Indian Sports Mascots and Politics
A common method used by the Left to advance to advance a progressive agenda is stealth. The school board acted with virtually no input from either the student body or the alumni of the school. For example, Juanita Freeman, a full-blood American Indian (of Black Foot and Cherokee blood) was very upset at the decision.
"I am very proud to be a Redskin," Freeman declared. She owns about 30 shirts, proudly displaying the Redskins mascot.
Yet, her opinion was not even considered by those who pushed through the change. The opinions of the vast majority of the students and the school's alumni were not solicited. A poll by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, which revealed about 90% of self-identified American Indians are "not offended" by the use of the Redskins name by the Washington NFL franchise, would seem to indicate that most persons of Native American ancestry have no problem with the term.
So, if the school board did not ask for the input of the students (past and present), just whom did they listen to?
The person who appears to have caught the ear of the school board was Star Yellowfish, the district's administrator for American Indian student services. Yellowfish and a group of American Indian students from another school, Oklahoma Centennial Mid-High School, and their advisor, urged the board to drop the nickname as offensive and harmful. They addressed concerns raised as part of an Obama White House "initiative" on American Indian and Alaska Native education.
Of course, changing the school's mascot will require the use of money that could better be used in the educational mission of the school, but this did not seem to be of any concern to the Oklahoma City School Board. It would appear that academic excellence is increasingly secondary to liberal political causes.
So, what does this "red skin" term actually mean? Is it a racially derogatory term? Did Capitol Hill High School, and other Oklahoma schools such as Rush Springs High School, Tulsa Union High School, and the pro football Washington Redskins all adopt a name intended to insult American Indians?
Despite many myths circulating as to the origin of the term "red skins," it appears that the most likely origin of the expression came from the Native Americans themselves. Chief Mosquito of the Piankeshaw tribe addressed an English officer in 1769, using the phrase, "if any red skins do you harm." In 1812, Osage Chief No Ears made this statement: "I know the manners of the whites and the red skins."
Adrian Jawort, in his November 13, 2012 article in Indian Country Today, "Redskins Not So Black and White," said the assertion that the term "red skins" came from the practice of paying a bounty for Indians, using a "red skin" in reference to a bloody, red scalp of a Native American, was simply "revisionist history." Other such origin stories are also as made up as those who claim Chief Seattle was some sort of radical environmentalist.
On June 18, 2014, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office cancelled six trademarks held by the Washington NFL Redskins, in a 2-1 vote, declaring the term "red skins" is disparaging to a "substantial composite of Native Americans."
Our own Congressman Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Republican, has joined in on this effort, calling the "Redskins" moniker a racial slur. He joined with a Democrat Senator, Maria Cantwell, in a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, demanding a name change. Cole told Goodell that the NFL is "on the wrong side of history," and it is inappropriate for the Redskins to "profit from the continued degradation of tribes and Indian people."
Many of Oklahoma's conservative Republican activists wish Cole could be as passionate about stopping Obama Care, cutting the federal budget, and fighting against overreach from the federal government. The idea that it is the job of a U.S. congressman to decide the mascots of professional football teams is certainly not an example of limited government conservatism.
It is logical to presume that nicknames and mascots are chosen for sports teams, whether high school, college, or professional, because the teams are proud of those names. It is inconceivable that someone picks names that are racial slurs, or are intended to offend. One presumes the Minnesota Vikings is not an attempt to insult folks of Norwegian ancestry, or the Texas A & M Aggies was chosen to insult farmers. What about the "Fighting Irish" of Notre Dame? Did the New Orleans NFL franchise choose "Saints" to insult Christians? When the Oklahoma Seminole tribe called for the Florida State Seminoles to change their mascot, the Seminole Tribe of Florida told the Oklahoma Seminoles to mind their own business.
This is just part of the Left's efforts to always find something wrong with society, always looking for this or that to complain about, to discover some supposed injustice.
The Oklahoma Sooners (the name derived from those who snuck into the territory to be opened by land run "sooner" than was legal) once had an exciting mascot, known as Little Red. The original Little Red was Phil Waller, who dressed up in full Kiowa Indian clothing and thrilled the crowds at Owen Field from 1957-1960. Waller, a Kiowa Indian, was a linebacker under the legendary Coach Bud Wilkinson, but decided he could help the team more as an unofficial team mascot.
Other Indian students became Little Red after Waller, who returned to the sidelines in 1970. But, when a tiny minority of Indian students complained, then-OU President Herbert Holliman quickly caved and banned the mascot. When other Indian students persisted in wanting the reinstatement of Little Red, they were actually met with death threats. Several chiefs of various tribes signed a petition supporting Little Red, but it did not matter.
"I have got nothing but wonderful emotions about OU and representing it as Little Red," Waller recalled years later. Leon Cross, who also played for Wilkinson, said, "It was just a handful of students here at OU that thought (the mascot) was degrading to Indians. The masses thought it was great." Waller's wife said she had never heard one negative comment about Little Red.
In 1984, Waller attempted a come-back at the OU-Texas game, rushing onto the field in his Kiowa Little Red outfit, to a burst of applause from OU fans. But the OU administration chose to side with those who opposed Little Red. Stephanie Wickliffe, then-president of the OU American Indian Student Association, was appalled at Waller's efforts to bring back the mascot.
"It's really embarrassing to see someone represent your people as a mascot on the field. I think (Waller) is exploiting his tradition. He shows disrespect to his costume and his culture," Wickliffe said. This is, of course, a variation of the attacks upon Black Americans who do not toe the liberal line. They are branded as "exploiting" their tradition, or "disrespecting" their culture. In a 2008 Internet website, Newspaper Rock, "where Native America meets popular culture," the liberal writer discussed the OU Little Red case, dismissing the student mascots who proudly wore the Little Red uniform as "garishly clad white boys." This is an example of the misinformation one often sees in this debate. Waller was a Kiowa Indian, and every one of the Little Red mascots were Native Americans, not "white boys."
But, this is the Left and their tactics. One wonders what will happen when all the American Indian mascots are replaced. Will Pistol Pete at Oklahoma State be next? After all, is that what they are saying an American cowboy has a gigantic head? How can we allow the trashing of the proud culture of the Italians (the Trojans at USC, as the Trojans are supposedly ancestors of the proud Romans) or the Greeks (the Spartans at Michigan State) or the Hispanics (the Red Raider at Texas Tech) or the simple folk of the Appalachians (the Mountaineers of West Virginia).
Well, at least TCU will not have a problem. After all, insulting a horned frog won't get you into any kind of trouble -- at least not yet.
Capitol Hill High School played a significant role in Oklahoma's desegregation history. In the 1950s, Capitol Hill became the first all-white school to play an all-black school, Oklahoma City Douglas, the "black state champions." Capitol Hill won what is considered one of the greatest games in the state's prep football history, 13-6, but like most inner-city schools, has seen a steep decline in athletic success in recent years.
Tulsa Union, on the other hand, usually wins or plays for the top-class state championship in football each season. Will their "Redskins" mascot be next to fall?
Latest Commentary
Wednesday 31st of January 2024
Wednesday 31st of January 2024
Wednesday 31st of January 2024
Wednesday 31st of January 2024
Wednesday 31st of January 2024
Wednesday 31st of January 2024
Wednesday 31st of January 2024
Wednesday 31st of January 2024
Wednesday 31st of January 2024
Wednesday 31st of January 2024