March 12, 1999 - “People may think these are issues from the past, but they are still issues for native peoples,” Cindy Bloom said. “This is a racist term.”

Mascot divides Huntley

Groups urge school to drop 'Redskins'

by Owen R. Brugh 

1999 March 12, Northwest Herald 

       Huntley – The calls and letters still come to Huntley High School, no matter how much the school tones down its nickname.

      Some groups allege the term “Redskins” is racially offensive and degrading, portraying American Indians as savage marauders.

      Alumni and booster clubs want to retain the nickname. They maintain it has been a part of Huntley’s identity since the 1920s, and say the school is just another victim of political correctness run amok. 

      Webster’s Third New International Dictionary defines a Redskin as “A North American Indian – usually taken to be offensive.”

      “It’s a recurring issue, and we have been approached by a number of different groups and individuals, not in a threatening and protesting way, but out of concern,” Huntley High School Principal Dave Johnson said.

      American Indian team nicknames also are used at Algonquin Middle School and Marengo Community High School.

      Both schools use “Indians,” and officials at each school said they never have been approached about changing the nicknames.

      The McHenry County Interfaith Council for Social Justice, the American Indian Council of Illinois, the American Indian group Midwest Soarring and the McHenry County Human Relations Council have penned letters to Huntley School District 158 expressing their belief “Redskins” is a racist term.

      School district officials plan a forum this spring to offer both sides a chance to voice their opinions about “Redskins.”

      “At this point, we want to refocus students on this issue,” Johnson said. “The (school) board will render a decision and we need to be prepared to live with that.”

      Huntley High polled students about making a nickname change when it moved into the Harmony Road Campus in fall 1997. Students voted to retain “Redskins,” but Johnson said many were not educated about ethnic issues…… “Redskins” support is strong among Huntley High alumni, Johnson said.

      “They feel that ‘Redskins’ is being used in a proud and noble way, and we make sure it is used in that fashion,” Johnson said. “If it were portrayed as a savage with his tongue hanging out, they would be opposed to that.”

      Cindy Bloom, vice president of Midwest Soarring and member of the American Indian Council of Illinois, said “Redskin” is just as bad as any other widely accepted racial epitaph. 

      “People may think these are issues from the past, but they are still issues for native peoples,” Bloom said. “This is a racist term.”

      Bloom said she gets involved in American Indian issues “for all children, so they have a better understanding of other ways, and so those ways of life are celebrated and respected.

      “In McHenry County, we have more and more minorities moving in. We need to think about what is best for all people. It’s not just a Native American issue. It’s a racial issue,” Bloom said. “If you show disrespect to one racial group, you can be sure it will filter down.” 

      Bloom, a Cherokee, said the red paint from which “Redskin” is red paint from which “Redskin” is derived is used in marriage and naming ceremonies.

      The tradition reaches back more than 7000 years, she said, and the paint is sacred.

      Bloom said she would like to educate people as to why the term is offensive, and about American Indian culture. She visited some Huntley sixth-and seventh-grade classes to tell students about her heritage.

      “ I think, with education, we could get through these issues,” Bloom said.

      However, she said that education needs to be ongoing.

      “It may be taught when things are going on, but it gets lost, and this savage killer image comes back,” Bloom said.

      In recent years, the high school has toned down the savage image by retiring the mascot, changing the school cheers and removing “Redskins” from the sports uniforms.

      The only indication of the school’s nickname in the gum is an American Indian profile portrait in full head dress on the gym wall. The school’s colors are red and white, and banners at the school entrance proclaim the virtues “honor” and “pride.”

      “You don’t see ‘Welcome to Redskin Territory’ on the gym wall. You don’t hear the chants. You don’t see the tomahawks,” Johnson said.

      For Tim Lane, president of the Huntley Athletic Boosters and member of the Delaware Tribe of American Indians, that is enough.

      “I think people should look at it as how we portray it at our games,” Lane said. “If they do that, I think they’ll see that we present it in an honorable and respectful manner.”

      “I don’t think it’s offensive at all, but if someone does look at this as offensive, they are taking it out of context.”

      Bloom points to the absence of the team nickname on sports jerseys as an indication something is not right.

      “By not having ‘Redskins’ on any of the banners or equipment, you’re teaching (students) that something is wrong,” Bloom said. “It’s teaching those children that they can’t be proud of their mascot, and they deserve a mascot they can stand behind and be proud of.”

      And more is troubling than the nickname, she said. The headdress logo is so prevalent in District 158 it is on all faculty identification badges.

      “People don’t understand that (the headdress) is sacred,” Bloom said. “Only our honored leaders wear those.”

      Change only would benefit Huntley, Bloom said.

      “Too many times, some people think something is being taken away from the community, whereby changing to another mascot they would be adding to the unity of the community,” she said.

      Lane said the issue is community identity, not racism.

      “Given the right approach, this mascot is something everyone can be behind,” he said. “All the opposition I’ve heard from is from outside the community.”

      If the community decided the nickname, Lane said he would support that.

      “I feel very strongly about this, but I’m not going to push so hard that it creates ill will. The important thing here is that we have the quality educational environment and a nickname that all the students can take pride in and stand behind,” he said.

      Marengo Community High School approaches ethnic sensitivity in much the same way as Huntley, although the school prints “Indians” on its uniforms.

      “We won’t allow anything that has anything to do with weaponry or anything that would show disrespect or aggressiveness,” Marengo High School District 154 Superintendent Jerry Trickett said.

      “No hatchets, no bows and arrow, no cigars or pipes.”

      Megan Baldacci, a Huntley senior and president of the student council, said many students support keeping “Redskins.”

      “They’re pretty attached to it. We’ve grown up with it being our mascot,” Baldacci said. “Right now, I’m torn. I think this term may be harming people, but I have trouble seeing that harm.”

      The school and its students are stuck in the middle of the controversy, Johnson said.

      “Some of my friends are for it and some of them are against it. I’d like to agree with my friends,” he said. “I believe the only way (the issue) will die – and it will take a long time for that – is to change the mascot.”  

1999 March 12, Northwest Herald