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Dyer is a third-year history student.  

By Alison Dyer

Regarding Ian Eisner’s column on school mascots, Eisner has obviously not researched his subject (“School mascots not insulting,” Viewpoint, May 22). Last quarter, I was lucky enough to attend the American Indian Youth Conference, sponsored by UCLA’s American Indian Student Association. There we saw a one-woman play on the mascot issue followed by an intense discussion. Everyone who spoke was very passionate in their disapproval of the use of American Indian mascots. I do not believe that these people represent “a small minority of American Indians.”

Amber Machamer, a member of the Chumash Nation, told the Sacramento Bee of her pain while attending a high school with an American Indian mascot. Rival schools would hold signs such as “Scalp the Indians,” and “Better Dead Than Red” (Sacramento Bee, March 31). It is foolish to believe that events such as these would not hurt American Indian children. Some may argue that the people from these rival schools are just ignorant. But the true ignorance is to use mascots that represent a living people and then believe that they aren’t offensive. These mascots offend American Indians and non-Indians alike.

A person at a school with an American Indian mascot can say “I’m an Indian” in the same way that I can say “I’m a Bruin.” This is offensive not only because the Bruin is an animal while the American Indian is a person, but also because no other ethnic group is represented in public schools or professional mascots. For example, what if there were teams called the Baltimore Blacks, or the Louisiana Latinos, or the New Jersey Jews; imagine people not of these groups saying “I’m Black,” or “I’m a Latino,” or “I’m a Jew.” It would be ridiculous. So why is saying “I’m an Indian” not a problem in the same way?

American Indian mascots also have the power to devalue sacred, religious or ceremonial aspects of certain American Indian groups. For example, some American Indian groups believe feathers hold a certain cultural value. American Indian mascots are always covered with feathers and the fans in the bleachers often wear headdresses. If there were a team called the New Jersey Jews, the Star of David would be plastered all over cups, banners, etc., and the fans might all wear yarmulke. This would obviously be offensive because it would devalue sacred, symbolic aspects of Judaism. So why then is it okay to devalue American Indian cultures?

Eisner cited the Harris Research Group as saying “81 percent of American Indians actually support the use of American Indian mascots.” What he failed to mention is that this poll, which was sponsored by Sports Illustrated, only comprised the opinions of 352 American Indians. At a time when there are close to two million American Indians in the U.S., this is hardly a good representation of how the majority of American Indians feel about the issue. The poll also does not state whether the 352 people questioned are from the same or different tribes, regions, or states; whether they live on reservations or in cities; or whether they had ever attended a school with an American Indian mascot.

Eisner likened the use of American Indian mascots as similar to Notre Dame’s “Fighting Irish” mascot. This is a poor analogy. Notre Dame is a private institution which was established as a Catholic liberal arts college. The “Fighting Irish” mascot is a reflection on the large Irish Catholic wave of immigration to the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th century which made up a large contingent of the people who attended the university. The difference between the Fighting Irish and American Indian mascots is that American Indian mascots are not being used at schools run by and for American Indians. AD 2115 is an initiative that bans the use of American Indian mascots at any California public school or college.

The common-sense bottom line is that if the people you are supposed to be honoring don’t feel honored, then you’re not really honoring them.