The Sanford School Committee made the right decision this week to retire the Redskins mascot.

In an unexpected move, the committee also voted to retire the “Braves” mascot used by Sanford Junior High ”“ and rightly so.

Despite the lengthy debate that raged in one-on-one discussions, letters to the editor and Facebook groups, the mascot needed to be retired to show respect and empathy for Maine’s native people.

The term “redskins” is offensive because it comes from the days when a bounty was offered for every Indian man, woman and child, per a proclamation that dates to the mid-1700s. At first, bounty hunters in Maine were transporting native people to Boston for payment, which quickly became impractical, so the law was changed to only require the scalps for payment. The bloody, red scalps became known as “redskins,” according to Jamie Bissonette Lewey, who is Abenaki and chairwoman of the Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission.

Although many in Sanford said, via online forums and this page’s Readers Forum, that they took pride in the mascot and intended to honor the name, the fact remains that it is offensive and conjures painful memories for native people, whose ancestors were nearly wiped out by bounty hunters. Many people have falsely said that “redskins” came from native people, but that is not the case, and Lewey said there is no word equating to redskins in the native language.

Lewey also told the Journal Tribune Editorial Board earlier this year that native people pass their stories on from generation to generation. Those stories are told in the first person, so it is like the memory is their own ”“ even if the actual event was hundreds of years ago.

We hope those who have championed keeping the mascot will drop the issue and rally around a new mascot. Those adults in the community who have had trouble letting the mascot go should follow the impressive lead of many of Sanford High School’s current students.

At the school committee meeting this week, senior Mikaela Dwyer said, “I want to take pride in my mascot, and I don’t.”

It was also the high school’s civil rights team that spearheaded a survey a year ago asking students about retaining or retiring the mascot. At that time, about 40 percent of respondents ”“ the schools’ students and staff ”“ said they were ready for change, or ready to at least discuss it.

Now that Sanford has retired the mascot, no schools in the state remain with “redskins” representing their sports teams, which is another step in the right direction. We hope as these issues continue to be discussed, people who are not indigenous to this country will listen to the concerns of native people with open minds and be willing to change.

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Today’s editorial was written by City Editor Robyn Burnham on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski by calling 282-1535, Ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.