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I am a freelance writer/editor for several publications, and I would love to receive a letter or an article as cohesive, well-researched, and articulate as yours is. Send it on!
Ronni
andre cramblit wrote:
============================================================
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============================================================[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Here's the letter I want to send. Any comments before I do?
> Christine
>
> REBUTTAL
>
> In reading your article entitled, "The Indian Wars" in the March 4th issue of
> your magazine, I was struck immediately by how much the remark that the
> steward in the first class cabin made to Billy Mills sums up the problem with
> Native based mascots. Is there a single person in this country who could
> comfortably side with the steward? And yet, those of us who fight the
> mascots are constantly challenged by this very idea. The problem is that the
> mascot does not offend many Native and non-native people, but the question
> your article failed to pose is, why does it offend those react strongly
> against it?
>
> In the dominant culture, which for this argument consists of non-native
> people, we always tend to look towards the fact that the majority should
> rule. But in all civil rights issues, it has always been the minority that
> seeks change. Those who opposed slavery were in the minority, as were those
> who fought for women’s rights. It didn’t make their cause any less right
> because they were in the minority.
>
> Probably the most overlooked aspect of your article was the reason that so
> many schools have opted for change. In most cases, those who sought to bring
> change to a school were a distinct minority, and more than likely, each
> person who sought change was faced with community outrage and cries of,
> "Tradition!" Exactly what has motivated those people to put themselves
> through community isolation and ostracism? Racism.
>
> Nowhere in your article was the issue of racism discussed. It would be
> important to know in your poll how many students of Native descent attended
> schools in a mixed race community with an Indian mascot. Because often,
> these are the people who suffer the ill effects and these are the people who
> fight it.
>
> Last year when the Commission on Civil Rights called for grass roots input on
> how the mascot was perceived by Native people, within days letters by the
> hundreds poured into their offices in Washington, South Dakota, and here at
> our organization, STAR. These letters were from people who had suffered, not
> just those who sought political correctness. They were from parents who
> wondered how to explain the mockery of their culture to their children, from
> college students who couldn’t attend games because of deep embarrassment,
> from people whose children had to be removed from schools because they were
> called Red Boy and Redskin, the names of their school’s mascots.
>
> The mascot is a civil rights issue and is proven by the cases below:
>
> In Massachusetts, a team burns an Indian in effigy the night before a game.
> Do they burn the (Fighting) Irish or the Vikings? The acceptance of this is
> indicative of the historical treatment of Indians and horrifies students of
> Native descent.
> In Minnesota, after a pep rally where the teachers and students dressed up as
> cowboys and Indians, the cowboys yelled ,"Get back to the reservation."
> After the game, students beat up Native students behind the gym.
> In Kansas, a man sought to remove the mascot was sent emails from students
> that threatened his home and the rape of his wife.
> In Hutchinson, KS, a newspaper stated Orioles Gun Down Indians. Any place
> that runs headlines like this subliminally teaches our children that the
> massacre of Indians was a permissible event.
> Having Native names also encourages opposing teams to yell Kill the Indian,
> Scalp the Sioux, etc...This hurts Native children terribly.
> At UND, students opposed to the mascots have sought to change schools because
> their private property as well as school projects have been destroyed.
> T-shirts sport Indians having sex with buffalos saying, "Sioux buck the
> Bison".
>
> Because of the disrespectful ways in which Native people are portrayed at
> school ceremonies, many Native children are embarrassed to attend games. The
> woo-woo sounds, the face paint, the misuse of sacred feathers all cause
> embarrassment to Native people and are a direct violation of civil rights
> laws which state that all children must be able to comfortably participate in
> all activities in their schools.
>
> When looking at an issue, it is imperative that we look at all aspects of the
> issue. The movement to remove the mascots is not a movement towards
> political correctness as it is so often viewed by those with limited
> understanding of the history of this country. It is a movement towards
> respect, for acceptance of a culture that was not exterminated but continues
> to thrive. The mascot issue is the perfect venue to begin to explore just
> exactly what has been going on in this country for over 500 years.
>
> In all cases, it is important to know exactly who is being polled. Clearly
> and in many cases, results only reflect those who have been asked and if you
> aren’t asking the right questions of the right people, the polls are
> meaningless. Check the population of your polls. In others, such as in
> Indian Country Today, over 81% of respondents were against the mascots. The
> Native American Democratic Caucus in California with a membership of
> approximately 100 tribes representing thousands of Native people issued a
> statement against the mascots as did the Five Civilized Tribes including the
> Seminoles. Over 500 Native organizations and many non-native organizations,
> most religious organizations, and petitions with signatures in the tens of
> thousands have called for the retirement of these mascots. It is with no
> reservation that I say, this is not about pleasing the majority, who will alw
> ays allow themselves the power of their numbers, this is about listening to
> the voices of those who are oppressed and are crying to be heard.
> Thank you,
> Christine Rose
> Founder, STAR
> Students and Teachers Against Racism
> 203-256-9720
> http://www.turtletrack.org/STAR
>
> Students and Teachers Against Racism is a national organization with a
> membership of almost 150 individuals and civil rights groups that has worked
> to bring recognition of the harms of Native based mascots to schools and
> State Boards of Education throughout the country.--
André Cramblit: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Operations Director Northern California Indian Development Council
NCIDC (http://www.ncidc.org) is a non-profit that meets the development needs of
American Indians and operates an art gallery featuring the art of California
tribes (http://www.americanindianonline.com)============================================================
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