1994 Area schools taking a critical look at Indian mascots

1994 Feb 6, Hartford Courant 

      West Hartford – A national debate that has drawn hundreds of protesters to march outside football and baseball arenas has funneled down to some high schools in Connecticut where students are objecting to the use of mascots depicting American Indians.

      Whether they are called Warriors – as at West Hartford’s Hall High School and Canton Senior High School – Chieftains or Indians, some students say the mascots are stereotypical and should be changed. 

      “Here we are being taught about diversity and how great it is and yet our mascot is stereotyping a group of people,” said Marissa Weiss, a sophomore at Hall High School. “Not all Native Americans are warriors who fight and wear face paint. My school is sharing a stereotype, and I don’t want to be a part of it.” 

      Weiss and about 30 classmates took their concerns to the school principal last week. Similar concerns have also been raised by students at Farmington High School and Manchester High School.

      “I know the mascot wasn’t meant to offend but it does offend people,” said Adam Hawkes, a senior at Farmington High School, which is represented by the Indians. “If we’re going to have a mascot at all, we should try not to offend anyone. There’s just no reason to keep it.” 

      In recent years, there has been much national debate about the use of Indian identities as sports mascots. Many consider it an insult to trivialize the culture, and colleges such as Dartmouth and Stanford abandoned their “Indians” designation years ago.

      Other teams, such as the Washington Redskins, Cleveland Indians, and Kansas City Chiefs, flourish. The Atlanta Braves – whose fans have made famous the tomahawk chop – have been the subject of protest demonstrations in the World Series the past two years.

      The argument to keep the names – both nationally and locally – centers on tradition. The names have usually existed as long as the schools, or sports teams, and some don’t want to see that change. They say the school mascot is part of the pride of the school.

      “I didn’t think about the mascot much when I was in school, but I’d hate to see it go,” said Terry Matava, a 1975 graduate of Farmington High School. “There’s a lot of history in the area related to Indians, and the symbol is a tradition”

      Eileen Clyne, a 1962 Farmington graduate, agreed.

      “It’s not a negative thing and it’s a symbol many people like,” she said.

      Ed Sarabia, the Indian Affairs Coordinator at the state Department of Environmental Protection, said he has heard complaints about school mascots locally for the past three years, including schools in New Haven and Newton. But he said his attempts to encourage changes in mascot names or emblems have “run into a brick wall.” 

      “The names are derogatory and an embarrassment,” Sarabia said. “But people are into the spirit of the school and they talk about tradition.”

      That was the situation at Manchester High School, which recently discussed the use of the names “Indians.” 

      John Nishan, the director of student activities, said tradition won out.

      “The overriding sentiment was that it’s tradition, and people just don’t want to change that,” Nishan said. “People like it. The mascot is a part of the school.”

      Elaine Bessette, principal at Hall, said she encouraged students to get the support of the student council, the PTO, athletic team captains, alumni and faculty members before making a presentation to administrators. A final decision to change a mascot usually comes from boards of education.

      Some schools that have Indian mascots are attempting to teach students about the tribe’s history.

      At RHAM High School – a regional school representing Hebron, Andover and Marlboro – the students are known as Sachems. 

      “We make a big effort to be sure that we authentically represent the Indians in terms of the people that they were,” said Principal Paula Schwartz, who said students have not protested the use of the Indian name. She described the school’s mascot as somber, strong, honorable, and dressed as a typical sachem, or chief. Students also learn about Indians in social studies classes.

      “The Indian is a part of our culture, and rather than lose it, we want to make sure the kids are educated about it and use it appropriately,” she said. “Our direction is to say we are going to become educated and honor the Indians that are native to the area. We don’t do war dances.”

      The debate in West Hartford began last week after students in a history-literature class watched a video of the “Oprah Winfrey Show.” The program included Indians who talked about the discrimination to some mascots.

      Students in the class aid the video, along with a book, helped them think about circumstances in their own lives which also may discriminate against others. They thought about their school mascot, which they described as an ugly, war-liked Indian. The school recently toned down the image, showing now a profile of an Indian wearing a feather headdress.

      Officials at Conrad High School, also in West Hartford, said they have heard no complaints about their mascot – the Chieftain.

      “You can’t sum up an entire race in one picture,” said Josh Lippman, a junior at Hall. “Throughout history there have been warriors of all types, but our problem is when we think of warriors we automatically make the connection to Indians.”

      Lippman said people would never think of having a Jewish mascot with a derogatory name “and a picture of a man with a big nose. How would people feel about that?”

      He said students should visit an Indian reservation and ask Indians if the emblems are offensive or see if there might be a famous warrior the school could model their mascot around.

      “But the most logical idea seems to be to change the emblem to some sort of symbol and not a person,” Lippman said. 

1994 Feb 6, Hartford Courant