And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: June 22, 1999 Mascot Debate Needs Care on Both Sides http://www.omaha.com/Omaha/OWH/StoryViewer/1,3153,174633,00.html A society reveals much about its character in the names it gives to public places and institutions. Character is also revealed when an institution is confronted with pressure to change an old familiar name in the light of new understandings. At Millard South High School the search is on for a new spirit symbol after "Indians" was dropped. The committee that made the decision yielded gracefully to the fact that some American Indians are offended by the use of the word and the symbols that accompany it. In the seven weeks since Millard South announced that course, criticism of the decision has arisen. Some people who say they are puzzled by the decision have asked what could possibly be demeaning about calling an athletic team the Indians, the Braves or the Warriors. Certainly there was no intention to demean. That goes without saying. No institution chooses a nickname for itself with the intention of showing contempt for itself. If people behaved that way, there would also be teams calling themselves the Drunks, the Cockroaches, the Pillagers or the Ne'er Do Wells. One wonders if the problem would have appeared if it weren't for the behavior sometimes associated with spirit symbols. Native Americans sometimes seem the most upset with the idiot Hollywood warwhoops, tomahawk chants, aped dances and drugstore costumes that are set out by cheerleaders and fans as representing the Indian culture. Attend any Atlanta Braves baseball game and it should be clear why mascots have become an issue. Likewise, the Cleveland Indians could go a long way toward restoring sensitivity if they got rid of the ridiculous caricature that serves as their spirit symbol. A somewhat related issue has arisen in Dallas, where black and Latino families whose children attend Jefferson Davis School have suggested that some other name might be appropriate. A few traditionalists in the community urged school officials to resist the pressure. They noted that in New Orleans, a campaign that started with the purging of Confederate place names didn't run out of steam until a George Washington School had lost its name due to Washington's ownership of slaves. These are not trivial debates. To name a school after Jefferson Davis is to hold him out as a role model. To do that inexorably assigns value to his principal accomplishments, his activities in defense of secession and slavery. The Dallas parents want to rename the school after the late Rep. Barbara Jordan. She would be a splendid role model for all the school's children, no matter what their race. As traditionalists in Dallas have noted, too much can be too much. There can be too much belated guilt. To villainize George Washington based on one character flaw, albeit a serious flaw, is to distort the history of the American struggle for national independence. For similar reasons, we hope the purifiers of the language for Native American sensitivity use restraint. There is a point at which the purging of Indian symbols will have run its course - when demeaning logos, offensive chants and insulting renditions of Indian dances are separated from the world of amateur and professional sports. Then all that remains will be the Indian-named cities, lakes, parks, forests, counties, rivers and other natural features and places. Omaha wasn't named after the Omaha tribe in order to ridicule anyone. Nor were Cheyenne, Sioux City, the Dakotas, Fontenelle Park, Pottawattamie County or any of the other places and things that bear Indian names. Certainly a few adjustments have had to be made to raise the level of perceived civility, and they should not be begrudged by fair-minded people. The honors accorded the Indian heritage in many other appropriations of the names, however, should be preserved - not only preserved but cherished with mutual feelings of pride and sensitivity. POST YOUR OWN COMMENTS: http://www.omaha.com/Omaha/Forums/ViewPost/1,3348,18215,00.html Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
