Dyer is a third-year history student. Â
By Alison Dyer
Regarding Ian Eisner’s column on school mascots, Eisner
has obviously not researched his subject
(“School mascots not insulting,” Viewpoint, May
22). Last quarter, I was lucky enough to attend the American
Indian Youth Conference, sponsored by UCLA’s American Indian
Student Association. There we saw a one-woman play on the mascot
issue followed by an intense discussion. Everyone who spoke was
very passionate in their disapproval of the use of American Indian
mascots. I do not believe that these people represent “a
small minority of American Indians.”
Amber Machamer, a member of the Chumash Nation, told the
Sacramento Bee of her pain while attending a high school with an
American Indian mascot. Rival schools would hold signs such as
“Scalp the Indians,” and “Better Dead Than
Red” (Sacramento Bee, March 31). It is foolish to believe
that events such as these would not hurt American Indian children.
Some may argue that the people from these rival schools are just
ignorant. But the true ignorance is to use mascots that represent a
living people and then believe that they aren’t offensive.
These mascots offend American Indians and non-Indians alike.
A person at a school with an American Indian mascot can say
“I’m an Indian” in the same way that I can say
“I’m a Bruin.” This is offensive not only because
the Bruin is an animal while the American Indian is a person, but
also because no other ethnic group is represented in public schools
or professional mascots. For example, what if there were teams
called the Baltimore Blacks, or the Louisiana Latinos, or the New
Jersey Jews; imagine people not of these groups saying
“I’m Black,” or “I’m a Latino,”
or “I’m a Jew.” It would be ridiculous. So why is
saying “I’m an Indian” not a problem in the same
way?
American Indian mascots also have the power to devalue sacred,
religious or ceremonial aspects of certain American Indian groups.
For example, some American Indian groups believe feathers hold a
certain cultural value. American Indian mascots are always covered
with feathers and the fans in the bleachers often wear headdresses.
If there were a team called the New Jersey Jews, the Star of David
would be plastered all over cups, banners, etc., and the fans might
all wear yarmulke. This would obviously be offensive because it
would devalue sacred, symbolic aspects of Judaism. So why then is
it okay to devalue American Indian cultures?
Eisner cited the Harris Research Group as saying “81
percent of American Indians actually support the use of American
Indian mascots.” What he failed to mention is that this poll,
which was sponsored by Sports Illustrated, only comprised the
opinions of 352 American Indians. At a time when there are close to
two million American Indians in the U.S., this is hardly a good
representation of how the majority of American Indians feel about
the issue. The poll also does not state whether the 352 people
questioned are from the same or different tribes, regions, or
states; whether they live on reservations or in cities; or whether
they had ever attended a school with an American Indian mascot.
Eisner likened the use of American Indian mascots as similar to
Notre Dame’s “Fighting Irish” mascot. This is a
poor analogy. Notre Dame is a private institution which was
established as a Catholic liberal arts college. The “Fighting
Irish” mascot is a reflection on the large Irish Catholic
wave of immigration to the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th
century which made up a large contingent of the people who attended
the university. The difference between the Fighting Irish and
American Indian mascots is that American Indian mascots are not
being used at schools run by and for American Indians. AD 2115 is
an initiative that bans the use of American Indian mascots at any
California public school or college.
The common-sense bottom line is that if the people you are
supposed to be honoring don’t feel honored, then you’re
not really honoring them.