By AP/KWMU
Cape Girardeau – Southeast Missouri State University has dropped its Indians nickname. The Board of Regents in Cape Girardeau Wednesday voted to instead make the mascot the Red Hawks.
The men's sports teams had been called the Indians. The women were the Otahkians. Otahki was a Cherokee woman who died near Cape Girardeau on the Trail of Tears in the 1830s.
Supporters argued that the nicknames shows pride in southeast Missouri's American Indian heritage. Others found the names demeaning to American Indians.
The teams will be known as the Redhawks beginning with next year's spring semester. Work on a new Redhawk logo is underway.