Post by blackcrowheart on Apr 12, 2007 10:39:58 GMT -5
Native Americans singled out as symbol
By TOM KUNESH
Native American mascots and "nicknames" are damaging to the
self-identity, self-concept and self-esteem of Native American people.
The vast majority of Native American Indians oppose the use of their
image and names by non-Indian schools and sports teams, as evidenced by
the resolutions condemning the use of Native American "mascots" by the
National Congress of American Indians (1998) and the U.S. Commission on
Civil Rights (2001).
These should be sufficient findings about the negative effects of
mascots to persuade schools to voluntarily change their mascots. In
states where there are large populations of Native Americans, a request
is all it has taken for the schools to initiate the change. But
Tennessee is different from most other states � it was purposefully
racially cleansed of Native American tribes in the 1800s, making Native
American Indian sports "mascots" in Tennessee a nostalgic irony
bordering on insult.
Wrong message to kids
Self-identity of Native American Indians is the moral and exclusive
responsibility of Native Americans, not non-Indian high school
cheerleaders and alumni associations. What are we teaching our children
when we say that the majority social or ethnic group has the right to
portray others any way they want to?
Schools and their alumni treat their "Indian mascot" as a commodity, a
thing, a piece of property that is theirs forever, a doll to dress up
and make dance, yodel pretend-war whoops, and safely play with as they
please, like slaves of the mid-1800s. As long as the words "Indians" and
"Chiefs" and "Redskins" and their related representations are considered
the historical property of schools, we continue to live in a slave
society.
The insult to Native American Indians probably won't be understood until
schools consider why they do not adopt Euro-American or African-American
mascots.
If the words "Braves," "Chiefs," "Warriors" are not inherently racist,
then as positive non-biased words they can and should be equally applied
to all racial/ethnic groups in the state, not exclusively Native
Americans. For example, African-American history includes African
culture from which came many "Warriors" � African-American culture
could be honored with a high school athletic team mascot portrayed by a
Euro-American in blackface; the Scots and Irish clans have "Chiefs" and
respect to Tennessee's Scotch-Irish heritage could be shown by such a
Scots-Irish school mascot in a kilt and ax "portrayed" by an
African-American student; the U.S. armed forces are well-known as
"Brave" soldiers, sailors and air men and women, and could be honored
for their historic contributions to this land by several high school
sports team mascots in military uniforms of the past.
As with the elimination of other institutionalized racist practices in
the past, the use of Native American Indian mascots by schools and
sports teams in the state of Tennessee will end. The only question is
the means � educational enlightenment or law.
Tennessean.com and its related sites are pleased to be able to offer its
users the opportunity to make comments and hold conversations online.
However, the interactive nature of the Internet makes it impracticable
for our staff to monitor each and every posting. Since Tennessean.com
does not control user submitted statements, we cannot promise that
readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments
posted on our Web site. In addition, we remind anyone interested in
making an online comment that responsibility for statements posted lies
with the person submitting the comment, not Tennessean.com or its
related sites.
By TOM KUNESH
Native American mascots and "nicknames" are damaging to the
self-identity, self-concept and self-esteem of Native American people.
The vast majority of Native American Indians oppose the use of their
image and names by non-Indian schools and sports teams, as evidenced by
the resolutions condemning the use of Native American "mascots" by the
National Congress of American Indians (1998) and the U.S. Commission on
Civil Rights (2001).
These should be sufficient findings about the negative effects of
mascots to persuade schools to voluntarily change their mascots. In
states where there are large populations of Native Americans, a request
is all it has taken for the schools to initiate the change. But
Tennessee is different from most other states � it was purposefully
racially cleansed of Native American tribes in the 1800s, making Native
American Indian sports "mascots" in Tennessee a nostalgic irony
bordering on insult.
Wrong message to kids
Self-identity of Native American Indians is the moral and exclusive
responsibility of Native Americans, not non-Indian high school
cheerleaders and alumni associations. What are we teaching our children
when we say that the majority social or ethnic group has the right to
portray others any way they want to?
Schools and their alumni treat their "Indian mascot" as a commodity, a
thing, a piece of property that is theirs forever, a doll to dress up
and make dance, yodel pretend-war whoops, and safely play with as they
please, like slaves of the mid-1800s. As long as the words "Indians" and
"Chiefs" and "Redskins" and their related representations are considered
the historical property of schools, we continue to live in a slave
society.
The insult to Native American Indians probably won't be understood until
schools consider why they do not adopt Euro-American or African-American
mascots.
If the words "Braves," "Chiefs," "Warriors" are not inherently racist,
then as positive non-biased words they can and should be equally applied
to all racial/ethnic groups in the state, not exclusively Native
Americans. For example, African-American history includes African
culture from which came many "Warriors" � African-American culture
could be honored with a high school athletic team mascot portrayed by a
Euro-American in blackface; the Scots and Irish clans have "Chiefs" and
respect to Tennessee's Scotch-Irish heritage could be shown by such a
Scots-Irish school mascot in a kilt and ax "portrayed" by an
African-American student; the U.S. armed forces are well-known as
"Brave" soldiers, sailors and air men and women, and could be honored
for their historic contributions to this land by several high school
sports team mascots in military uniforms of the past.
As with the elimination of other institutionalized racist practices in
the past, the use of Native American Indian mascots by schools and
sports teams in the state of Tennessee will end. The only question is
the means � educational enlightenment or law.
Tennessean.com and its related sites are pleased to be able to offer its
users the opportunity to make comments and hold conversations online.
However, the interactive nature of the Internet makes it impracticable
for our staff to monitor each and every posting. Since Tennessean.com
does not control user submitted statements, we cannot promise that
readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments
posted on our Web site. In addition, we remind anyone interested in
making an online comment that responsibility for statements posted lies
with the person submitting the comment, not Tennessean.com or its
related sites.