From: James BlueWolf
Mascot Names
I am not a spokesman for anyone but my Warrior Society.
At issue is racial steriotyping. There are no Cloverdale Afros, no Middletown Orientals. Indian is an accepted misnomer. There are Pomos, Crows, and Apaches- as diverse as English, Germans and Italians. Indians live in India!
Most mascot names represent the animal kingdom- as 'savage warriors' we were considered part of that, somewhat below human. There are also Pirates, and Cowboys, and Patriots- all names evoking a Hollywood image. How much do people know of Native Americans that wasn't learned through Hollywood eyes? In 70's confrontations, law enforcement prepared to battle with its arch-enemies. Heavily armed, with guns slung low, they were all John Wayne in their minds. They took their direction from Hollywood and acted out childhood fantasies playing cowboys and indians. When we dared resist, unarmed crippled Elders and Grandmas were charged with assulting 6'2 inch, 220lb Federal Officers!
To recover from the debilitating cycle of dependencies, our youth need strong individual and tribal identities. We have not been assimilated- the mistake was leaving us together- we are still tribally oriented!
In a Showlow laundromat, 1970, I sat with a Deneh friend talking to a Traditional Grandma and her 8 year grandson. A hippie couple entered wearing beads, feathers and leathers. The boy stared for a moment, then said in Apache, "look Grandma, real Indians!" In shock, we left. Hollywood counted coup on us!
Isn't it ironic that a town, Kelseyville, named after a man who brutalized local Original Peoples, should choose as the symbol of their educational mascot- the steriotypical name of the People who murdered him!
How short the European American memory is when it comes to convenience in the present, or, as in respect for our solemn Treaty agreements, how insignificant Honor becomes- when compared to dollars!
JOIN us on a walk on a road between worlds.......
