Earlier this month, the Illinois House passed legislation — House Bill 1237 — that would phase out the use of Native American-based mascots and logos in our state’s elementary and high schools.
When the state Senate is expected to take up this matter next month, it should do the same.
I was among those involved with the phase-out of Native mascots at schools across Illinois, including Niles West High School in Skokie, Ball Chatham School District 5 in Sangamon County, Huntley and Lemont high schools and Lane Tech College Prep.
My advocacy through the years has cost me an employment opportunity at a major law firm, the loss of an elected local school council seat, threats and placement on the “enemies list” of a national white supremacist organization. But as a citizen of the Montaukett Indian Nation, parent and fifth-generation Illinoisan, I strongly believe it is my duty to speak out and protect my community.
Supporters of Native mascots say they are well-intended and don’t cause harm. But numerous independent studies by the American Psychological Association and others, tell the undeniable truth, detailing the adverse effects on Native Americans, particularly the youth.
I attended all-boys Weber High School on the Northwest Side. Our mascot, nicknamed the “Red Horde,” featured Native face paint and a feathered headdress. We Native students had to watch classmates and their parents play “Indian” at schools events. At away events, we also encountered rivals who vowed to “massacre the Red Horde” and hung or dragged a mannequin dressed as dead Natives in the name of school spirit.
For those who believe Native mascot are treated with “reverence” in their communities, we all know that mascots are not confined to those communities. Those mascots go on the road, and there has always been a more visceral reaction to Native mascots compared to other mascots.
As I listened to the debate on the bill in the Illinois House a few weeks ago, I heard the usual false narratives offered up by non-Natives who are OK with the offensive mascots: This is “our” tradition, this is “honorable,” change will “cost” money, this is “educational.” Most appalling to me is the notion that Natives will be “forgotten” without mascots.
To counter each false narrative, I join my brothers and sisters in the Native American community to offer up the truth: Native identity and customs are the traditions of the tribes and its citizens. They are not yours, and ownership was not transferred by Manifest Destiny.
Natives do not want to be your mascots, so if you think you are “honoring” us, please remember and respect that “no means no.” We all accept there is no such thing as a respectful or honorable Black, Brown or “yellowface” shows, and it should be no different for “redface.”
HB 1237, whose chief sponsor is state Rep. Maurice West, D-Rockford, is cost-neutral and provides ample time for the phasing-out of uniforms, materials and floor finishes.
It can be done. Lane Tech did not repaint Native imagery on the next gym floor refurbishment. Westinghouse College Prep in Humboldt Park retained the name Warriors but retired any associated Native imagery and did not repaint Native imagery on the next floor refurbishment.
Many public schools, which were formerly parochial institutions, simply removed masonry crosses, and any religious engraved wording on the building were covered. Funding for textbooks, computers and other amenities will be not be taken away or diverted.
Native mascots are not educational. They “teach” nothing about Natives’ past or their contemporary lives. All they do is reinforce the odious ideas that a conquered people can be “owned” and their identities and customs co-opted.
I attended Loyola University when the mascot was “Bo the Hobo” — a homeless person, in torn, shabby clothes who carried his belongings in a sack. Nobody would argue that “Bo” was educational or helped coax students to respect the homeless.
Natives will not be “forgotten” without these mascots. Black people were not “forgotten” when blackface started becoming frowned upon. Natives, likewise, will not be forgotten when harmful caricatures are discarded. Natives never left Illinois and remain an integral part of the state today. Those who thought that Natives were only relegated to Illinois’ past have always been mistaken.
If you want to learn about Natives and Native culture or our thoughts on the many objectionable mascots used in schools, just ask one of the many Natives or Native organizations in Illinois.
If you want to celebrate Native culture with us, you are always welcome to join us at events throughout the state. We are here. We have always been here. And we will still be here when the harmful mascots and logos are long gone.
Matthew W. Beaudet is an elder of the Montaukett Indian Nation and of Maliseet, Matinecock, Penobscot and Weskarini descent. He has worked in state, county and city government for nearly four decades and serves as the president of Ádisóke Solutions LLC., a strategic consulting and communications firm.
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