The San Diego Unified School District board voted Tuesday to change Clairemont High School's longtime "Chieftains" nickname to the "Captains," a move district officials tied to a California law taking effect July 1 that bars many Native American-themed school team names.
The new name is set to begin in the 2026–27 school year, and the district has said a full rebrand could take up to three years as uniforms, athletic facilities, signage, printed materials, and the gym floor are updated.
District officials said the campus will replace existing gear and branding on a rolling basis to manage costs, meaning some remnants of the old identity could remain during the transition.
The decision followed a review process that began last April, the district said.
A 10-person naming committee of students, staff, community members and district representatives held six town halls, opened submissions for new name ideas and conducted a community survey that drew just over 500 responses.
Some social media commenters criticized the change, framing it as political.
One commenter on Facebook claimed the Department of Education had ruled mascots did not have to be changed and called the effort "another move by the left to remove history from our past," adding that "removing history is one of the goals when taking over a country," according to the New York Post.
Others questioned who "complained about Chieftains" and suggested political pressure drove the decision. Another longtime supporter wrote: "Will always be the Chieftains to me."
California lawmakers first restricted certain school team names in 2015, when then-Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 30, which barred public schools from using the term "Redskins" beginning Jan. 1, 2017.
In 2024, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 3074, expanding the prohibition to cover "derogatory Native American" terms. This list includes "Apaches," "Braves," "Chiefs" and "Chieftains," with the statewide ban scheduled to begin July 1, 2026.
Under AB 3074, a public school may keep a prohibited name only with written consent from a local federally recognized tribe, while public schools operated by tribes are exempt.
The law also ties complaints to California's Uniform Complaint Procedures, the state's process for alleging violations of certain education-related laws and rules.
Similarly, Washington’s NFL franchise dropped the Redskins name in July 2020 after it announced it would retire the name and logo following a review, then played as the Washington Football Team while it worked on a permanent rebrand.
The club unveiled its new name, the Washington Commanders, on Feb. 2, 2022.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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