Taking a stand against mascots that can offend

[Woodmonkey]

Taking a stand against mascots that can offend

Ten months after his presentation to the Oregon Board of Education on the potentially offensive nature of Native American mascots in some of the state's schools, Che Butler is encouraged by where things are headed.

It was Butler, then a 17-year-old Taft High School senior, who stood up and asked that the board require high schools to avoid racially insensitive mascots.

Butler raised an issue that has touched almost every corner of the United States over the past four decades. At the professional level, the Washington, D.C., NFL team's use of Redskins as a nickname has sparked protests. Major league baseball teams in Cleveland and Atlanta have been labeled insensitive for their use of Indians and Braves as nicknames.

At the college level, the NCAA has decreed that schools employing Native American mascots and imagery without Native approval no longer will be allowed to host championship events.

In Oregon, the debate has ebbed and flowed for years. Butler, however, brought the issue back into focus after he was offended by a halftime presentation involving an Indian mascot at Molalla High School while he was playing for Taft of Lincoln City.

After Butler spoke to the board last December, Susan Castillo, superintendent of public instruction, immediately directed Department of Education staff to form an advisory committee to research the issue, meet with stakeholders -- primarily representatives of the 14 Oregon public high schools that employ Native American mascots or logos -- and provide a report to the board.

Over the summer, the advisory group met for three work sessions.

On Monday, an agenda for the stakeholders meeting, set for Oct. 22, was prepared.

In November, the report, plus comment from the stakeholders, is to be handed over to Castillo. She will present her recommendations to the board, which will in turn set policy for the state.

"I feel real good about it," said Butler, 18 and a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz. "I get a lot of compliments from Native people about what I'm doing."

Butler and his sister, Luhui Whitebear, have been involved with the advisory group since its inception.

"At different times growing up, people would call me a savage or a warrior or a brave," Butler said. "As long as those mascots (exist) at schools, there will be people cheering (them). It's institutionalized racism."

Scappoose is among the 14 public schools in question.

"For me, having grown up and gone to school here, with the Indians as our mascot, I saw it as a neat thing," said Scappoose football coach Sean McNabb, a 1983 graduate of the high school. "I think it would be tough transition for the town" if the nickname were to be changed.

Brad Victor, Indian Education Specialist for the Department of Education, has led the advisory group looking at mandating change in Oregon schools.

"We have had a very sincere group of individuals looking at a difficult topic," Victor said. "These people come from a diverse perspective and have different points of view."

The group's research revealed that 29 states have addressed the issue of Native American mascots in schools at various degrees since the 1960s. Oregon isn't among the 29.

That doesn't mean Oregon schools haven't been sensitive to the issue. In 2005, Enterprise High School scrapped Savages as a mascot, replacing it with Outlaws.

Of the 16 Oregon high schools that use mascots such as Indians, Braves, Chieftains or Warriors (in reference to Native Americans), two are overseen by the Bureau of Indian Affairs: the Chemawa Indian School Braves in Salem and the Siletz Valley Early College Academy Warriors.

Butler said he would like to make a presentation at both schools to try to get a discussion started about the possibility of changing their nicknames as well.

The Oregon School Activities Association, which governs high school sports in the state, has remained clear of the issue, but it had a representative at the advisory meetings to stay abreast of the progress. That representative was Ted Mack, the Chemawa school supervisor.

"The OSAA's position is that it is a local community school district issue," assistant executive director Brad Garrett said. "We have no authority there. The (OSAA) board has taken that position."

Scappoose Superintendent Paul Peterson said that about 10 years ago, the district "improved" the school's Indian mascot. The logo was changed from a cartoon caricature to one intended to be more respectful.

"A group of students, staff, parents and community worked together to develop an improved mascot," Peterson said. "From everything I've heard, it was a good teaching moment for us."

Peterson said he anticipated that the state board's decision, whatever it may be, may lead to further discussions about the issue in Scappoose.

"I would expect that at any school district meeting, there will be people on both sides of the issue," he said. "It's a complex issue and requires a lot of thought and input and dialogue."

Jim Thornton, vice president of the Oregon Indian Education Association and a member of the advisory group, said it is an emotional issue that needs to be addressed.

"I feel it's time," Thornton said. "But it isn't easy. Change is difficult."

The issue picked up steam in 2005 with the NCAA's directive. In response, Arkansas State in June adopted a resolution to retire its use of Indians. The school is in the process of selecting a new nickname. The shift often doesn't come quickly.

In 1998, the Kansas Association for Native American Education issued a resolution that called for the elimination of Native American mascots and logos in all public and private schools in Kansas. In 2001, one school district adopted a new nickname. About 30 others in that state have not.

Ultimately, Castillo will decide what happens next in Oregon after she receives the committee's recommendation.

And Butler, who is working in Lincoln City while he prepares to attend Mt. Hood Community College in January, isn't yet sure whether his initiative will lead to a day when Native American mascots have been put to rest in the state.

"It is kind of hard to say," Butler said. "Some schools are going to be supportive, some are going to be hard (to convince). I can't say whether I can see it or not. But I'm kind of hoping."

The Source