RacrEsm Amertican Roe

St
and Res'stance to C an elm
ArtEdcation' Role inte
,>Indian A lascot ssue
5 A

Ifirst arrivedhere 10 years ago,

-itwas with a greatdeal of excitement.
DIwas honored to be here amongst you,
attendig the University of Illinois, aBig Ten
Unive-ity. I camefull ofdreams. But whatIfound
was a community permeated with Indianconcoc-
tions: a campus barwith a neon sign, HOMIE OF
THE DRINKING ILLINI; a sorority'sMISS ILLINI
SQUAW contest;fraternitybrotherswearing
coloredpaperheaddressesto go to the bar to drink,
and act out negative stereotypes ofIndians. My
dream turned to a nightmare... This ignoranceis
our biggest enemy and this enemy seeks to silence
and deny the truth...
The verypresence of 20th century Indianpeople
challenge the ignorance, and your students are
arrogantabout theirignorance ofNative
Americans and theirhistory... This issue is much
largerthan the UniversityofIllinois and "Chief
Illiniwek"...
We arenot mascots orfetishes to be worn by the
dominantsociety. We arehuman beings. "
(Charlene Teters, remarks to the University of Illinois
Faculty Student Senate, 1998)

Charlene Teters, Installation 1991, "What We Know About Indians."

MAY 2003 / ART EDUCATION m

 I

C harlene Teters's story was the begirning of my

education about the Indian mascot problem,
designed and approved by the Seminole Indian Tribe. Ashcoff
reports that the FSU website credits FSU with inventing the
"tomahawk chop." She also reports that FSU representatives
Jabout contemporary Native Americans, and my assert that Cliief Osceola has the approval of Native Americans.
realization of how this practice is particularly harmful to (2000) notes lack of agreement with such a claim,
Ashcoff
children. Indian mascots, logos, and caricatures have always
"They can always find ahang-around-the-fortIndianto say
been part of my visual landscape. I made Indian dioramas in
television, it's okay," says Vemon Bellecourt, president of the
grade1sschool, watched the Lone Ranger and Tonto on
made 'Pdian artifacts" to trade with other Brownie Scouts at a National Coalition Against Racism in Sports and Media
surnmer camp named after some long-departed Indian tribe, and and a national AIM [American Indian Movement] board
member. "This issue is larger than the Seminole nation.
I studied traditional Native American art in graduate school.
I have taught for many years at a university that identifies with The mascots are used to represent all Indians." (p. 1F)
anIndian mascot. Teters's characterization of "us" as racists Ashcoff points out particularly perplexing problems facing
seemed too harsh. I was sure that we were not aEl racists. opponents of popular uses of Indian mascots, slurs, and carica-
The more I studied the Indian mascot problem, the more I tures-harassment and public indifference: "For many American
listened, the more I leamed about racism. I had to personalize Indians, the bigger insult is not the slur in a book read by school
Teters's story in order to understand her words. I thought about children, the name of an NFL team, or the prance of a pretend
my own children and the many children that I have taught over chief on a football field. The true affront comes, they say, when
the years. I have considered howNative Americans' pleas to their objections are met with indifference." Ashcoff continues,
eliminate this practice have been met with such strong resistance A demonstration at the Jan. 15 playoff game at Raymond
by individuals who seem thoughtful, well educated, and not James Stadium, one of countless appearances at
particularly racist. I wondered why, in denial of compelling Washington Redskins games by American Indians asking
arguments against, this use of Indian mascots persists. I the team name be changed, found Bucs fans unimpressed.
concluded that this form of unintended racism is just too much "Get alife," they yelled at the group. "It'sjust a game"
funto give up, too easy to ignore, too "normal" to abandon. ... Elementary children who refuse to participate in
Americans just love their Indians to death. Thanksgiving pageants in which Indians play gullible
sidekicks have been ostracized in schools across the
This article considers other explanations for the popularity
country ... Those who march on game day to protest
of Indian mascots among Anglo-Americans. Selected cases
Cleveland's toothy "Chief Wahoo," the Atlanta Braves and
involving uses of Indian mascots by non-Native American
their tomahawk chop, and FSU's Chief Osceola mascot
educational institutions and sports teams provide a context for
are ridiculed. "If we can't talk about something as
considering the value systems of those who continue to employ
innocuous as Chief Wahoo, how can we talk on something
this practice. Impediments to change reframe the problem in a
as serious as (human) rights?" (p. IF)
larger context, a context that considers centuries of White
privilege and power in this country. I conclude with recommen- The Issaquah Indian: Issaquah Seattle. A school
dations for art educators and policy makers, including the board policy proposed in early 2002 would eliminate Issaquah
membership of the NAEA. Our central concerns with graphic High School's Indianmascot. David Hayes (2002), writing for
symbolization, the power of imagery, multicultural education, the IssaquahPress,explains that the Issaquah School Board
and the well being of children necessitate our involvement as revisited the issue earlier after a 1997 incident when IHS
art educators. football players stole and bumed a rival team's totem pole and
the community demanded the topic of mascots be re-examined.
Selected Cases Hayes reports that in an effort to sidestep whether or not the
Four cases highlight controversies over using Indian Indian mascot is right or wrong, administrators chose instead to
mascots. Issues of voice, tradition, impact, and resistance to focus on the problems it has caused. "'We avoided the impulse
change permeate these and other cases involving the use of to define what mightbe offensive, and instead focus on the
Indian mascots by non-Native Americans. effect of the mascot,' Superintendent Janet Barry said.
Chief Osceola. At a Florida State University football 'However, the very policy designed to avoid division is doing
game, abare-chested white male student dressed as Seminole just that"' (Barry cited in Hayes, 2002, para.l).According to
Clief Osceolacharges down the football field, riding bareback Hayes, some students and community members are not happy
on an Appaloosa to throw a flaming spear into the ground at with the board actions. Apromninent parent claims that he spoke
midfield, while 80,000 fans war-whoop in the stands. According to representatives from all the Indian tribes in the state and has
to Susan Ashcoff, writing for The St. PetersburgTimes, this heard no division from them-they all like the Issaquah Indian
20-year-old spectacle continues despite Native American mascot. "'The Snoqualmies actually like it. The Mukishoots like
objections. FSU officials claim that the mascot's clothing was it. The Tulalips like it,' he said. 'Basically anything that is not

ART EDUCATION / MAY 2003

 Charlene Teters, Installation 1995, "It Was Only An Indian."

I wondered why, indenial of

compelling arguments against,
this use of Indian mascots
persists. Iconduded that this
form of unintended racism isjust
too much fun to give up, too
easyto ignore, too "normal" to
abandon. Americans just love R
their Indians to death.

MAY 2003 / ART EDUCATION D

 Charlene Teters,
Installation 1995,
"It Was Only An Indian."

politically correct won't fit."' (Parent cited in Hayes, 2002,

para.1) This parent claimed to have several "heavy hitters"
within the community backing him up on this issue and that he
will be forced to take strong action if the School Board
continues on its current path. School board member Leslie
Austin commented that this is an issue that does not involve
just this community: "This is obviously something bigger than
The term " Redskins " was originally just us," (cited in Hayes, 2002). At the end of May of 2002, the
Issaquah School Board moved forward to adopt a newpolicy
used byWhite settlers as a way to count that mandates mascots and logos be free from stereotyping,
derogatory or offensive connotations, and not likely to divide
the number of Indian scalps collected by the community in significant controversy. Some students
planned a school-wide walkout and petition drive in protest to
trappers and other Indian exterminators. Board actions. Issaquah High School is now in the process of
naming a new mascot (Hayes, 2003, personal communication).
NativeAmericans dealing with the The Washington Redskins. After 7 years of litigation,
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently upheld
Indian mascot issue refer to " Redskins " a 1999 ruling of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Board that
ordered the cancellation of federal registration of Washington
as the "R-Word" Redskins trademarks. At stake for team owners were trademark
protection rights over the licensing and sale of Washington
Redskins products worth millions of dollars annually. The
Patent and Trademark Board found the Redskins trademark to
be disparaging to Native Americans. Federal trademark law
specifies that names cannot be protected if they are
"disparaging, scandalous, contemptuous or disreputable"
(Moreno, 1998). John Paul Reiner, attorney for Pro-Football Inc.,
which owns the WashingtonRedskins, originally argued that the
term "Redskins" is not a slur and compared it to the use of the
word "colored" in the name of the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (Moreno, 1998). In a brief filed
in 1998, Reiner called the petitioners a militant group trying

m ART EDUCATION / MAY 2003

 I

Charlene Teters, Installation

1994, "Into Indian Country."

"to further their own personal and political agendas" (Reiner, not represent any Indian, past or present, and what he does
cited in Moreno, 1998, para.13). One of the petitioners, Suzan represent is racism and miseducation, sanctioned in a major
Shown Harjo, a Cheyenne and president of Morning Star research institution. The University of Illinois Faculty-Student
Institute, a Washington-based American Indian rights organiza- Senate, the Student GovernmentAssociation, many university
tion, counter argued, "The word has always been in the English academic departments, and numerous campus organizations
language a scandalous and disparaging term and remains so have asked the University Board of Trustees to "retire the Chief."
today" (Harjo, cited in Moreno, 1998, para.10). Raymond CiiefIlliniwek is prohibited by the Big Ten Conference from
Apodaca, a former governor of a Texas tribe, compared the word appearing on other Big Ten campuses (Kaufman, 2001), and
"Redskins" to "the 'N word' for African Americans and all kinds Champaign City, Mllinois schools prohibit apparel displaying
ofpejoratives that existforJews, for Hispanics, for women- the Chief.
none of which would ever be accepted or tolerated in relation to
sports or anything else." A history apparently lost to sports Central to the arguments and counter arguments are
teams and schools, the term "Redskins" was originally used by contested definitions of what constitutes honor, tradition, and
White settlers as a way to count the number of Indian scalps racism. Arguments in favor of the Chiefinclude references to his
collected by trappers and other Indian exterminators. Native value as a "tradition," claims that fans "honor" Native culture,
Americans dealing with the Indian mascot issue refer to emotional attachment to his role as a nostalgic link for alumni,
"Redskins" as the "R-Word" (cited in Moreno, 1998). The charges of political correctness by a vocal minority, and fear of
AmericanHeritageDictionarySecond College Edition defines lost revenues if the Chiefis retired. Opponents argue that the
"Redskin" as: "n. offensive slang" (Baca, 2000, p. A23). Chiefis a White-concocted, mythologized caricature of Indians
(the noble savage), that misrepresents Native American culture,
Chief Illiniwek. During halftime at varsity home games, mocks sacred Native American beliefs and rituals, miseducates
an athletic White male, barefooted and dressed in full Sioux the public, and hurts the self-image of Native American children.
Regalia, a headdress made of turkey feathers, and orange and The University Board of Trustees, after studying the issue for
blue face paint, does his interpretation of a Fancy Dance to the years at a cost of nearly $350 million Illinois taxpayers' dollars,
Marching llini band's "Indian" tom-tom medley. It was here that has been reluctant to deny fans their Chief.
Charlene Teters and her children first saw the University's team
mascot. Teters writes, "What I saw in my children was a blow to
their self-esteem." (Teters, cited in Moore, 1993. p. 17). Chief
Rliniwek, a 75-year-old "tradition" at the Urbana-Champaign
campus, and a registered trademark of the university, has been
the topic of controversy for 14 years now. One problem is that
ChiefIlliniwek is dressed as aLakota Sioux, not one of the
original Illini Nations. But more to the issue is that the Chief does

MAY 2003 / ART EDUCATION m

 Why Do These Practices Persist? Christian churches. These children were forced to work to
For the better part of the 20th century, Wild West shows, produce salable goods for hours each day and attended school
Hollywood, the Boy Scouts, advertising industries, public only 4 hours or less each day, doing what Richer characterizes as
educational institutions, and businesses across the country "pseudo academic exercises to create a feel good and economic
have banked on their own version of Chiefs, Braves, Spirit enterprise for White America." According to Richter, these
Guides, and Squaws. Millions of viewers worldwide have children were crowded into sub-human conditions that included
witnessed the "tomahawk chop" on televised baseball games disease-ridden facilities, and the staff sexually molested them.
of the Atlanta Braves. Disney has popularized its own highly Richter continues,
sexualized, bare-shouldered Indian maiden, Pocahontas, for Children were universally named and trained as mascot
the next generation of children around the globe to admire. INDIANS in these schools. They were rewarded for
Currently, U.S. popular culture has mythologized Native playing football and baseball and were pitted against
Americans into our very own New Age version of spiritual white schools....By the 1910's newly formed White schools
protector of the earth and all things living, a stoic but silent began picking up the mascot identity from these schools.
father figure. Authenticity and history are forsaken in favor of Many white schools had animal mascots and the concept
commercial and entertainment interests. But in reality, most of Indian fit simply and directly into this practice. Indian
Anglo-Americans actually know little if anything about the boarding schools were populated with what white people
beliefs, values, cosmology, or cultural practices of any Native considered a wild animal race.... By the 1920's these
Americans, past or present. mascots had been massively adopted in public schools all
over the country because manipulating Indian identity had
Despite protests from Native Americans, many post- become a ritualized entertainment facet of Whites.
secondary institutions and a number of professional sports (paragraphs 2-5)
teams currently use Native American caricatures, nicknames,
and imagery. Indian Mascots are still used in over 1500 public Vernellia Randall, professor of law, writing for the
schools throughout the United States. Large-nosed proffies of Transnational Racial Justice Initiative, explains that the
Indian caricatures appear on gym floors, football fields, school continued contemporary practices associated with the uses of
newspapers, yearbooks, and teamjackets. Teachers and Indian mascots, imagery, and performance are rooted in what
students, parents and children in and near these communities Randall calls the persistence of white privilege- "a system that
experience these and other stereotyped images in television accrues to whites or European Americans greater wealth,
broadcasts, print media, on bi7lboards, tee shirts, baseball caps, resources, more access and higher quality access to justice,
boxer shorts, silkpanties, and toiletpaper. Local bars and services, capital-virtually every form of benefits to be reaped
businesses display scantily clad Indian cartoons or pictorials of from U.S. society-than other racial groups" (Randall, 2001,
stately costumed tribal elders. Yet, historical accounts of public para. 2). Randall explains:
schools' early development and uses of Indian mascots reveal a White privilege ... is an overarching, comprehensive
deeply disturbing past (Richter, 2002). Matthew Richter explains framework of policies, practices, institutions and cultural
thatlndian mascots first came into use by White schools in the norms that undergird every aspect of U.S. society....
1920s, in conjunction with practices emanating from the Indian The current system of White privilege has its roots in the
Boarding Schools. By Richter's account, Native American U.S. conquest and oppression of indigenous peoples and
children were forcibly removed from their homes and incarcer- the U.S. role in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. The
ated in institutions that were in reality work camps run by inequality and injustice originating from these historic
phenomena were maintained and exacerbated by govem-
mentpolicies like Jim Crow laws, forced relocation,
protective covenants, etc.... Too often, discussion of
. . .This behavior makes a mockery of racial discrimination focuses solely on the effects on those
who are oppressed as if there are no oppressors or
Indigenous cultural identity and causes beneficiaries. (para. 2-3)

many young Indigenous people to feel Randall argues that the U.S. Government must recognize
its culpability in related issues of racism and inequity and
shame about who they are as a cultural immediately institute comprehensive remedies and reparations
that address the deep and abiding racism, repression, and
being, because racial stereotypes play an discrimination.

important role inshaping a young person's

,consciousness.",

m ART EDUCATION / MAY 2003

 _1 _-- -_

I argue here that art educators and educational policy makers

must recognize their role. It's easy to ignore this issue of misedu-
V i- tu; cation and social inequity. These are missed opportunities for
jflw '' dialogue with students about real problems associated with the
power of images and for a beginning of the dismantling of the
value system that allows one group of individuals to depict
another with such intellectual dishonesty and hostility. Schools
are pivotal in efforts to improve the lives of Native Americans.
Comel Pewewardy (2000), Native American scholar and teacher
educator at Kansas University, argues that "teachers should
research the matter and discover that Indigenous Peoples would
never have associated the sacred practices of becoming a
warrior with the hoopla of a pep rally, half-time entertainment,
or a side-kick to cheerleaders....This behavior makes a mockery
of Indigenous cultural identity and causes many young
Indigenous people to feel shame about who they are as a cultural
- being, because racial stereotypes play an important role in
* shaping a young person's consciousness" (para. 6). These were
Charlene Teters's assertions that bothered me so much when I
first encountered them. We are hurting Native American children
most of all.
Art teachers and teacher educators need to become more
V informed about the issues surrounding Indian mascots and to
make our collective position clear on the use ofrace-based
mascots and imagery in educational institutions and sports
teams. Our sllence on this issue, even if not intentional, is in
effect a form of tacit racism and cultural violence, what
Pewewardy calls "dysconscious racism." Pewewardy (2000)
CharleneTeters, Installation 1991, "What We Know About Indians." explains: dysconscious racism is a sort of numbness and
ignorance that develops among privileged Whites after a lifetime
of seeing the kinds of racial antics and comical stereotypical
Why Should Art Educators Care About portrayals embodied in Indian mascots.
Indian Mascots? A good beginning pointfor addressing this and other issues-
Mathew W.Beaudet, President of the Mllinois Native based curricular goals would involve the study of the artwork of
American Bar Association, explains why Indian mascots and contemporary Native American artists who have addressed the
logos are so problematic to Native Americans: issue of misrepresentation of cultures in their work.' Framed
Fictional Indian mascots, who live in an imaginary past within a thoughtfully constructed multicultural art program, the
and mythological present, teach non-Natives very little study of Native American art, history, cultural values, and
about Native people and culture. Instead, Indian mascots contemporary issues would enrich our understandings about the
promote the premise that everything "real or valuable" power of art, deepen our understanding of our history with First
about Natives belonged to a long lost era, before the race Nations peoples, and provide more productive frames of
was overtaken by manifest destiny. Real Natives face real reference as we co-construct our collective futures. In addition
problems that are neither romantic nor extinct... It is an to arguing for the study of Native American art and culture
undeniable and documented fact that Native-based within a multicultural art education program, I argue that we
mascots teach and perpetuate stereotypes which directly must also engage the mechanisms for social change. Beyond
undermine the self-determination, dignity and well-being aesthetic appreciation and cultural consumption of Native
of Native people, as well as create a hostile school, work, American art, history, and cultural practices, we are compelled
economic and social environmentfor over two million to seek social, political, and economic justice and equity on
Native men, women and children... Native youth suffer behalf of those we claim to appreciate.
the most, having the highest teen suicide and drop-out
rates of any racial or cultural group. Prejudice derived
directly from stereotypes has been cited as the primary
factor for all of the above. (Beaudet, cited in Garippo,
2001, Section V.SummaryPositionof the IllinoisNative
AmericanBarAssociation)

MAY 2003 / ART EDU CATION

 Toward this end, I maintain that our national organization Moreno, S. (1998). WVashtington PostStaff WriterThursday, May 28, 1998.
(the NAEA), acting as the largest and most prominent represen- Page DI Retrieved from: http://www.waslingtonpostcom/wp-
tative of North American art educators, must make its values srv/sports/redskirLs/daily/april99/03/retro3.htm
The Native American Journalists Association. (2001). Statement calling
clear with regard to the ethical uses of Indian imagery, cultural upon the nation's news organizations to stop using sports mascots
practices, and symbols by educational institutions. To this end, and nicknames that depict Native Americans. Retrieved from
I propose a resolution (offered at: http://www.staff.uiuc.edu http://www.naja.com/pr-stopmascot.html
/-edelacru/resolution.html) similar to those already passed by Pewewardy, C. (2000). Why educators can't ignore Indian mascots.
numerous other highly respected professional educational Retrieved from http://eamestman.tripod.com/fr.education.htm
organizations, civil rights agencies, and Native American Randall, V.(2001). Executive Summary. In Transnational Racial Justice
organizations,2 Initiative, The Persistence of White Privilege and Institutional
Racism in U.S. Policy: A Report on U.S. Government Compliance
In 1990, after giving a speech at the University of Illinois, with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Principal Chief of the Westem Cherokee was asked, "What is the Racial Discrimination (February 2001). Retrieved from:
number one priority for your nation?" She replied, "To get our http://academic.udayton.edu/race/06hrights/GeoRegions
young people to believe in themselves again, to trust their own /NorthAmerica/USNG02000/Privilege/privilegeOl.htm
thinlking" (cited in Teters, 1998, para. 1). This is also our mission Richter, M. (2000). Where did Indian mascots come from? Retrieved
from: http://wwwiwchildren.org/reference.htm
as educators. United States Commission on Civil Rights. (2001). Statement of the U.S.
Commission on Civil Rights on the Use of Native American Images
ElizabethManley Delacruz is Associate Professorand andNicknames as Sports Symbols. Retrieved from:
http://www.usccr.gov/whatsnew/2001/ntamstmt.htm.
ChairofArt Educationat the University ofIllinois at
Teters, C. (1998). Supplement to the minutes of the March 9, 1998,
Urbana-Champaign.E-mail: edelacru(uiuc.edu Senate Meeting, to speak to EQ.97.04, Resolution to Retire Chief
Illiniwek. Retrieved from: http://wwwuiuc.edu/providers/senate
REFERENCES /speakers.html (Author note: the work of Charlene Teters may also
be viewed at http://wwvw.charleneteters.com)
Ashcoff, S. (2000). Protecting their history and sharing their pain. St. National Education Association. (2001). Statement on resolution
Petersburglimes, Published February 6,2000, South Pinellas against prejudicial images and logos. Retrieved from
Edition, Start Page 1R Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/resolutions/00/00i-41.html.
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.comn/sptimes/
Baca, L.R. (2000). Drop the R-Word. The W1ashingtonPost. Saturday, FOOTNOTES
January 15, 2000; Page A23. On-line at:
1
http://www.washingtonpost.com The work of contemporary Native American artists including, but
Boyle, F. (1997). Iliiniwek. Racial Discrimination! Essay retrieved from certainly not limited to Ron Anderson, Judy Baca, Karita Coffey, Jessie
http://members.tripod.com/-RFester/nochief.html. Cooday, Rick Glazer Danay, Rupert Garcia, Carmen Lomez Garza, Ester
Garippo, L.B. (2001). The Chief Illiniwek dialogue: Intent and tradition Hernandez, Edgar Heap-of-Birds, Allan Houser, Edna Davis Jackson,
Vs. reaction and History: An addendum to the report to the Board of George Longfish, George Littlechild, Yolanda Lopez, James Luna, Dan
Trustees of the University of Illinois by the Honorable Judge Louis B. Naminga, Jaune Quick-to-See-Smith, Roxanne Swentzell, Charlene
Garippo, Moderator, Cahil Christian &Kunkle, LTD. Chicago, Illinois Teters, Hulleah Tsinhahjinnie, Kay Walkingstick, and Randy Lee White
60604. Retrieved from http://www.uiuc.edu/dialogue/indexhtml are reasonably accessible on-line or in books and journals.
Goldstein, A. (2000). Intentional infliction of emotional distress: 2
Included among organizations and agencies that have passed
Another attempt at eliminating Native American Mascots, 3 Journal resolutions against the use of Native American mascots are the
of Gender, Race and Justice689-713, 689-691 (Spring 2000). following: the United States Commission on Civil Rights, the National
Retrieved from: http://academic.udayton.edu/racel06hrights Education Association, the Modern Language Association, the
/GeoRegions/NorthAmerica/USNG02000/Privilege/index.htm. American Psychological Association, the National Organization for
Hayes, D. (2002). Proposed policy may spell end for Indian mascot. Women, the National Governor's Association, the National Collegiate
School Board intent to avoid controversy draws polarized reactions Athletic Association, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the National
from community. T7e IssaqualhPress,Issaquah Washington, April 3, Council of Churches, the National Conference of Christians and Jews,
2002. Retrieved from: http://www.isspress.com/isspress Amnesty International, the National Congress ofAmerican Indians, the
/back/040302/proposed.htm American Indian Movement, the National Indian Education Association,
Kaufman, S. J. (2001). Stop this shameful display. Commentary. and all 376 recognized Native American Tribes.
ChticagoSun Times, Saturday, December-29,2001.
Modern Language Association. (2001). Resolution on mascots and
symbols. Retrieved from: http://eamestman.tripod.com
/fr.2001.retrospective.htm
Moore, R. (1993).NativeAmerican artistsofNorthAmerica. Santa Fe:
John Muir Publications.

ART EDUCATION / MAY 2003