Erwin, Asheville, NC Department of Justice Investigation

for more information contact  Don and Pat Merzlak   828 - 254-0010
                                           Bruce Two Eagles        828 - 683-1889
                              Email       BTwoeagles@aol.com
                             Web Page Info     www.main.nc.us/wncceib/
 

  American Indians Welcome Justice Department Probe

       "We hope this will stimulate the Buncombe County Board of Education to
end the Indian mascots at Erwin High School" said Don Merzlak today in a
response to news that the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department
has opened an investigation into possible discrimination against Indians at
the Buncombe County school. Merzlak is an Elder for the Buncombe County Native American Intertribal Association.
         "On June 12th 1998 after meeting with school board officials monthly
for nearly a year, they told us the issue was dead and they would not apply
their own Nondiscrimination Policy to this issue. We went home that day and my
wife Pat wrote a letter of complaint to the Justice Dept., "continued Merzlak
who has had five children from Erwin and two more in primary school. "We had
contacted the Justice Dept. earlier but agreed we would try to work with the
school board first.After maintaining our composure despite racial slurs and
comments from some school officials and seeing they had broken off
negotiations, we submitted the complaint. We are really grateful the Justice
Department has responded and we hope others affected across North Carolina and the nation will send complaints to the Justice Department"
       Merzlak's wife,Pat, added that she hopes"it will mean that my younger
children will have to go through what the older ones did from stereotypes and
comments. It will also mean that non-Indian children will be freed from basing
their ideas about Indians and Indian culture on violent and derogatory
stereotypes of Indian Mascots".
       The Intertribal Association points to support for change from many
churches,organizations,and individuals,and from 95% of the Erwin faculity,from
Governor Jim Hunt,from the NC Commission of Indian Affairs,from Tom Sobol
Chairman of the County Commissioners,and from County Commissioner and teacher in the system,Patsy Keever. We want to thank the fair minded people of out area who have written and phoned School Board members in the past months. The board will discuss this in closed session on February 4th so now is not the time to be silent,"said Pat Merzlak. She added that even the Board Chair, the superintendent, and the Erwin principal had told us they would like to see
change, but it just has not happened.
     Intertribal Association leaders also raised concerns about what they feel
is the unnecessarily confrontational tone of the School Board Attorney Walter
Currie. "He seems to think this is a win-lose situation and it is not. The
only ones who will really win or lose are the children of our community. We
hope the Board will embrace this opportunity to set an example for the state
and the nation,"said Bruce Two Eagles also of the Intertribal Association.
     Currie told the Asheville Citizen Times January 26th that the School
Board might not respond to certain Justice Department questions like the race
of the Board members or the date and the time the 25 foot statue of an Indian
was erected at the high school."We worry that the Board's lawyer and not
elected Board  itself is setting the tone of this issue,"said Two Eagles He
also noted that separate from the Justice Department investigation, the
Association has retained a Missouri lawyer who has written a letter of intent
to sue the School Board. "We are not pleased with the antagonistic tone or the
level of cooperation  from the Board's attorney to try and work out a
resolution with our lawyer,"said Two Eagles.
      Two Eagles added,"They have already spent several thousand dollars on
legal fees, for what? So our School Board will be known as the 1990s version
of Lester Maddox standing in front of the school with ax handles to stop the
roll  of history toward fairness for all citizens?"

     "Little Black Sambo was dispensed with long ago"said Don Merzlak."Now it
is history's moment to do the same with 'Little Red Sambo'.He continued,"The
School Board is getting ready to ask us taxpayers for millions of dollars for
a bond issue for the schools. Our kids are in those schools but it is going to
be hard to support that bond issue when they are paying their lawyer $100 an
hour to perpetuate racism with our tax money. They need to embrace change and
set example that the community can be proud of."
       Pat Merzlak added,"We believe that the Erwin faculty,students,and the
community will come through this time with a better mascot and more school
pride and more united than ever before. Erwin deserves the best."
      The School Board allowed a May 1998 vote of the Erwin student body to
determine the fate of the mascots. Although less than half voted to keep the
mascot, that 41% was more than any one of the other options and the Board let
the issue die.
      Added Two Eagles,"They have a Nondiscrimination Policy that mandates
'respect for differing cultures',but they have ignored that policy. it is
ironic that just after we celebrate DR, Martin Luther King's birthday, the
Buncombe County Board of Education is refusing to honor basic respect for the
children in our school system. We objected from voting on racism in the first
the beginning. we asked them over and over,'what if the vote doesn't remove
the mascots?' They seemed confident it would and gave us the impression that
whatever happened, they would do the right thing at the end of the day. Well,
the sun's going down and they still have a chance. We hope they will act."

Please forward to all that may be interested
Thank you Bruce

addendum**
from Bruce Two Eagles

Hau Kola,

I have received hundreds of emails about the Dept. of Justice entering the
issue of removing Indian related mascots from the school system. I have been
trying to answer each but it has been slow. So I am sending out this letter to
help your groups, or agencies or individual efforts in obtaining support.

In order to get continued action from the Dept. of Justice they have to
receive a formal complaint, from a parent or responsible person towards the
school you are dealing with. This letter has to contain some type of
foundation, showing that harm has occurred or some part of education has been
denied your child or children. This could be in the form of showing that
student has been placed against student, like if your child was at a football
game and the opposing team supporters were shouting things like "Kill the
Indians or Murder the Redskins'" things that would make your child or children
feel threatened or involved in a discriminatory place. Or if the place banners
or signs saying things like "scalp them or bring to their attention that
actions directed issues of racism and separated them from other students."
If you have reasons to complain than please write a letter to,

                                 U.S. Department of Justice
                                  Civil Rights Division
                                  Educational Opportunities Litigation Section
                                  Mr. Lawrence R. Baca  Senior Trial Attorney
                                  P.O.Box 65958
                                  Washington DC 20035-5958

Please forward this to all on your mailing lists that may be interested. This
is a chance for us to really be heard.
With all respect to those who have been fighting for this issue and others who
are working different issues. We stand beside you.
In Spirit
Bruce Two Eagles