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Maine Quakers Speak Out

Mark Raines and Diane Oltarzewski at the microphone
Caption

Mark Raines and Diane Oltarzewski

Diane Oltarzewski (Belfast, ME, Area Friends Meeting), Mark Raines (Farmington, ME, Friends Meeting), and Shirley Hager (Winthrop Center, ME, Friends Church) were among many who spoke at a public hearing about the Skowhegan high school mascot, the "Indian."  Skowhegan High School is the only school in the state that still has a Native American mascot. The hearing is posted on YouTube; Diane appears at 1:28, Mark at 2:39, and Shirley at 2:51. Read Diane's and Shirley's statements below.                                                                                            

Maggie Edmondson (pastor of Winthrop Center), Leslie Manning (Durham, ME, Friends Meeting), and James Matlack (Midcoast, ME, Friends Meeting) and Diane Oltarzewski, as members of the Friends Council on Maine Public Policy, also signed a letter from faith leaders requesting an end to the use of the Indian mascot (below).

Diane Oltarzewski Statement

Shirley Hager Statement

Letter from Maine faith leaders