State organizations support anti-mascot bill

By Will Chavez
Staff Writer

TULSA, Okla. – Several state organizations held a press conference Jan. 30 in downtown Tulsa to announce that a bill to prohibit Indian mascots was being reintroduced in the state Senate.

Louis Gray, president of the Tulsa Indian Coalition Against Racism, said the press conference was to show support for Senate Bill 765, the Oklahoma Anti-Discriminatory Mascots Act, which seeks to prohibit Oklahoma public schools from using “racially derogatory or discriminatory Native American school or athletic team nicknames and mascots.”

The act, which was introduced by state Sen. Judy Eason McIntyre, D-Dist. 11, also provides for penalties and enforcement and would become effective Nov. 1, 2009, if approved. McIntyre introduced a similar bill four years ago, but it died in a Senate committee.

“We are just eternally grateful for the courage and wisdom of Sen. Judy Eason McIntyre. We’re going to try this again. We’re more prepared. We truly believe there are a lot more thoughtful Oklahomans to make the kind of courageous change that we are seeking,” Gray said. “This is not about calling anyone racist. What we are saying is the images and practices are harmful.”

Specifically, the act requires all public schools to stop using team names, mascots or nicknames, including savages, redskins, any other Indian tribal name and any other racially derogatory or discriminatory school or athletic team name, mascot or nickname.

“I’m not a redskin; I’m not a savage; I’m a person,” Gray said. “When we objectify people in a negative way it has meaning and it changes people. It changes the person that you call a savage and it changes the person who is calling the person a savage. So we want to end that practice…and make it illegal to do so in this state.”

Gray said the legislation would not apply to schools such as Sequoyah High School and other area public schools that may use “braves, warriors and chiefs,” although he said TICAR believes those names objectify Indian people but are not racial slurs such as redskin and savage.

He said TICAR and other groups have unsuccessfully tried to educate and persuade schools using Indian mascots to stop and that Indian mascots are firmly entrenched in the state. He said he was thankful for the support the issue is receiving from minority and religious organizations in Tulsa.

David Bernstein of the Say Not to Hate Coalition said eliminating American Indian mascots is everyone’s responsibility, not just Indian communities.

“It’s an issue of dignity. The use of mascots is both offensive and demeaning, especially amongst Native Americans,” he said. “Native mascots also perpetuate another myth about American Indian culture, that Native America is truly historical and void of any contemporary relevance. These images hide the fact that Native American cultures are living cultures.”

Rev. Luis-Carlos Sanchez, president of the Coalition of Hispanic Organizations, said the use of mascots is a form of violence that uses words to harm Indian people. He said it is time for Oklahoma citizens to honor the state’s first settlers and give them “proper respect and dignity” by unanimously approving the act.

“It is time that Oklahomans pay legitimate honor to the state’s claim of being Native America,” he said. “We must remember that as we lift others to their proper human dignity level, we are lifting ourselves.”

Indian mascots are common in Oklahoma and some schools have said the images are meant to honor Indian people, but leaders in Indian communities have made it clear they are not honored but rather offended said President of the Tulsa Interfaith Alliance Steve Cranford. He said some schools mock American Indian religious rituals and that racially stereotyped images such as savages and redskins do not honor or respect Indians.

“The artificial appropriation of the symbols of a culture, ethnic or religious group for any purpose is inherently offensive,” he said.

TIA is interested in the mascot issue, Cranford said, because the organization works to protect the religious heritage of all peoples and is against schools using Indian religious symbols such as feathers and mock dances done before and during games. He said the problem is that the larger culture doesn’t recognize American Indian symbols.

“I have never seen such a diverse array of organizations and institutions standing behind one issue like we have here. Surely the time has come for this bill to be approved in the state of Oklahoma of all places,” he said.