'It's derogatory': one man's four-decade fight against his town's Native 'mascot'

[turbinetree]

Ted Trujillo has been fighting for years against the use of the racist ‘Redskins’ mascot in a high school in Morris, Illinois

?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=af1a3bec4cade623809ee07f2bfe97c1

On a recent Friday evening, the teenage daughter of the then mayor-elect of Morris, Illinois, about 60 miles south-west of Chicago, led her high school’s marching band on to the football field wearing a headdress, face paint and clothes resembling Native regalia.

As the band played the “war cry” for the pre-game event, the student, with her reddish blond hair in braids, stood in a wide stance in the middle of the field with her arms crossed.

It was a familiar scene for Morris Community high school, a school of about 850 students, none of whom are Native, according to a 2019 Illinois report card. Its mascot has long been “the Redskins”, a term widely considered a racial slur against Native Americans.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/09/morris-illinois-redskins-mascots

[Bayard]

1. It is offensive

Similar to my old high school--the Warriors. And, one of the guys would wear the fake garb, and stand in the middle of the basketball court at pep rallies.
Now, I went to high school in southern Indiana (I'm from Louisville--we moved). The only Native tribes who had ever been in the area were peaceable farmers.

[stopdiggin]

2. I think there's a distinction between Redskins and Warriors

with one being a clearly derogatory and racist appellation -- while the other occupies somewhat different territory. But that, of course, applies only to the name/nickname. When physical representations are clearly clownish caricature (Chief Wahoo, tomahawk chop, and brilliant 'hollywood' headdresses ... ) that too is clearly derogatory. In other depictions -- derogatory or stereotype intent is probably not as clear -- but given the sensitivity of the issue, teams and communities would probably be doing everyone a favor by voluntarily relinquishing the names and mascots even if 'theirs' is not recognized as particularly 'insensitive.' The student body is generally going to be largely in favor -- and about the only people that end up being butthurt with the change, are the minority of individuals whose opinion and motivation were probably questionable in the first place.

And, of course -- anyone that is still trying to argue that 'Redskins' is not offensive on the face of it -- doesn't really belong in the conversation at all.

And then finally ...

The National Congress of American Indians and over 1,500 national Native organizations and advocates have called for a ban on all Native imagery, names, and other appropriation of Native culture in sports. The joint letter included over 100 Native-led organizations, as well as tribal leaders and members of over 150 federally recognized tribes, reflecting their consensus that Native mascots are harmful.