Previous by Date | Next by Date | Date Index
Previous by Thread | Next by Thread
| Thread Index
| LM_NET
Archive
| |
>We have a parent who currently is upset that we are the Mosheim >Indians. Her husband is Native American(she even uses the word >Indian) and feel that >it is derogatory and hurts her children's self-esteem and other >politically correct phrases. We are a school of over 900 students >and do not want to overthrow 100 years of school history and >tradition for one parent. We do not do any type of war chant or have >any type of violent figures in our gym or classrooms. Dear Martha, Am I understanding you correctly that you have a sports team called the Mosheim Indians? If so, I hope you will rethink your position of defending the name. Can you imagine an Alaskan team named the Juneau Jews? or the Nebraska Negroes? How about the Colorado Catholics? We have had 100 years and much more of hearing American Indian people put down so much that it can easily slip by us when our language and culture use Indian names in demeaning ways. I've been working on this issue (and others of racism in our country) for many years, yet heard myself say to another teacher that the kids were "like wild Indians" today. I thought, Wow! The lessons I got in racism from my culture sure are deep! Never thought I'd hear myself say that. You say you don't want to change a 100 year old tradition for one parent. Changing the name wouldn't be for just one parent. It would not only be for that family and any other family with American Indian ancestry in the school. It would also be for every other child in every other family in the school, helping to begin to reverse 300-plus years of demeaning Indians. Here are some quotes from an article on school mascots: Go White Boys! Victory to the Black Skins! Rah, Rah Chinamen! Can you imagine any school district in the country tolerating such racist cheerleading for sports teams? Of course not. So why are millions of children attending schools with mascots and sports teams such as the Redmen, the Red Raiders and the Indians? Native Americans make several points to [explain their] view Why are Indians used as names for teams and mascots in the same way as badgers, gophers or eagles? Are Indian people equated with animals and seen as less than human? The mascots [and team names] help people to deny the modern-day existance of "real Indians" living and working in the 21st century. "Racially demeaning stereotypes are dangerous," notes Carol Hand, a Native American parent who has filed a legal complaint against the Milton school mascots. "By tolerating the use of demeaning stereotypes in our public school systems, we desensitize entire generations of children." by Barbara Miner from the book Beyond Heroes and Holidays, A Practical Guide to K-12 Anti-Racist, Multicultural Education and Staff Development (Network of Educators on the Americas) This is a big issue in many places in the country. Check these out: http://www.main.nc.us/wncceib/MascotLinks.htm http://earnestman.tripod.com/1indexpage.htm http://earnestman.tripod.com/cartoons5.htm -- Johanna Halbeisen, Library Media Teacher Woodland Elementary School (preK-4) 80 Powder Mill Rd, Southwick, MA 01077 johanna.newsong@rcn.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-= All postings to LM_NET are protected under copyright law. To quit LM_NET (or set-reset NOMAIL or DIGEST, etc.) send email to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL or 3) SET LM_NET DIGEST 4) SET LM_NET MAIL * Please allow for confirmation from Listserv. For LM_NET Help see: http://ericir.syr.edu/lm_net/ Archives: http://askeric.org/Virtual/Listserv_Archives/LM_NET.shtml See also EL-Announce for announcements from library media vendors: http://www.mindspring.com/~el-announce/ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=