Insubordination = Indians "running the camp"

Board president apologizes for ‘Indian' comment

By Scott NeufferThe president of the school board says she's sorry for a comment she made during Superintendent Carol Lark's evaluation last month.

“What I said was wrong, period,” Cindy Trigg said on Monday in a phone interview. “My feelings on leadership have nothing to do with gender, race or religious preference.”

At Lark's evaluation on June 17, Trigg warned board members that allowing insubordination against the superintendent could send the wrong message to employees and future superintendents.

“You can't let them think that the Indians are running the camp,” Trigg said at the meeting.

The comment later spurred a flurry of criticism, ranging from letters to the editor to comments on The R-C Web site.Comment:  This is a variation of "too many Indians, not enough chiefs" or Indians going "off the reservation." The basic idea is that letting Indians roam free is akin to letting children or animals roam free. It's confusing or unproductive at best, dangerous at worst. That's because Indians are subhuman savages, the thinking goes, who can't be trusted to act responsibly.

For more on the subject, see the Stereotype of the Month contest.