Posted on 01/23/2010 3:56:16 PM PST by real saxophonist
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Legislation aims to rid American-Indian image from sports
Mascot under new wave of scrutiny
By Nate Miller
nmiller@greeleytribune.com
Depictions of American Indians in school mascots like the one for the Reds at Eaton High School could become a thing of the past if an Aurora lawmaker has her way.
Sen. Suzanne Williams, D-Aurora, introduced Senate Bill 107 at the start of this legislative session that would bar public and charter high schools in Colorado from using American Indian-themed mascots unless they received permission from the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs. The bill, which was assigned to the Health and Human Services Committee, would fine school districts $1,000 a month if they don't comply.
Eaton Re-2 School District Superintendent Randy Miller said with all the challenges education in the state faces — including a $1 million budget shortfall in Eaton — this bill misses the mark.
“I would hope they would make a little bit better use of their time than that,” he said. “It's not going to be a cheap thing on our behalf to change things.”
Williams, who is an American Indian, said the timing is right for the bill.
“Native Americans are trying to put a new face, a contemporary face on themselves, and when they are continually called Reds or Savages, that's not how they see themselves,” she said. “Many Native Americans look at the Reds or the Savages as very detrimental labels for themselves. They don't see themselves that way. And it's the question, would you want your children to be called Savages?”
University of Northern Colorado Native American Student Services Director Solomon Little Owl garnered nationwide media attention eight years ago when he and some students started an intramural basketball team called the Fightin' Whites to send a message to teams with mascots like the Reds. He said he hadn't read the bill so he didn't know the details, but he supported the concept. He said he's realistic. He recognizes that in the midst of the recession, an issue such as team mascots can seem small, but it isn't. When he sees a mascot like the one in Eaton, it has a real effect, he said.
“My stomach just turns,” he said. “As a society, if we understood other people's feelings, there's a lot that could be fixed.”
Miller said it simply doesn't make since to view American Indian-themed mascots as a negative.
“I've been in three schools that had an Indian mascot, and in each and every one of them, it's a pride thing,” he said. “We don't look at it as a negative at all, it's meant to be a positive.”
Williams said there is a right way for schools that want to retain their American Indian-themed mascots to do it. She cited the example of Arapahoe High School in Littleton.
“Look at the model of what Arapahoe did,” she said. “In a very thoughtful manner, they contacted the Indians of Arapahoe of Oklahoma.”
She said the school engaged in a conversation, used it as a learning experience, got the permission of the Arapahoe to use the mascot and changed its look to a more respectful portrayal of American Indian culture.
Miller said he doesn't have a problem with schools that have American Indian mascots learning about the culture, but he thinks it goes to far to fine schools that don't.
“If the Eaton community really wanted to change the mascot, obviously that's something we would look at,” he said. “But that should be a local control issue.”
Sen. Scott Renfroe, R-Greeley, said the legislation represents a gross overreach of government.
“I think it's clearly a local control issue,” he said. “For the state to be stepping into that area I think is really outrageous.”
Renfroe, who was a member of the Eaton school board, said the mascot has always been popular in Eaton and the bill represents political correctness run amok. He said it's also hard to justify the fiscal impact the bill could have on a school district.
I hear that Animal-Americans are getting pretty peeved, too, and are ready to fight back hard. They have the Oregon Ducks, Beavers, Washington Huskies, Cal’s Oskie the Bear, Colorado’s Ralphie the Bison and Peter the Anteater in their sights — just for starters.
A couple of years ago, driving through the Navajo reservation in AZ, I saw a middle school with one of those mascot names like redskins or braves or something. I figure if they’re using it themselves for the name of their team, it’s not really a big issue, is it?
Also, why not be proud of an image of toughness and cleverness in battle? In the high school district I grew up in, there were Highlanders, Matadors, Norsemen, Sultans, and a couple of others. I never saw any Scottish, Spaniards, Norwegians or Arabs take offense. Why should they? I may be naive about just how offensive this is in some locales, but the basic idea of naming a team after the fighters of a given culture is really kind of cool. Do any other countries name their sports teams like that, with a nod to different fighters from different places? I’m thinking there are probably no Yankees mascots in Chinese high schools, or Aztecs in Brazilian high schools.
Soon they will only be known by their casinos
Florida State has A VERY good relation with the Seminoles who like having their name remembered and honored.
The same goes for numerous Indian nations who are very proud to have their tribes honored by schools.
Those who are the most offended are white progressive.
You get the idea!
Always someone around prepared to commit cultural genocide against American Indians. They’ve even got a Quisling or two lined up to lie for them.
That’s just WRONG on so many levels!!!
The joint forces against racism needed a new logo - a banner to rally around - which constantly reminds us of the two undeniable sources of all racial problems in America today.
Here is what they came up with.
Names like “the Brown Bomber” or “The Big Hurt” are designed perpetuate fear of African-Americans among white folks, who, in turn, are inspired to over react with names like “Pistol Pete” Reiser and Carl “The Rifle” Furillo.
The establishment also seeks to maintain its elite status with thinly veiled efforts to perpetuate ethnic stereotypes. Who can forget the “Yankee Clipper”. As if all Italian Americans know anything about is how to give haircuts.
And what about Karl Malone, “The Mailman”. It really grates at us native Irish when one of our kind who makes it big in basketball is dismissed as a mere “mailman”.
“Williams, who is an American Indian, said the timing is right for the bill.”
Williams, who is a commie Indian - red inside and outside - said I want to castrate Indian men.
so let’s take this $1000 a month and use it to pay the fine instead of buying school supplies. and who is going to pay for new logos, band uniforms, sports unilforms, etc? bet that libtard didn’t think that far ahead. good thing unemployment is down and we have a budget surplus so idiots like her can waste the legeislative’s time and my tax dollars on this bs.
Nobody seems to think of the obvious. Tribes have sacred symbols that are precious to them, but they can also create more public symbols for licensed use, that reference the tribe as historically important in that area, but is not patronizing.
For example, you would be hard pressed to find a member of the Apache tribe who is offended with the US military naming a helicopter gunship after their tribe. Especially a kick ass lethal helicopter like the Apache. The Apache were and remain a warrior tribe, and they were very, very good at it, and many of the tribe to this day serve honorably and with distinction in both the US Army and US Marine Corps.
So what about sports teams? Well, it is unlikely that any tribe would want a sports team to use their tribal name. However, they might be willing to lend a common symbol, like an animal, given a tribal language name. So instead of a team called something mundane, like the “Springfield Bears”, they would call themselves the “Springfield Matos”, for example, which would be Lakota for ‘bears’.
Such things are meaningless to those who push this type of legislation. I mean, that these very terms, "honor", "heroism", etc., actually evaluate to "null" in their cultural calculus.
No use trying to explain it to such people. Besides, they only deserve to be laughed at anyway.
I would think American Indians would be proud to have sports mascots associated with them. Isn’t the idea to have a name that sounds courageous, brave, glorious, fierce, etc. I mean who wants their school to be known as the ‘Fight’n French’.
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