Ripon High will remain as the Indians, after all.

The school received the required endorsement from a federally-recognized Native American tribe to keep the nickname it has used for a century.

Ripon Unified School District recognized the California Valley Miwok Tribe during its board meeting Tuesday night at City Hall. It was the Miwok who provided written content allowing the high school to continue using the Indians mascot, and Ripon High aims to grow its relationship with the tribe.

“We’ll invite them to come speak to our students and be involved in multicultural days, show them around to see what we’ve been doing,” Ripon Principal Keith Rangel said. “We want to get it right and be as respectful as we can to honor the Miwok people.

“This was not just a box for us to check. We want to continue this partnership and work together.”

The California Racial Mascots Act took effect on July 1, prohibiting public schools from using Native American-themed mascots and nicknames deemed derogatory.

Ripon High is one of just two schools in California known to remain as the Indians. Palm Springs has long had the support of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians to keep the same name. Maricopa and Marysville high schools — in Kern and Yuba counties, respectively — have dropped the Indians moniker but are continuing their efforts to work with Native American tribes in their regions for approval.

Sanger High (Apaches), Chowchilla Union (Tribe), Sierra (Chieftains) of Tollhouse and Tulare Union (Tribe) are other schools in the Central Valley that have received approval to resume using mascots that have otherwise been banned by Assembly Bill 3074.

The California Valley Miwok Tribe held a special tribal council meeting on Aug. 4 regarding Ripon’s request for consent.

“As for our Tribe being Miwok and having a long deep seated and rich Indigenous heritage/culture in this area, we are proud to know that the Ripon High School is continuing to honor the Indigenous Peoples by respectfully using the mascot name ‘Indians,’” California Valley Miwok Tribe Chairperson Silvia Burley stated in the letter of consent. “The Tribe is aware of the California’s Racial Mascots Acts and Education Code section 221.3 and does not in any way find the Ripon High School mascot name ‘Indians’ offensive...

“We are certain that the name and imagery will be used respectfully, with dignity, and in manner that accurately reflects and honors the heritage and noble connotations of the term. This consent is specific to Ripon High School.”

Fullerton Union High School in Orange County reacted to the new law by changing its mascot. Fullerton’s Class of 2026 is the last to graduate as “Indians,” as the school transitioned to the “Red Hawks” beginning this school year.

AB 3074 expands on a California law passed in 2015 that banned public schools’ use of “Redskins” as a team name or mascot. That affected Calaveras High in San Andreas, which has been the Red Hawks since 2022-23.

A handful of schools up and down the state that had long used the Indians moniker dropped it in response to that initial law, AB 30. Jefferson in Daly City became the Grizzlies, John Swett in Crockett changed to the Warriors, Napa to the Grizzlies, Armijo in Fairfield to the Royals and Burroughs in Burbank to the Bears and Hart in Newhall to the Hawks.

McClymonds in Oakland already had its name changed from Indians to Warriors decades ago, but in 2021 the student body voted to replace Native American imagery at the school with new designs depicting African warriors.

Tamalpais in Mill Valley retired the Indians name back in 1989 and replaced it with the Red-Tailed Hawks. Kelseyville swapped Indians for Knights in 2006, and Lowell dropped Indians for the Cardinal in 2013.

Although Ripon High did not change its nickname after AB 30 passed, it responded by changing the official school logo, which previously included the head of a Native American chief, to a resemble a dream-catcher.

The school also stopped use of Native American costumes and forbade chants, such as the tomahawk chop that became popular at some professional and college sports venues.

Ripon High history teacher Richard Vanden Bosch said the school still has some work to do but looks forward to future collaborations with the California Valley Miwok Tribe.

Vanden Bosch was the one who established contact with Burley and the Miwok Tribe.

“The people in the community felt they wanted to keep this (mascot), and when I approached Silvia from the Miwok Tribe she supported it,” Vanden Bosch said. “My premise for doing it is that I want to retain the history of the indigenous people in this area. I understand why Sacramento did it (pass the California Racial Mascots Act) and it makes sense. We want to make sure we’re doing it in a way that’s respectful to the indigenous people, which I believe we are.”

Before it was known as Ripon in 1874, the community was called Stanislaus Station or Stanislaus City. Stanislaus County was named after the Estanislao River, a nod to Yokut chief Estanislao — the inspiration for the Ripon High mascot it adopted some 110 years ago.

The California Valley Miwok Tribe was federally recognized in 1916.

“When I spoke with Sylvia, the chairperson, I said if you come down and see anything you believe is not properly honoring the indigenous people in any way shape or form, please let us know,” Vanden Bosch said. “We’re not trying to skirt the law. We’re doing it because it’s important to the history of this area. We can change to the Ripon High Rabbits, or something, but that erases the history of the people that were and are still here.”