The Fernando Award Foundation, the group that honors volunteers in the San Fernando Valley, said it will rebrand itself.
Changes will include moving away from the use of the American Indian symbol that has been the Sherman Oaks organization’s logo for decades.
The foundation’s board is in the process of developing a logo, as yet undecided, that portrays the group’s devotion to promoting volunteerism throughout the Valley.
The new logo will be used on all the organization’s marketing materials, correspondence and website.
“Our board of directors and many others we have surveyed in the community the
past two years feel that because our organization is such a fixture in our community it has an obligation to adapt to changing times as our Valley moves forward in the 21st century,” board chair Pegi Matsuda said in a statement.
Mark Villasenor, Fernando’s vice chair and a member of the Fernandeno Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, the first human inhabitants of the San Fernando Valley, said that the group was not removing the statue of the Indian brave at the Van Nuys Civic Center or the Fernando obelisk in Warner Center Park.
“Those are part of the Valley’s history,” Villasenor said in a statement.
Both public monuments were commissioned by the Fernando Award Foundation many years ago. Throughout the foundation’s history, use of the American Indian symbol has been a way for the organization to honor the tribe as the first members of the Valley community, the foundation said.
But the Fernando board voted not to use the symbol in the future. These days, it is seen as a Hollywood-style stereotypical depiction of Native Americans. The Fernandeno Tataviam tribe says the symbol is not an accurate portrayal of them, the group added.
The 65th annual Fernando Award Gala announcing this year’s award recipient will be held Nov. 3 at the Skirball Cultural Center.