(ABC 6 News) – In a letter sent to parents on Tuesday morning, officials with Dakota Middle School announced they are changing their mascot due to a law passed in the last legislative session.

Dakota Middle School’s mascot is a Bison, and the school’s name is a reference to the Dakota tribe.

The law bans the use of Indigenous American mascots at public schools. It does allow for exemptions, which Dakota applied for, but was recently denied.

School officials say they worked with Indigenous groups to ensure the mascot was a celebration of Native culture, rather than a caricature of it. They say when choosing the bison, they worked with the American Indian Parent Advisory Committee (AIPAC) and Native families and students, along with RPS’ American Indian Education department, who worked with a Native artist to create the mascot’s design.

Schools had a chance to ask for an exempt which RPS leaders did, but, like many others, their request was denied by native tribes in the state.

RPS sent out a letter to families today telling them about the change. They will also be partnering with AIPAC once again to begin the process of finding a new mascot. The school board will address this change at their regular meeting on February 20.

Now, the school says it will work with another Native artist to create a new mascot, one that they say will “honor the sacred land and traditions of the Dakota people and all indigenous people”.