The National Congress of American Indians is the oldest and largest national organization of American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments. The NCAI has long held a clear position against derogatory and harmful stereotypes of Native People-including sports mascots-in media and popular culture. In 1968, they launched a campaign to address stereotypes of Native peoples in popular culture, media and sports. On November 13, 2020, they adopted a resolution at the General Assembly calling for the elimination of race-based mascots, logos, symbols and stereotypes.
Please take the time to read: Native Americans Unite to Speak out Against Racially Offensive Mascot Name.
In 2013, the National Congress of American Indians published a report detailing the historical and contemporary background on “Indian” sports mascots and the widely supported efforts to end the era of harmful and racist mascots.
The Stockbridge-Munsee Community, Band of Mohican Indians passed a resolution last September in which they asserted “race-based Indian logos, mascots, names and images deliberately, and in a derisive manner, portray Native American tribes, tribal governments and tribal cultures and should be rejected on all occasions and in all uses.”
‘Indians’ is derived from when Christopher Columbus arrived and thought he was in the East Indies instead of the Caribbean,” said Heather Bruegl, historian and director of cultural affairs for the Stockbridge-Munsee community. “The term ‘Indians’ is inaccurate when it comes to describing Native Americans or indigenous people."
Here is a link to their resolution.
On December 3, 2020 when asked about their involvement with designing the logo for Cambridge in the past, this statement by Heather Bruegl was issued: "To my knowledge this mascot was created without any consultation from the Stockbridge-Munsee Community, so I am not sure where they get that claim from. Again, our community stands firmly against the use of Native Americans as mascots."
An open letter dated December 10, 2020 from The Woape Foundation (non-profit Native- led organization dedicated to empowering a more inclusive and Indigenous 21st century) to the Cambridge Central School board directly requesting the immediate removal of its harmful mascot, stating: "While removing a long-held name and mascot may engender passionate support for the term from people of Native and non-Native descent, these personal anecdotes and support for a race-based term should not distract from the overwhelming evidence that the use of “Indians” and related mascots is harmful to Indigenous peoples — especially youth — and non-Native peoples, too.
John Kane, a Mohawk from Kahnawake and a 1978 Cambridge Central School graduate started an online petition in August, calling on his alma mater to change it's mascot stating: "The trend is clear! Sports programs, colleges and high schools throughout North America have moved away from the use of race based mascots and nicknames. It’s time for the Cambridge Central School district to retire its race based mascot to the dust bin of unpleasant history. “Indians” is not only an incorrect label for Native people; it’s a name whose origin begins with both the misidentification of Native people by Christopher Columbus and the Genocide that he began. But beyond the word is the practice of using and mocking Native people for mascots for the amusement and entertainment of predominantly a non-Native public. Native mascots are dehumanizing and promote a damaging racial stereotype of an extremely marginalized people. In fact, it’s worse than that. It treats Native people as mere relics of the past; as if they no longer exist. It is erasure. It is genocide."
Maulian Dana, Tribal Ambassador of the Penobscot has a Ted Talk titled, "Indigenous Peoples in Maine are Not Mascots." Dana recalls the uncomfortable feeling she had as a teenager as she watched a high school basketball game between the Nokomis Warriors and the Skowhegan Indians. The fans of both teams came to the game with painted faces - their idea of war paint - and wore Native American costumes, while making stereotypical war cries. Dana turned to her dad and said, "Is that how they think of us?” Dana saw in that moment that the use of Native Americans as mascots must end. She explained that “these displays incite dangerous thought patterns that lead to racist and sometimes violent behavior against the marginalized target group.” Dana wrote a statement to the Cambridge Central School Board that can be found here.
The Coalition of Natives and Allies sent a letter to the Cambridge Central School Board on March 21, 2021 titled, "Teach Respect, not Racism." Donna Fann-Boyle, Choctaw-Cherokee and co-director of CNA, has asked that this statement be shared with our community as well as the National Congress of American Indians statment on Native American Guardians Association. The link to the Coalition's statment can be found here, and the position of the NCAI can be found here.
Change the Mascot is a national campaign launched by the Oneida Nation.
Here is a timeline of the progress that's been made to have race-based mascots eliminated. Of note is Siena College, a local institution that changed its mascot from Indians to Saints in 1988.
Here is a link to a study that was commissioned by the Nation in 2013: The Harmful Psychological Effects of the Washington Football Mascot.
The Haudenosaunee or Onondaga Nation regards the depiction of natives as mascots defamatory to their people. Stating that, "fighting and skin color is not our only positive trait. Although it is true that Onondaga and its Haudenosaunee allies have proven themselves in battle, there are other gifts that we are thankful for. Onondagas honor and foster many other traits such as diplomacy, artisans, educators, agriculturists, hunters, musicians, architects, and philosophers to name a few. The Creator gives us all a special gift and it is the combination of all these gifts that make us the complex diverse nation of people we are today."
"The Seneca Nation views the use of Native American names, references and imagery for the logos and mascots of schools and their sports teams as blatantly offensive to the Seneca Nation and has no place in a multicultural society that values diversity. It is not an 'honor,' as many schools and teams assert, to be inaccurately portrayed by caricatures and references that have no connection to our history or our living cultures," Stahlman said. "The Seneca Nation calls on all districts and educational institutions to immediately cease this practice."
Inter-tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes passed a resolution in 2001 stating that: "to continue the negative use of American Indian's tribal names and images is an offensive and disgusting practice that would be considered intolerable were other ethnic groups or minorities depicted in a similar manner."
National Indian Education Association Resolution passed in 2005 states: "educational institutions should not be the vehicles of institutionalized racism." It calls "for the immediate elimination of race-based Indian logos, mascots, and names from educational institutions throughout the Nation."
The National Native American Bar Association issued a resolution in 2016 calling on the "legal community and elected officials to help combat the ill effects of race-based stereotypes in sports, including by using the bully pulpit to inform Americans that the use of these names, images, and mascot characters constitute race-based stereotypes that harm Native Americans’ sense of self, and encourage discrimination and prejudice towards Native American people."
Akomawt Educational Initiative is a majority Native American owned consultancy group and educational support service for K-12 schools, colleges and universities, and museums and cultural sites. Check out their Native American Mascot Recommendations and Resource Page with includes this statement: "Debates about changing professional and college mascots often take place in the public media, but the debate over high school Native sports mascots are local debates and often times divisive. Much of the divisiveness happens with accusations thrown both ways and a lack of productive discussion. The conversation can be derailed by emotional exchanges and completely miss the point of discussing the appropriateness of mascotting living cultures." They offer an excellent list of points to remember when discussing this devisive issue.
"The Indigenous existence in Western and American culture is narrowly viewed and accepted with little to no input from actual Indigenous people" - Gregg Deal is a husband, father, artist and a member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. His youtube video, "Indigenous in Plain Sight", is a challenge for those who hear his words to take responsibility for their knowledge, and "create room for this nation’s First Peoples."
Rowie Shebala, a Native American spoken word artist, of the Diné (Navajo) Tribe was born and raised on the Navajo Nation. Shebala, consistently brings the voice of her heritage into her performance, as well as written work, often treading into spaces where hearing native voices is unlikely. In doing so, she hopes to reframe what it means to be a Native person for the masses, point out the appropriation of her people's culture, and reclaim an identity that has been distorted by heavily edited versions of history. We encourage you to check out her poem, "Love You Some Indians,"
Mohegan Chief Lynn Malerba said in a written statement on behalf of the tribal council, elders council and medicine women: "While the stated intent may be to ‘honor’ American Indians, there is a great potential for less than respectful behaviors to occur in conjunction with these mascots. Additionally, people should not be considered mascots. It is demeaning to be relegated to a stereotyping of a people. This should not be allowed to continue."
Melody Walker Brook, a citizen of the Elnu Abenaki Tribe, is an educator, activist, and artisan. Melody has served on several state-level committees, including a term as the vice chair of the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs as well as a member of the Waolwozi NH Minority Board of Health Steering Committee. In 2016, she wrote a guest editorial on sports teams with Native mascots.