Maize said:
Native Americans say ... That's good enough for me.
No.
Some Native Americans say. So, for example,
this article notes in part ...
The mascot issue is most controversial at the local level. Although numerous schools have voluntarily taken action to cease using Native American symbols, (see sidebar) many school boards have refused to do so. Supporters of Native American mascots and nicknames point to surveys, such as the one published by Sports Illustrated in March 2002, which found that although most Native American activists found Indian mascots and nicknames offensive, the majority of non-activist American Indians were not disturbed by them.
American Indian activists explained the discrepancy in the Sports Illustrated article that accompanied the survey, saying, "Native Americans' self-esteem has fallen so low that they don't even know when they're being insulted."
Harjo, who is president of the Morning Star Institute, an Indian-rights organization in Washington D.C., stated in her essay, "There are happy campers on every plantation." Harjo implied that although many slaves may have been content with their lives in bondage, the institution of slavery still needed to be abolished and the same reasoning holds true for Native American mascots.
According to the Sports Illustrated survey, 87 percent of American Indians who lived off Indian reservations did not object to Native American mascots or nicknames. Of the Indians who lived on reservations, 67 percent were not bothered by the nicknames, while 33 percent opposed them.
In addition to the survey, those who would like to keep the traditional Native American nicknames give examples of American Indian tribes that have openly embraced schools and teams using their names. At Arapahoe High School in Littleton, Colorado, for example, the Warriors' school gym is named for Anthony Sitting Eagle, an Arapaho leader. Every year on Arapaho Day, tribal members come from the reservation to visit with students and teach Arapaho history and traditions. Tribal leaders have also advised the Warriors on how to make their logo authentic, and even persuaded the school to remove a painting on the gym floor because it was offensive to have students walk over it. Similar close relationships exist between Florida State University and the Seminole tribe, Central Michigan University and the Chippewa tribe and the Arcadia High School Apaches in California, who have a relationship with an American Indian tribe in Arizona.
I honestly do not know if those statistics would still apply. You honestly don't know either. Sadly, you honestly don't appear to care, since painting Native Americans as monolithic and offended serves your presuppositions. Read back through your comments. Where do we find referrences to
some Native Americans, or
many Native Americans, or
most Native Americans? Ironically, it appears to be you who is wedded by stereotypes. Or do you perhaps have statistics that you've yet to share?
