To the Cambridge Central School Board of Education

From the National Congress of American Indians

July 7, 2021

In response to questions raised at CCS BOE meetings about NCAI's use of the term "Indian"

There is a fundamental difference between NCAI's use of "American Indians" and Cambridge Central's former use of the "Indians" mascot and associated imagery. While the National Congress of American Indians employs an organizational name and logo that represent and have the formal sanction of hundreds of Tribal Nations representing millions of Native people, the recently retired mascot at Cambridge Central did not and does not enjoy the formal approval of any Tribal Nation. Further, and crucially, Native people are not mascots. Regardless of the professed intent of such a mascot, Indian Country has long held a unified opposition to the 'mascotization' of our communities and NCAI, a formal, national Congress of Tribal Nations, has passed numerous consensus-based resolutions, dating back more than 50 years, confirming this position. While the opinions of individuals may vary, as sovereign nations, it is only the duly elected leaders of Tribal Nations – or those that they formally designate to speak on their Nations' behalf – that have the authority to represent or speak for those Tribal Nations. No one individual's voice should be held in higher regard.