(Last week, we asked readers this question: “Should schools ban any display of a former mascot that is considered offensive?” Here are the responses we received.)
In response to your question regarding the banning of mascots that are considered offensive: When an offense is committed, I don’t think it’s really the decision of the offender to make a judgment about whether the offense is real or not. The person who feels the offense has to make that decision. They are the ones to whom the offense has been made.
Racially offensive mascots have been an issue for many years now. I’m not sure why the Merrimack Valley School District and the superintendent made the decision to show the old mascot, knowing that it had been a source of offense in the past. The superintendent claims to have no ill intent in reviving the old mascot, but in fact, the reason it was pulled originally shows that people felt it did indeed express a racial slur and bigotry.
I’d like to ask if the nostalgia around MV’s past really needs to include the old mascot. Is it really part of the essence of alumni’s memories of their high school experiences? Surely the superintendent and the school board could find equally memorable moments to highlight.
MAUREEN ELLERMANN
Concord
I’m a graduate of MV (1984) and reading comments about how derogatory a logo is and naming a sports teams Indians is insane. The intent to include the past (Indians) and present (Pride) is a noble idea and those who implemented it should be commended, not criticized.
For those who argue against having an Indian logo, how and what way is that in any form offensive or racial bullying? Do you want to eliminate Native Americans’ past entirely from our community? There is no question, what we did as a nation to Native Americans is horrible. We should honor them, not forget them. Any opportunity for a community to honor and show respect for Native Americans should be welcomed.
Naming a team Indians, or in our case just including a logo on a flag and floor, is no more offensive than naming a team Cowboys. The Indians logo is to honor and preserve our community’s remembrance for Native Americans. It shows honor of their perseverance and traditions as well. I must have missed the memo where an image of an Indian, in its purest form, is offensive.
BRUCE ADDISON
Penacook
Mascots are at best aspirational, encouraging teams to emulate their best characteristics, and rallying fans behind them. Lions, Tigers and Bears – and Chiefs, Braves and Sachems – are proud and fearless. Even at worst, mascots should be intended to be taken in good humor. They are scrappy, or cunning, or just plain silly, like Quarry Dogs or Fisher Cats or Celtic Leprechauns.
But it is the deprecation of whole groups of people for the sake of a good laugh that has put a spotlight on the practice of creating mascots featuring Native American characters. Chief Wahoo has rightly been booed off the stage.
Our understanding of the damaging effects of stereotyping and marginalizing whole segments of our population is evolving. When I was a child “Indians” were teepee-dwelling feather-wearing strangers who seemed to go on the warpath for no apparent reason. As a teen, I spent summers living in the Southwest in close contact with Native Americans, learning from their culture, and seeing them as individuals, with hopes and dreams like me, but with wisdom which in many ways surpassed my own. In medical school I spent several months working at an Indian Health Services hospital in South Dakota, and saw firsthand the cruel toll that poverty, alcohol, unemployment and our own systematic stripping of the resources they had long relied upon took on their communities. My efforts felt like a Band-Aid, when what they needed was a whole Wound Center.
Mascots are fun. They get us into the spirit of the game; they encourage teams to give their all. They conjure up marching bands, peanuts, popcorn and heart-stopping moments that are recalled years after the game. People bond with perfect strangers because of them.
We do need to be more mindful, however, of the need to choose mascots that are not derogatory of others. If our mascots came from a different time, we should insist that they evolve as our own understanding evolves. But we don’t eradicate them from the annals of team history. A cover-up of a former mascot is not the answer. We acknowledge them for the fond memories they evoke.
If my childhood conception of Native Americans as warriors attacking without provocation now must recede into the background, so must schools place old stereotypes on the shelf. We all need to look our history in the eye to learn from it.
MILLIE LaFONTAINE
Concord
For the question of the week: Should schools ban any display of a former mascot that is considered offensive? Are you kidding me? The question admits that the mascot is offensive but seems to ask how much of a bigot do you need to be to ignore the offensiveness. This is shameful on the part of the paper and seems designed to bring out the worst in people.
For those unaware, the old Native-Man-In-A-Headdress mascot at Merrimack Valley High School was replaced in 2004 on the basis of discrimination, bullying, racism and insensitivity. For the 50th anniversary of the school’s athletic program the school administration has resurrected the image as a way, they claim, to include past alumni. The school district (SAU 46) includes the northern part of the city of Concord called Penacook, and the towns of Boscawen, Loudon, Webster and Salisbury. I am a Penacook taxpayer.
This is a complex and difficult issue that involves racism, colonialism and education. By definition, the impacted community members are the minority and must rely on the majority to accommodate. Some claim that the mascot is a way to honor and educate – however the best way to actually honor and educate the students and the community is to actually educate them by including native culture and practice in the curriculum of the schools in the district by a Native American.
The mascot invites discrimination, bigotry and violence by the shallow representation of all native people and the paper knows better than to exploit a marginalized community. I hope you reconsider posting any of the responses to this call for letters and revoke this provocation of racism in my community.
CATHERINE CORKERY
Penacook
Raised in Penacook, I learned very little about the history of the Pennacook Abenaki. I was, however, exposed to a very inaccurate history. I learned that the Pennacook were all savages who kidnapped Hannah Duston and some smashed her baby’s head on a tree. I didn’t learn that the Pennacook were victims of genocide and land seizure, that the land I lived on was stolen from them.
I learned that I should be proud to be a “Merrimack Valley Indian.” I did not learn the traditional costume, foods and way of life of the Pennacook or that the school’s mascot depicted a caricature of a member from a Great Plains tribe. I did not learn that mascots using indigenous communities were harmful to those communities, and that they served as reminders to the descendants of genocide just how much the system works against them today. I learned that racism was about interpersonal relationships and how we talk to each other, treat each other. I did not learn that racism was systemic and was held in place by policies and practices, including the use of Native American mascots.
I didn’t learn these things, and yet, I don’t blame my teachers. This is what they were taught. Their intentions might have been good, but their impact was harmful.
In 2003 when the MV School Board adopted a policy that explicitly says, “Mascots/logos shall not be derogatory or offensive to persons of any race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age or persons with a disability,” it sent a message that the board understood the impact of this mascot and image, that it would not be promoted it in their schools. They knew better, so they committed to do better.
Every child deserves to go to school where their identity is uplifted, not reduced to a stereotype. Every child deserves an education that includes a truthful telling of the history of this country. Every child deserves to feel welcome in the school they attend. To suggest a compromise is possible caters to the nostalgic feelings of adults without considering the education, mental health and well-being of each student. Who are we serving? These logos should not be in public view of any student, parent or employee. Perhaps the Penacook Historical Society or the SAU could house them in a way that educates anyone who chooses to see them.
CARISA CORROW
Penacook
It’s always interesting to me how minority communities can say to white folks, “What you’re doing is hurting me,” and white folks will flat out ignore it. Native mascots are no exception to this rule.
Lots of good white folks will respond with the same arguments over and over: This is how we’re honoring your culture; we are holding up your traits that we find valuable; aren’t you proud? But, what a mascot does is reduce an entire demographic of people to a caricature.
The “noble savage” trope is a damaging one, perpetuated by cartoonish depictions of what is actually a nuanced existence with deep histories. If we truly want to honor our Native brothers and sisters, why can’t we listen to them? When someone tells me, “You’ve hurt me,” the kind and just response is, “I’m sorry. How can I help repair the damage I’ve caused?”
I believe that is the lesson we can pass along to our students at this time, that is if the goal is to educate them to become the citizens we wish them to be.
SARAH ROBINSON
Concord
To the families in the Merrimack Valley School District and members of the Native Community: Thank you for diving into the challenging topic of “paying homage to the local tribal history of Pennacook,” as written on the school plaque that explains the new Indian-head and lion logo.
Several comments have suggested that the logo honors Pennacook Indians. I appreciate that when the image was created in 1966, it may have seemed like an appropriate way to honor the tribe upon whose land the school was built. However, the crook nose and the Plains-style feather headdress have no relation to the rich culture and lives of Pennacook Indians.
However, there are ways to acknowledge Pennacook’s important Native heritage. This would be a great time to reach out to Native artists for a new design, one that appreciates the intent to honor the land’s original caretakers and is in keeping with appropriate Native symbols.
The Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum has a contemporary art gallery specifically to have a place for members of today’s Native Communities to tell their own stories through art and to showcase Native artists.
As curator at Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum, I want to clarify that MKIM opposes the use of Native mascots, including the newly released image at Merrimack Valley.
NANCY JO CHABOT
Contoocook
Don’t ban old mascots
Schools should not ban old mascots. It is not offensive, it is to honor. End of story.
CARLY HUCKINS
Boscawen
When someone asks me why we should not have a Native mascot, the most basic answer is because Indigenous folk have said it is socially harmful. In fact, not only is this expressed by Indigenous folks but also by the American Psychological Association.
The APA says the use of American Indian mascots is harmful to Native American students calling them a “contemporary example of prejudice by the dominant culture against racial and ethnic minority groups” and damages relationships between our communities. In light of this, the State of Maine recently passed a law prohibiting schools and universities from using Native mascots and the effort was spearheaded by the Native American activists and allies.
If the school district wants to be inclusive, and honor the Native American students and families within it, we should not do so by promoting a harmful caricature of their culture. Instead, the curriculum in our schools should include the history of those communities in meaningful ways. We should talk about Native American history and culture in depth in the classroom so all our children can learn and benefit.
JESSICA WHEELER RUSSELL
Concord