The Old Town school board’s decision this week to cease using the Indian as its high school’s nickname and mascot was an example of local control at its best.

This was the sort of hot-button issue with overtones of political correctness that could have been a lightning rod for those self-serving souls from away who loudly take one side of any issue in search of the public limelight. Or there might have been protests spawned by outside groups, say the Society for Nickname Preservation or Mascots for the New Millennium.

But this was resolved as it should have been, based on local input from students, educators, alumni, residents, and members of the Penobscot Nation.

The community-wide conversation was reasoned, considered the history of the area as well as the present, and invited the opinions of all those with a vested interest.

In all likelihood, a quote from school board chairman Jim Dill published in Thursday’s Bangor Daily News reflecting the sentiment of Penobscot Nation members was the opinion that ultimately carried the day.

“You listen to them say, ‘How would you like to be called the Old Town Jews or the Old Town Blacks,'” Dill said. “You just sit there with wide eyes and think, wow, there’s no argument for that.”

A similar sentiment may or may not carry the day in future discussions around the state, for it seems inevitable that other schools with Indian-related nicknames such as Skowhegan (Indians); Sanford and Wiscasset (Redskins); and Nokomis of Newport, Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook, Fort Kent, and Wells (Warriors) will have to address the issue.

Those communities should take a page from Old Town’s book and not be swayed by what other towns and schools have done before them because every community has its unique identity, its unique heritage, its unique composition.

Such future conversations won’t be confined to Maine, nor will they be confined to high schools.

In fact, the NCAA should be as grounded as the folks in Old Town. The governing body for major college sports in America last month banned the use of any American Indian nicknames or mascots deemed “hostile or abusive” by sports teams on their uniforms or other clothing in any tournament it sponsors after Feb. 1, 2006.

The only problem was that this was a blanket ruling made from on high without a sufficient understanding of any particular local issues. The result of that was that NCAA had to begin backtracking almost immediately when it learned that nickname-based relationships between some schools and Indian groups – most notably Florida State and the Seminole Nation – actually were supported by both sides.

Suffice it to say that just as at the high school level in Maine, where Old Town has joined the likes of Scarborough (Redskins to Red Storm) in moving away from Indian-related nicknames and mascots, the NCAA might be best served letting such decisions be made locally.

It’s a process that works, as evidenced by recent moves by St. John’s (Redmen to Red Storm), Marquette (Warriors to Golden Eagles), and Bangor’s own Husson College (Braves to Eagles) to consider the issue on their own.

And as for Old Town, one other local decision still remains to be made – what will the high school’s teams be called now?

I have my suggestion, but I think I’ll keep it to myself and let the local folks decide.

Ernie Clark may be reached at 990-8045, 1-800-310-8600 or eclark@bangordailynews.net