TO LOUP CITY PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT
Posted on February 5, 2008 - Filed Under MASCOTS THAT HONOR, Indian Mascots |
TO
I would like to publicly respond to the good people of
Kaleb uses the “biological” definition of race, which only considers Black, White and Asian as “races.” Without getting into a long treatise on race, I would suggest a quick review of Ian F. Haney Lopez, The Social Construction of Race: Some Observations on Illusion, Fabrication, and Choice, 29 Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review 1-62, 6-7, 11-17 (Winter, 1994). Lopez states that, “The idea that there exist three races, and that these races are “Caucasoid,” “Negroid,” and “Mongoloid,” is rooted in the European imagination of the Middle Ages, which encompassed only Europe, Africa, and the Near East… Nevertheless, the history of science has long been the history of failed efforts to justify these social beliefs…. The rejection of race in science is now almost complete.”
Lopez suggests the “social” definition of race as “a vast group of people loosely bound together by historically contingent, socially significant elements of their morphology and/or ancestry.” This definition has gained acceptance over the biological definition of race. The United Nations has adopted a similar social definition race, as “All human beings belong to a single species and share a common origin…. All peoples of the world possess equal faculties for attaining the highest level in intellectual, technical, social, economic, cultural and political development. The differences between the achievements of the different people are entirely attributable to geographical, historical, political, economic, social and cultural factors.” As a general rule, I am not a big fan of the United Nations, but this definition of race appears to have gained general acceptance. This definition would also be consistent with the
So, having said all that, I would argue that Indians/Tribal members meet the “social” definition of a “race” of people. Therefore, racism against Indians could occur.
In order for racism to occur, as Kaleb correctly points out, there needs to be “hatred or intolerance” directed towards Indian people. I certainly do NOT suggest that those that support the use of Indian mascots “hate” Indian people. Intolerance can be defined as either an unwillingness or refusal to tolerate or respect contrary opinions, beliefs, or persons of different races or backgrounds; or an unwillingness to recognize and respect differences in opinions or beliefs. I do suggest that there is intolerance aplenty when it comes to failing to respect contrary opinions of tribal members that speak out about the ignorance that Indian mascots perpetuate. Please read comments from “Commit to the Indian” as an example of how we are “tolerated” when we dare to question the appropriateness of Indian mascots. I certainly do not believe that my beliefs should be forced upon the Indian mascot supporter. As I have stated in this web site, I believe that our role is to educate non-Indians about tribes and tribal members, then let people choose for themselves what to believe. If you still want to cling to your Indian mascot, we can live with that. Just don’t get offended if you and/or your mascot get accused of being racist!
Finally, Kaleb asks how can something that instills pride in the students and athletes cause a problem? Kaleb, you and other
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I do believe you misquoted the Loup City Public School’s Mission Statement. You quoted it to be “Preparing students for the world they will help to build. It is no longer sufficient to consider ourselves as citizens of our own little communities. As the graphic above implies, we are citizens of the world. It is the goal of the Loup City Public School system to ensure that our students will be prepared to be citizens of the world” but the mission statement was changed a few years ago and is now “The Loup City Schools, with the support of parents and community, are committed to providing all students with positive and challenging educational experiences that will empower them to succeed as members of a changing society.” Just thought you should know it has changed since you are using it to make a point.
In absolute farce:
Eddy Z! I can’t believe you can say that this mascot is racist! I think every aspect of the mascot shows respect for Indians and all they are capable of.
Just look at one biological feature pointed out that all Indians have: the large sloping nose shows their remarkable ability to track does it not!? You know, movies often show Indians having the remarkable ability to track and to be able to smell the soil and tell how recently an animal or person has been by. How is that racism by ignorance?
Look at their feet… they are dancing! See, that honors the fact that all Indians worship gods that control rain. Right? How is that racism by ignorance?
Look at the Red Raiders spear and axe. They are tools, not weapons. It shows the inventiveness that all Indians possess and their amazing ability to cultivate corn. Didn’t the Indians bring corn to the Pilgrims on the first Thanksgiving? Didn’t they teach the Pilgrims how to grow corn? How can that show racism by ignorance?
Another important honoring symbol on the mascot is the feather headband. Doesn’t that honor Indians by showing that they respect nature and respect the birds of the sky? I am pretty sure that all Indians revere eagles and ravens, right?
And what about the mocasins? Aren’t those respectful symbols of how Indians use all parts of the animal for specific purposes?
If you don’t get my ironic humor here, I will spell it out for you: sure, you can say that every part of the mascot represents something HONORABLE, but the fact is quite to the contrary. This mascot only further perpetuates stereotypes that were formed in the tasks of an attempt to reverse stereotypes. The fact is, all Indian tribes are different, even in areas of similar geography. SOME Indians hunted and gathered, SOME Indians cultivated the land, SOME Indians had “rain dances.” The list of the things SOME Indians did that turned into what ALL Indians do. If you can’t see that nearly every single tribe of Indians can be offended by what you are symbolically representing with a school mascot (Heck, my mascot for much of my elementary schooling was a hedgehog and dolphin!), than ignorance has embraced you. I hope you decide to make a change.