The people Against Racism (PAR), the Progressive Resource/Action Cooperative (PRC), and the Alumni Against Racist Mascots (AARM) are spearheading a campaign to stop the use of "Chief Illiniwek" as the racially degrading mascot for University of Illinois sporting events. "Chief Illiniwek" has devastating consequences for Native American students, staff, and faculty on this campus and nationwide. This misrepresentation of native culture locks Native Americans in the past, has profound effects on their confidence and pride, and significantly undermines their attempts to transcend myth and create contemporary images of themselves in modern society. Because of the nature of your organization, we would like to invite you to join this movement. Although there are many ways in which your organization could contribute to the movement, I am specifically contacting you with respect to the webpage which you maintain. Adding our Anti-Chief Homepage to your list of links could greatly enhance the visibility of our cause.

If you would like to display the logo of the anti-"Chief" movement (the Iliniwek symbol, the face of which has been effaced and replaced with the words "Racial Stereotypes Dehumanize") feel free to download the image from our site and add it to yours.

Other ways in which your organization could contribute to the movement include:

Sincerely,
Brooke Anderson

To send comments on Racial Stereotypes: