December 19, 2008

Native orgs that oppose mascots

In the comments on Indians and Tigers and Sharks...Oh My! J. Kills Straight (Lakota Sioux) wrote:People who have spoken out on the tired and irrelevant mascot issue are primarily non-Indian "do-gooders" trying to make name for themselves, like the countless anthropologists and "Native" historians before them, to sell a book or obtain academic recognition.My response:

The list of Native organizations that oppose mascots is long. Why don't you tell these people that they're non-Indian "do-gooders" and "weekend warriors"? Let us know how that goes.

List of Organizations Endorsing Retirement of "Indian" Sports Team Tokens
  • Advocates for American Indian Children (California)

  • The Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians

  • American Indian Mental Health Association (Minnesota)

  • American Indian Movement

  • American Indian Opportunities Industrialization Center of San Bernardino County

  • American Indian Student Services at the Ohio State University

  • Association on American Indian Affairs

  • Buncombe County Native American Intertribal Association (North Carolina)

  • Concerned American Indian Parents (Minnesota)

  • Council for Indigenous North Americans (University of Southern Maine)

  • Eagle and Condor Indigenous Peoples' Alliance

  • Fontana Native American Indian Center, Inc.

  • Governor's Interstate Indian Council

  • Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (Michigan)

  • Greater Tulsa Area Indian Affairs Commission

  • Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council

  • Gun Lake Band of Potawatomi Indians (Michigan)

  • Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes (composed of the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Muskogee [Creek], Cherokee, and Seminole Nations)

  • JuaneƱo Band of Mission Indians

  • Kansas Association for Native American Education

  • Little River Band of Ottawa Indians (Michigan)

  • Maryland Commission on Indian Affairs

  • Mascot Abuse San Francisco Bay Area

  • Medicine Wheel Intertribal Association (Louisiana)

  • Menominee Tribe of Indians (Wisconsin)

  • Minnesota Indian Education Association

  • Morning Star Institute

  • National Coalition on Racism in Sports and the Media

  • National Congress of American Indians

  • National Indian Education Association

  • Native American Caucus of the California Democratic Party

  • Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio

  • Native American Journalists Association

  • Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs

  • Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi (Michigan)

  • North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs

  • North Dakota Indian Education Association

  • Office of Native American Ministry, Diocese of Grand Rapids (Michigan)

  • Ohio Center for Native American Affairs

  • Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin

  • San Bernardino/Riverside Counties Native American Community Council

  • Society of Indian Psychologists of the Americas

  • Southern California Indian Center

  • St. Cloud State University--American Indian Center

  • Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians (Michigan)

  • Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (North Dakota)

  • Tennessee Chapter of the National Coalition for the Preservation of Indigenous Cultures

  • Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs

  • Tennessee Native Veterans Society

  • Unified Coalition for American Indian Concerns, Virginia

  • The United Indian Nations of Oklahoma

  • Virginia American Indian Cultural Resource Center

  • Wisconsin Indian Education Association

  • WIEA "Indian" Mascot and Logo Taskforce (Wisconsin)

  • Wisconsin State Human Relations Association

  • Woodland Indian Community Center--Lansing (Michigan)

  • Youth "Indian" Mascot and Logo Taskforce (Wisconsin)
  • Comment:  The National Congress of the American Indian represents most tribes and tribal leaders. The National Indian Education Association represents most Native schools and educators. The Native American Journalists Association represents most Native journalists and media outlets.

    Those are three huge constituencies right there. How much more evidence do you need of the Native opposition to mascots? Exactly whose endorsement are you waiting for? The Native Spelling Bee Society? The Native Web Designers Association? The Native Astronaut Corps?

    Let's not forget the lawsuit presently underway against the Washington Redskins. Suzan Shown Harjo fills us in:The team’s name is despised in most of Indian country. All the major Native American organizations have taken positions against it, some of them in court, where there are two lawsuits against the Washington football franchise (about which, more later).

    I am the Harjo of Harjo et al v. Pro Football, Inc., which we filed on Sept. 10, 1992, with the goal of forcing the team owners to retire the disparaging name. My co-plaintiffs are Attorney/Author Vine Deloria, Jr. (Standing Rock Sioux; 1933-2005); Artist Mateo Romero (Cochiti Pueblo); Educators Manley A. Begay, Jr. (Navajo), Norbert S. Hill, Jr. (Oneida), William A. Means, Jr. (Oglala Lakota); and Former Governor, Pueblo Ysleta del Sur, Raymond D. Apodaca.
    I'd say anytime you claim to know more about Indian country than Vine Deloria Jr., you're in trouble. Yeah, he wasn't the executive director of the NCAI and author of 27 books on Native issues. He was just a liberal "do-gooder" and "weekend warrior." Not.

    Below:  Intellectual warrior Vine Deloria Jr. and one of the faux warriors he denounced.

    2 comments:

    dmarks said...

    I think that list is incomplete, just because it seems to me a little too heavy on the Upper Midwest organizations.

    This would imply to me that there are many many more organizations that would be on it also.

    Rob said...

    No doubt you're right, DMarks. The list was compiled in 2000. The compiler appears to have updated it only sporadically.

    I'm not sure where the compiler lives. The list could have a Midwest focus because he lives (or lived) there. It's also possible that tribes in the Midwest are more assertive about this issue for some reason.

    In any case, it would be difficult to track down all the organizations that have passed anti-mascot resolutions. And in 2000, Google wasn't as comprehensive as it is now. I don't know how incomplete the list is, but I'm sure it's incomplete.