Oregon Moving Forward on Native American Mascot Ban

The Oregon Board of Education hopes to make a final decision on district schools’ use of Native American symbols for mascots and team names by May.

The Oregon Board of Education moved one step closer to banning school mascots that reference Native American names, symbols and tribes. The Board first took up the ban in 2006, after the testimony of Che Butler, a Native American students from the Siletz Tribe, who decried the practice. Shortly after Butler spoke, the board’s advisory committee backed the ban, and recommended a timeline that would see the the end of use of such mascots and team names by 2009, with a total phaseout of images and logos by 2011.

Despite the recommendation, 15 high schools across Oregon are still using mascots such as the Indians, Warriors, Braves, or Chieftains.

Last Thursday, the board held hearings on the committee’s recommendation and more than two dozen students, faculty and residents spoke about the proposed ban. One of the people who opposed the decision to disallow Native American mascots is Kiante Davis, a sophomore at Lebanon High School and a Native American with roots in Cherokee and Montauk Tribes. The day before the hearing, Davis attended a Lebanon girls basketball game wearing a headdress in support. He says the headdress reflects the pride he feels in both his heritage and his team, the Lebanon Warriors. The headdress, he added, was a reflection of the school spirit, and not intended to be offensive to anyone.

More than two dozen people who testified Thursday in Salem before the State Board of Education chose a similar theme in urging board members to reject a committee’s recommendation to ban the use of all Native American names, mascots and logos by Oregon schools that receive public funding.

When discussing the recommendation, some committee members decried the use of Native American symbols as “institutionalized racism” that creates discriminatory environment in schools.

But students, parents and educators from Lebanon, Philomath and other Oregon districts that use Native American symbolism — many also identifying themselves as members of particular tribes — said the images are a source of pride and are used as such.

However, Sam Sachs, who resides in Portland and graduated from South Albany High School in 1986, compared the logos to the Confederate flag he carried around the filed after scoring a touchdown in one of his high school football games.

That symbol was wrong, Sachs said, and so are Indian symbols.

“To me, people aren’t mascots. Let me just say to you: African American mascot. Latino mascot. Jewish mascot. Lincoln High Jews?” Sachs asked. “Does that sound right to you?”

The Board of Ed will hold another meeting to discuss the ban next month, and hopes to reach a final decision in May.

The Oregon hearings come less than a month after University of Iowa made waves by declining to invite University of North Dakota to a track meet over UND’s use of Fighting Sioux as the team name. At the time UND first expressed interest in competing at the April’s Musco Twilight XIII meet, the university had retired the mascot.

At the time, UND had stopped using the Fighting Sioux as its mascot amid heated debate in North Dakota about the nickname.

However, the school re-instated the controversial mascot earlier this month, at which point UI officials decided not to issue an invite to the track meet, [UI’s Associate Athletic Director Mark] Abbott said.

Comments

Tingleskaspicawin

March 20, 2012 at 8:51 am

Our logo was gifted to the UND by Ceremony.. was all yours? theres a DIFFERENCE.. NCAA beleives in our religous ways? they shud leave us to KEEP our beloved logo in memory of those elders who prayed and gifted.. IM ALL for “”"The Fighting Sioux”" LOGO… If it offends you .then remove all logos from NON Native schools.. all acroos america.! this something ncaa isnt understanding.. WE the people love our logo.. there tribal council ppl who are speaking for the people but lieing.. you who dont kno anything about OUR ways should start to educate yourselves as to WHO wants to keep logos and who doesn’t … I have names if you want the truths.. why ncaa is trying to use UND as an example.. I told them to ask The Fighting Irish to do away with their logo then.. Im glad to think that the Fighting Irish would tell ncaa to hose the hell off.

Reply
- Boni Roberts
  
  March 28, 2012 at 12:37 pm
  
  So agree with Tingleskaspicawin comments. It is a source of honor and pride more than degradation.
  
  Reply
  - Linda Brees
    
    March 28, 2012 at 1:52 pm
    
    It doesn’t sound like everyone agrees with you. The truth of it, it’s really obvious why someone might find these kinds of names objectionable, and if we can’t find an alternative way of showing “honor and pride” than this, than we, as a society, are lacking imagination.
    
    Reply
Jason M. Edwards

March 20, 2012 at 9:18 am

I am glad to see Oregon moving in a positive direction. I understand where Native peoples would derive a sense of pride from the use of such symbols. But, I feel even more strongly that the misuse/misinformation perpetuated by these stereotypes do more to harm our community than to help.

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Denise Everhart

April 23, 2012 at 10:07 am

I believe that if a school has the blessingof the Tribe – ESPECIALLY if that Tribe is a Soverign Nation – they should keep their logo/mascot.

And to the man who said “lincoln High Jews”, it is important to differentiate race vs. ethnicity. What the Oregon school board is stating is that it is only okay to use the Caucasian race as a mascot. They forbid all other races. Ethnicity does not matter. You can call a school the Lincoln High Irish (or Vikings or Spartans) or the Lincoln High Jews or Muslims or Conquistadors.

If the Tribe is okay with the use and symbolism who are we to say it’s wrong? If the School Board stated that the use of job related mascots should be outlawed because it may offend those that do that job (lt’s say Cowboys) and the National Rodeo Association says they are okay with the imagery – should it be outlawed?

When does the interference stop?

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- Kevin
  
  April 23, 2012 at 1:43 pm
  
  The interference will stop when we start naming our school teams Lincoln High Crackers, or we stop attaching stereotypes to our team names. If there are Native Americans who object to this name, accomodating them by getting rid of what is really at best a questionable name is not impinging on anyone’s freedom.
  
  “If the School Board stated that the use of job related mascots should be outlawed because it may offend those that do that job (lt’s say Cowboys) and the National Rodeo Association says they are okay with the imagery – should it be outlawed?”
  
  Yeah, cause that’s the same thing, obviously.
  
  Reply
Linda Brees

April 23, 2012 at 1:39 pm

If you don’t see the difference between “Lincoln High Irish” “Lincoln High Jews, Muslims” and “Lincoln High Vikings or Spartans or Conquistadors” then you really really not well equipped to participate in this argument. Sheesh.

Reply