel represented and that they feel heard because overall we don't want our community and we don't want like our students and our like kids to feel like they're not welcome and I feel like this having like the same like idea and the same logo as the previous one it doesn't represent that and it's not like it's not there's no difference honestly when my son came home with his sweatshirt with it on it I didn't know it was stairs until weeks later I thought it was a misprint so then I realized like oh those are stairs oh but it hit

072me a few weeks later a few days later what about changing the color of the a to the red candles in the blue color aren't we we're keeping the blue color that's for sure it was cool I mean you can add like an outline or like an accent an accent yeah a red accent but it's really just the same it is that's what that is currently in use right now to Catalina's point and I agree with that yep I'm completely opposed to this just because we're trying to build Unity this isn't building Unity this is a slap in the face for those kids this is the high school yeah smaller version yeah nothing has changed but you know you're starting out some places yeah yeah that violates one of our one of our [Music] um

073criteria criteria a sense of belonging and representation as well I mean all right any other thoughts before we take a vote on it all right uh all in favor of moving the sword raise your hand all right and thank you forever to everyone who submitted these ideas I know it's hard like someone put your ID out there and have people like take it apart and think about it um please know that I mean I hope that you feel like we're we're doing that as as a community right it's not um this isn't a communal process like Anna said we're all learning in the process of you know what what works and what doesn't work and why and all the kind of nuances of it all right okay moving on to uh the next one uh

074The Feathered Serpent uh do you want to speak about it a little bit or do you want me to speak about it on your behalf okay um so um the text is there uh we know well I shouldn't make assumptions but the feather service serpent is definitely uh a famous symbol that's connected quite often uh to the Aztecs and lots of different uh ways um foreign typically the name of this um again when we think about four years and um Power and strength this is definitely something that you see quite a bit uh whether appropriate or not appropriate I'm not going to speak to that but this is another idea that uh has been performed I have a comment um I think this being a symbol I mean not that it's a bad symbol but

075this being a symbol only represents an Aztec culture like the other movement symbol that we took out a few minutes ago in that same category I would think it would fall in the same category because it only represents one group of people and not everybody and that's what we're trying to strive for is to bring everybody together and not just focus on one foreign even just the first few words one of the most famous Divine symbols I think then we're going into the religious aspect that we don't understand the power and the significance behind it and this would require more than just someone from the Michigan coming and telling us about it we would actually kind of like what you can't really know high school did when they got permission from the elders I feel

076like we would need to do much more steps than just understanding what it means any thoughts comments questions things we wanna follow up on but I want to I want to Second what you said because I didn't come with an idea I didn't put myself out here like this so I want to thank everybody I did this work for us it gave us the opportunity to have these possibilities yes absolutely yes Rito do you wanna add anything or say anything or make any changes no yes I I do um I love this I mean it's a symbol but it's a very real um it's a very real symbol to Aztecs and I I know this personally um I thought about this symbol I actually asked my students if they could choose a mascot would it

077be most of them really liked hits on but I didn't request it because for the reasons that have been mentioned I felt that it was too powerful and we don't have enough of the background or even though to use it and so I thought it was very just not correct to use it was like I wanted to put it but I thought it wasn't I was it was too strong we don't have that um back forward and we would have to have like we would have to really be careful the way we talked this at our high school and um we just we hope that you know we're getting ethnic studies if it's going to happen and then we need to look at that curriculum to ensure that when we do ethnic studies that the

078students are learning the history and the culture of this whole area and then the Aztecs too so I mean that's so much work and so this would be so much work yeah thank you for bringing this one this is actually my favorite [Music] I disagree with Cecilia I it's a very which like you said a very powerful symbol and it's a great symbol to representing the Aztecs but again that doesn't bring new music for the other sports you know it would require so much respect right just it will require so much respect and yeah [Music] the things that people want to share questions that you have would it be fair to say that we should take this one out as well because of the representation of it you see some nods in the room I

079would say according to the criteria we used before voter symbol then I would agree yes I think that's where the vote comes in because this was her submit she submitted it so it would be her choice to retract if not we vote to move forward very close do you want to go forward with the vote shall we proceed what are you thinking you can remove it rivet you sure all right thank you for submitting yourself I appreciate it all right number six is identical to number one although there is a an idea here uh put forth um I don't again I don't want to speak for uh Miss madiko but uh I'm assuming this is just an idea um and we can look at others but I'll let her you want to speak on again

080it's the same one as the first one so steal the idea of a jaguar and why you know the idea behind why do you think because we already voted the other one forward the concept should should move right yeah do we need to re-litigate this that's true okay [Music] each you have one final in your packet but we do have one that came in today that we didn't get to um trips so the last one is armadillo is the art padillo and I was given the suggestion by talking with um some community members also and parents that gave me the suggestion um and they didn't really give me a reason as to why they came up with maybe the armadillos but I did a little bit of digging and you know it's Unique looking like

081all of our students like all of our people in our community um there's different species and we all come from different walks of life and it's difficult to trap our kids are you can't hold them in one place they're all over the place and I see that because I'm the boots on the ground so it's you know it's just something fun that's got a hard shell you know it's just unique looking I think it's just something different something to to just kind of represent our uniqueness in our area [Music] this is like a stretch question but is it possible to have like a logo and then a different mascot like say armadillos I have the mascot that have like a different mode so uh tell me more like um for example if he was supposed

082to go like share with the mountain logo and then have like a mascot with armadillos like is that like possible to have anything's possible um at the high school we do have something called logo sets right so it's not like one thing so um there'll be the mascot that another one that says that will say like Azusa then another one that's just the a so there's different things for different uses um so we do have sets here I think we're crossing the line a little bit to say like um I don't know I don't know how the group feels but maybe maybe it's too much I don't know I I that would be up to the up to the to the convenience that if if if yes or no I don't know yeah so it

083would be this is a High School Aztec armadillos or the milk with the mountain logo what if you Incorporated this you know putting out there you know um mountains in with armadillos somehow the designer Incorporated that scale so it would be like Aztec armadillos but then the symbol would have like mountains as well correct yeah something like that yeah um eventually because they would have no Warrior where you're at what if they were to come up with like the girl dressed as red you know maybe like a skirt a shirt something I don't know I I'm still thinking about it right and the guy dressed in blue pigs as not Warrior Warrior but they could come together instead of like being chosen they would walk in the middle of the field and kind of come

084together and shake hands and so that would represent the whole logo of the the one holding hands I don't know right I'm thinking ahead for the kids I'm also thinking like what would look nice out there that would look like it's been we're being united you know and that would literally show for Gladstone but also Azusa and then also represent our city and kind of like representing the hands like Gladstone energy together as well as a community yeah I think that's that's helpful I think as we kind of narrow down the images more and more I think these kind of race Romantics are going to be super helpful right to think about how these things I like what you said I'll the emblem of the canyon with the a but in the background even though

085the sun doesn't rise or set on that side but have something of a red hue that comes up so in the front it's blue it's kind of like how it is out here in our mountains we have we have different colors we have pinks Reds Blues purples all that but we can set forth something where they are the Aztecs we have the a we have the canyon the mountains and we have the Hue of the blue and the red coming forth so then it is a symbol of two coming into one I don't know just something to think about okay um any other questions about the armadillo and again we're just voting do we continue to consider it that's all we're doing any other questions on that okay raise your hand if you're okay holding

086the marmadillos for further consideration and it meets our criteria okay we have so that's right okay do you want to talk about you want to discussing it the objections are due which he's just saying if it's not unanimous okay so that's a no just to be very clear okay and then we did have one uh come in uh way at the end so I apologize and not everybody has a uh copy um yeah there's there's one right here if you want to hear so this is our last one um okay so I just want to preface a little bit um and just say that I'm not claiming to be an expert on anything or even saying that I have like a great amount of knowledge I did do my research just some time I try

087to find the most trustworthy sources I could um but I'm fully aware even that doesn't mean that I'm advanced in this knowledge and I just want to apologize in advance and let you guys know that um I'm here to learn too so yeah um I already saw like a spelling mistake I did and um also I'm not a graphic designer it was just um something to put together secondly I just want to um preface with that like a big ideal to me is representation um I'm a Latina in the film industry and on the Rarity actually which might be surprising to you there's very few Latinos in the film industry and were um as a whole um extremely under represented and that's to me a very harmful issue um because I think diversity is needed

088represents representation is needed and I think moving forward it could be great to have a symbol with meaning um that being said my suggestion is the agias which is um Eagles in English um I picked this I did a little research again I don't know everything um but it is I decided to connect um to the Aztec image because again I think representation is very much needed I think it involves the environment as a high school um I think that uh yeah I as much as I like the armadillos I think that um we should have a symbol that we can connect to and has meaning that people hear about us there's like a history and depth and a respectful one I agree upon that it needs to be respectful and with a lot of

089knowledge um but I would just hate for like us to not have something super in-depth and meaningful Glendora High School comes to visit us and they're like I don't care about the armadillos but maybe they do get interested by the ideas and the Aztecs and want to learn some history um because we don't know if they have um like indigenous things at their school um but yeah so that's my suggestion um it is connected to the Aztec history um because um just to do like a little brief meaning of the Aztecs Saw an Eagle perched on a cactus eating a snake um and that ended up becoming um that's how they founded the end of Japan um but this symbol also has stayed throughout um Mexican history and culture identity it is on the Mexican

090flag um it is um statues on different important though beans in Mexico um it's even on the soccer logo um but yeah I just think that it's used um I don't know it doesn't that doesn't mean that it's okay just because it's used but it is um so there is like some history that we can look into of that and um I think that equals and yes they're Brave fearless and daring and that is all things that I see at the Gladstone High School kids coming to Azusa um it's a big change something they didn't want to do um but it's just inevitable at this point and I think that really shows their strength in coming here um we can also connect it to American history I guess because we do have the bald eagle

091um then yeah I just think that we should be supporting diversity um and representation so I have a couple questions uh okay I know this is a pronoun these are just ideas but my first question is is this um is this uh an agila in general or are you saying specifically like it has to be this Aguila or the Aguila that's on the flag I'm I think that's like a further question but I this is just me like playing Graphics designer tonight um but I do like um the one that is used in Mexico but that doesn't have to be the exact same one I don't think it should be a bald eagle though because um yeah I'm open to different historically accurate yeah and then my second question okay and again I I don't

092see if I don't want to make assumptions so in this particular case this is a conscious decision that we would be known as the Aztec Aguilas versus the Eagles right exactly like it in Spanish again I don't want to make assumptions so so the idea here is that we'll be Aguilas which again means Eagles um and so the eagle would be our our mascot but in this case and instead of the Aztec Eagles it'll be the Asic Aguilas so to use the the Spanish name uh for the bird thoughts comments questions I personally like it we've been again I'm a Latina so I like it I like what it stands for and I like the fact that you know since they're gonna combine again I'm a Latina so the fact that it's coming together it's

093like we're just assuming right it's a majority of Mexican Americans and you don't think that maybe other people might be offended by it like because that's what they're going to represent right let's say they're incoming ninth graders and they're gonna be like I can't even say it you know what I mean we can it's easy for us but then other people are gonna be like Angela and what is Angela you know it's like and then we're gonna get offended because we're like it's just it's like when they say um I don't know if you've heard a lot of people they'll say in Duarte and I'll be like why don't you just say I'm gonna sound it out in Spanish first before I say it in English so you don't think people will get a little

094offended um I mean as far as using it in Spanish or in general no in general no um I again um maybe just I don't know if this completely answers but um so I am working in the film industry I went to a Latina um media fest last week that was working there and um we were talking about representation and having to support other groups so just like as an example in the Heights came out and that was mainly Puerto Ricans in the movie um I'm not Puerto Rican but I'm a Latina and I understand that Puerto Ricans are very underrepresented so I watched it they had my support did I like it maybe not but you know what I mean they have my support um same with different movies um there's a really famous

095actress right now as bobner said she's Peruvian I'm not Peruvian but she has no support and I don't want to tear down their win so I'm assuming that's just in something um people who don't resonate with Mexican culture but are Latin or even not Latino don't want to or when you know um in a sense especially like I said in media like um there's shows like hentified that people don't really resonate with but we got a show with Latinos on TV and that's like a big win so I guess it's always like catch tradition I also like saying the name um I think we also need to like as a society who will need a push back um I have a nephew who's named Sebastian I think people are going to say Sebastian that's all

096that but he's my sister already said you know we're gonna say Disney Sebastian he's gonna have to tell us teachers nope so same thing with I guess I guess you know just correct them help them in a nice way to teach them yeah people have we could say Timothy Charlemagne okay other thoughts questions is this like a brainstormed idea yeah that's just like I was having fun on canva but not we don't have to stick with it we don't have to keep all of it um I understand what she said in the ass today it looks like she changed up we could take that out um but yeah just the main idea here it's an eagle and that and again when we get to design and all that make sure and heard very clear it's

097not the bald eagle uh but but the idea that it's illegal can we combine I mean I like an ideal writing exactly that have the symbol of the mountains with the hands so instead of maybe like the Sundial or you incorporate both yeah being part of the background or the scenery of the mountains of somehow or I don't know so my suggestion my suggestion and you guys can tell me what you think um if you have an alternative idea right that might be a combination of something that we talk about today um if you could submit those and that we can vote on those next time yeah and I think I think if we can do that earlier than later for the benefit of everybody to kind of see those things in advance um you

098know so when we get to to voting and I think that's when those ideas start to creep up right so again just because we're on this one right now so okay everyone agree on the Aguilas now is there any input um well you know what if we've added a hint of red or is there a way to be flying over the mountains yeah those kinds of things again would help in the design part of it um once we land on something then we can definitely put that input and that and that would be super helpful again as we're starting to think about and give uh the designer some input I think that that would be helpful I mean I'm going to be honest it reminds me of Las Vegas and I'm a little like I

099don't know because at the same time let's say Gabrielino student also comes in like how would he feel represented and that Erasure of of like I really know people you know what I mean so that's the only thing like I totally feel you like I'm Latina and I see that in my career too but at the same time I want to take that in mind for the indigenous population of the of the land we occupy so I want to think about the way I feel how indigenous votes to you you know what I mean so I just want to be conscious that we're not erasing the folks from here just the way I don't want to be erased as a Mexican you know in the big spectrum of of the U.S so that's just my

100thought I'm not saying I don't like it because I you know I like Mexico I have the t-shirt and everything but it's I'm just considering uh like I really know people too so yeah please I have a comment um I just want to share a little story you know when I went through school here in ausd and this is not reflection today it's just a reflection of the climate you know and and educational recommendations and so forth I never learned about the Gabrielino people and from someone being from this city being born raised here went to all my schools here even went to Apu here I coach Our Youth and so forth I had to do the education and the classroom setting in elementary school for the teachers because the teachers weren't weren't taught that

101so I was the third fourth fifth grader in class having to share the history which I was still learning that I didn't really know with those teachers and having to I even dressed up in my traditional regalia and um people didn't understand but I still did it because I knew it was important and and that's the same issue we have here right how does this not erase us Gabriella knows who are here from Valley County and lower four Islands how does that not erase Us and how does this contribute to the visibility of a gabrielano person and then also too not everyone here in this community of Azusa is from the shika Aztec descent so again how does that represent them but keeping in mind that this community is predominantly Latino so that's that's something

102that we really do have to weigh and then you know just like you said as a governmental person I was never taught about my my identity here it happened because I had to teach it too yeah I would like to to follow up also um and you asked the question how would some specific image or representation affect us uh the actual um existence of the eagle is here and it's well celebrated that the eagle has returned to the mountains of Azusa and that eagle is a bald eagle and the bald eagle plays a very very important prevalent role in our uh tribal religion and ceremony we got evil dances is very important now the representations of the mountains I do like that because they're referred to by us as uh hisakupa is a name for

103the mountains but these mountains are called the mountains of Azusa so when you said proper pronunciation of the name people have been misper representing as you know first the story of us is a and the pronunciation of is it for more than 100 years it's a suksa so if we're going to get into specific pronunciations and names we'd have to start with that Asuka does mean in place of his grandmother so you do understand from a tribal perspective for us you've added Aztec to one of our most sacred names to add an eagle that is not representative an evil here is a continuation of a culture that you have to understand from California Indian perspective and that of tribes in the southwest we fought against Mexico they had an eradication um policy on us they

104just they wanted to extinct us so that's uh that's pretty heavy so what we're trying to do is we're trying to work here with this future mask of it at the same time when it how do we put ourselves aside you asked me a really heavy question and you said how do we fit into this well it's not about us it's about us as a high school you know we didn't begin this conversation in the 90s I took part in the 90s I was asked into it but we're trying to find that fine line where we're not erased in this conversation because while it's great to celebrate your history and your culture you have to understand how that arrived here okay so if you're asking from a trial perspective this one's difficult it is can

105I ask a question clarifying questions it's difficult because of this eagle or it's difficult for an eagle period three things one it's very uh Centric number two it is another eagle number three the names in spanish so for those that you aren't aware Spanish is a language predominantly spoken okay in Mexico right the main language but there's more than 50 languages spoken there um indigenous people natives don't cling to that language no more than English because these are languages that were forced Upon Us in order to eradicate California Union culture I'll just stay with California and not the other tribes our people were forced to speak Spanish that's how they were culturally castrating us we couldn't speak our language that's what they did in the mission when our people were slaves so that's introducing something

106else now well that the use of words in Spanish you do exist within the Danza communities and those that are holding their cultures again they're trying to do language restoration recapturing so people have to understand that Mexico only has the Spanish language because the Conquistadors came from Spain and brought that European language to North and South America it's not indigenous Spanish is the language of Spain so yeah there's a lot to it but you're asking me now to give a Gabrielle perspective I am and that's how we would view this it's it's got a lot of parts so maybe we should when we put it up for our vote we should vote on two separate things one is the name and the other as the name is equals perhaps and just to kind of give

107a finer point on I don't understand really quickly excuse me first you've been you've been away for a long time thank you so I'm a little confused because um I've heard different things tonight we like the unity with the hands but we don't want to lose our Our Heritage our background our our blood our culture everything who we are in identity so the unity one is difficult to accept because I'm going back because it doesn't represent gabolinos and it doesn't represent Aztecs but we want to not lose what the gabolinos are to the city and the Aztecs are to the Mexican heritage that's here so I'm having a difficult time moving forward at this point because even though we we were like oh yeah yeah we're right back where we started um so say more

108about that yeah so what I'm we can't lose either or but how do we bring it together that's the thing without it getting lost so because no matter what um we we've all expressed when we introduced ourselves that a lot of us here do have um indigenous backgrounds and we have Mexican backgrounds if you know and it is very important neither one is greater than the other it is very important we our parents teach us that by telling us the stories of our past by bringing it in the food that we eat and the lives that we lead and the beliefs that we have multiple beliefs one belief whatever it may be and it is ours to entrust for our future but I'm listening and it's like again there's one here that doesn't represent any

109of that but then if we show one that does represent it's not it it's it'll it'll it'll not it's not uh what some are looking for and then we have others that is you know I get a religious beliefs in it the faith or whatever but that was what they believed in at that time so I've just right now I'm kind of like oh my gosh I um if we vote by by if one or two people say no all of them should actually be no then because we've not been 100 in all our votes I thought the other ones were 100 but yeah um was all yeses and one abstention it wasn't a no but you know the hand was all yet yeah okay so those two right I'm kind of I don't know

110I've just kind of like in it it just seems to continuously get lost but who is any you know I don't know I'm just I just I just want to clarify um it's not a rebuttal it's just more so along the lines that the word Aztec name has been kept that's decided we know that and we now know that there can never be no gabrieleno connection to the name or the school itself so we're in that understanding so this isn't a debate of including gabrieleno culture symbols images objects people in the logo but it's just making sure it's culturally appropriate we're not advocating for gabrieleno inclusion in the logo or the mascot that's a completely separate theme that would have that's not on the table right now so I just wanted to clarify that so

111the whole committee and so everyone who's listening into YouTube right here yeah and to my knowledge um at no time during these discussions of some 23 years as any member of My Tribe or tribal representative any Clan known Clan asked for Gabrielino Congo inclusion and anytime in any part of Azusa High School's representation and it has been proposed in the past if that would be interesting to us to have that to which we said no we were not interested in any part of the mascot tribal leader and that that was not a a consideration that we had and I am providing historical cultural perspective on a living culture I am not suggesting you should or should not use but you have suggested I am giving you what I was asked to do provide my cultural

112response to what's being presented I'm not telling you how to vote I'm telling you sharing with you our perspective and how we think because we're not extinct and our religion is alive I have to correct on that one thing these beliefs and religions are not in the past okay so I'm providing as a Gabrielino your views thoughts of our people and then you take that knowledge and then you use that or not use that to make your decisions wow thank you um and one thing and then I know you want to see it um one thing to note is voting on this it doesn't like yes we have images that were given to us but um I think that they're still we're voting on an idea right we're not voting on set images so you

113know it is possible to have two different equals right the look that are two different varieties right so so perhaps more inclusive than we might imagine like even even more inclusive than than what we're matching right now right so there are possibilities so I want us to vote on the idea and not necessarily the specific images because that people can work out later yeah and to that point I think I think you answered it uh in that way that's why I specifically asked are you saying that it has to be this eagle and she said no right and so I think to your point the idea is the Eagles um but again when we're talking about design and all those kinds of things um all of that would have to be checked just like the

114jaguar and I think that's why you asked it because a Jaguar is represented in a lot of different ways with a lot of different regalia and jewels and things like that that may not be appropriate and so all of that before we even put the designs out we'll have to be checked and considered uh before we even say okay cool here are the options that's good so good Dana yeah and then let's go I just had a realization while I was listening to um you speak about the Aztec Aguilas and I really felt your sense of um urgency and importance in having this inclusion of the Latin Community this community in biagila the eagle itself but in Spanish um because of the underrepresentation in the whole area and in the industry that you work in

115I've also seen it so when I hear you I'm like yeah I get it like I totally feel that and I can feel what you're saying and I agree and I loved it in Spanish because my family is from Mexico from first generation a year and then I'm listening to Kevin and I'm listening to Nathan and I'm thinking first when you're speaking we are underrepresented and this com in the community in in the state whatever in education in different Industries and then I hear them and I think they are majorly underrepresented and so if I feel this what you're saying I can only imagine what it feels like you know for the natives so it just clicked you know I was just like oh my conditioning is so deep you know and my feelings of

116my community and my upbringing and my culture of course I want to be inclusive of everyone all coaches of course that's what we're here to do that's why we're here but even then I still miss like I'm hearing them and I'm still missing something and I feel like I'm now getting it and I hear what you're saying Kevin you're saying Nathan I mean you know indigenous people's day was last week I did a lot of research I was a teacher I really got to represent this it's my responsibility I went pretty deep and I've gone and I have a look for Native American indigenous um roots wisdom um history um and so I realizing how important it is this um real inclusion and respect and it's not just because oh it's you know the talk

117about San Gabrielino representing Representatives that are here that we're learning so much from but it's a real thing like this is this is this is real these are real lives this is just real history real generational trauma real exclusion um in our own community and I know what it feels like so um I just want to say that um I'm really glad that we have this representation here and that we are all representing and that we're all listening to each other and that we're all really trying to find something that fits everyone even outside of the community and the groups godstone Azusa High School um and so I thought what if it was like what is the the tonganing for for eagle you know maybe something like that um where we can really be exclusive

118just an idea we said the Aztec Eagles what would it be in the native language I don't I just I feel like there's a there's a gap that I'm really feeling is coming together and me and listening to everyone tonight so I just wanted to share that I really appreciate that too and that was my original pop and then I realized it will be the Aztec followed by a ton of a word and that is jarring to me I can't even imagine right okay uh yeah as great as that that kind of sounds the way you present it wouldn't it be a contradiction thank you I think it's just difficult but I think the difficult part is that the accent word is kept into this so that makes it a little more tricky not a

119little too challenging um and I wanted to share too like when we talk about Mexican tribes and Indigenous people like I feel like I mean I'm not gonna speak for them or anything like that but I just want to remind people there are a lot of different tribes in Mexico and even the my own language is not just the Maya language there's so many different types of my language so when we talk about Mexican uh tribes or indigenous identity there's so many so how can we just pinpoint to the assets and be like oh this is Mexican second um you know they also like to be called by their own indigenous name like when the whole thing um happened with LA City Hall and ojacquenos came out they're like so they have that pride of

120bringing in there so if something someone from Oaxaca would be coming here this would not be representative of them you know what I mean so they have their own social support you know like there's so many different people that also are Mexican or Latinos and have their own indigenous identity and acid does not represent them unfortunately you know so that's another thing that we have to take in mind that if we are going to say Mexican like it's not just African lion and so how can someone because it's uh so many so many like that 60 you said right so I'm saying as assets or representative Mexicans because that's not true so I think we suggested this point I think there's a two-part number one do we move the eagle not this Eagle but the

121culturally appropriate representation of an eagle which we could get into questions and then if it moves forward then the Azusa High School asset with the Eagles or this was a high school Azusa High School Aztecs with the Aguilas and so that would be the second vote so the first one has nothing to do with the agila it's just the eagle just like we did with the Jaguar just like we did with the hands just the eagle and just as a reminder everyone this is not about whether you like it or not right this is just about based on our criteria do we feel like it of the criteria enough yeah all right so those are you in favor of moving forward and Eagle uh to be considered again that Misa Craig's here this is not

122I like it or don't like it that has nothing to do with it but what you think about it is just doesn't meet the criteria and those who uh have not that are you obstaining or are you saying no I'm still thinking about it I'm just saying it doesn't meet our criteria I think so I think we would have to let we're gonna go back to square one again what can you say more what do we have to find out I think just because like like they said it's the eagle itself thinking about the ego they're talking about the feather there's gonna have to be feathers in there so are we representing them wrong by saying if we put letters and we decide on obviously it's just an idea but eventually when it's put in

123there and somebody wants to represent it again it's not to you know to hurt you guys or say hey we just threw it up and we didn't even consider it again you know what I mean that's um that's my I feel like there's so many things to it that'll be we might not see it but it still could be a little offense and again we have to put rail guards on that yeah right sorry no no I'm saying there have to be real guards on that and go ahead and I I mean I think it's important I mean I appreciate that you're being had I think that's fantastic um I think it's important that we vote just on the idea though not on like what might happen if X Y and Z because I I

124do think we can create parameters right as we think through these things and they are important think they're you're totally right about that um but my same as with the gender yes for all these things we're going to have to think through you know parameters and how they can be implemented in a way that doesn't lead to that unintentional yeah all right so will this committee then litigate at like the next meeting is what those parameters and what that specifically could look like in terms of the logo or what we have looked at today and will be put forward would that happen is that what the committee is going to look at is the committee going to make that decision I think and again we're just brainstorming here this is live uh as we go

125through I think that um the first part again let's pretend we like the idea of an eagle I I think there's opportunity for either this company this this community or others what we do know for sure is that whether it's the Jaguars the hands the Eagles or whatever we decide it doesn't matter um there's gonna have to be some level of saying okay well this is where we landed um here's some here's some ideas and again have guardrails against that I don't think that that's part of our first job I think I think that's part of the second piece and I think we have to be committed to that because I'm going to assume and these are just massive assumptions that whoever the designer was of the mascot right now right I thought that that

126was okay um and so we don't want to make assumptions of what's okay or what's not okay we want to make sure that where we land whether that's again legal Jaguar whatever that is uh that it's going to fit and then furthermore some of the things that we have been talking about here now the ceremonies and all that that comes with it uh as well and that education and knowing uh how we're doing those things so I think this group said that if one person said no then it wasn't enough is that where we're at one person says you're coming I'm just one person okay uh raise your half you'd like to move the ego forward for consideration I think he's voting up the question of majority of tools oh this is you name this

127is that right I'm sorry no no I'm just saying asking if we can reboot again that's all I'm asking okay go to move forward okay so raise your hand if we're okay moving the ego forward for consideration okay all right so just a quick recap and I so apologize that we are way beyond our time um right now we have two ideas moving forward so first idea is a jaguar and the second idea is the mountains slash the uh hands so those are the two that are moving forward right now um we're going to flee that if you have ideas to please please please submit them way before Monday so that we all find ourselves on Monday to have us to restart you know where we left off right now if there are no other

128ideas and that's fine we're going to deal with these two moving forward and that's perfectly okay three that was three am I wrong no oh no no no just the eight the hand the Mountain's hand yeah right yeah okay I'm just confused and not like in a angry but how um the Jaguar was on hold off the equal because of the feathers well no no I mean you're the one who said no to it meaning criteria because I kind of sent to the Jaguar I wasn't against it but I wasn't opposed to it so that that was my yeah because I'm like I can't see it you know I don't I I get what it stands for I just don't see it so that's why I didn't have anything else attached to it the only

129one the only thing was the eagle yeah for me it was just just to be able to represent it right and not sort of come back to the same thing like what about this what about that's offensive that's my reason okay um so the idea again is again don't feel you have to right oh my gosh I have to come up submission but if you do again we'll follow up with the summary email uh to please have that in like as soon as possible so everybody can see it and understand it so when we come on Monday there's already some some thought behind that uh because ideally on Monday if these are the two um or 2.3 or 2.5 yeah no no that's that's fine to some kind of process to then decide okay which

130one and then we can have a conversation about what we want to see so if it's the Jaguar as an example like what we would want to see through the Jaguar if it's the hands what we would want to see through the hat and so that way again that gives us a lot of good powerful information to then try to synthesize all of that in something graphic that that captures that that would be the most ideal um so thank you again we kept you longer than we should so we apologize for that uh what did I miss you got it off all right thank you everyone really appreciate your in your time have a good evening because