In the book Who will tell my brother?, the main character and protagonist, Evan, struggles with his identity. He internally battles with who he is when it comes to his heritage. During a pep rally at his high school, Evan has a revelation about the school mascot and it's relation to his American Indian heritage. The mascot, a stereotypical Indian adorned with war paint and feathered headdress, offends Evan, and fuels him to finish something his older brother started years ago. Before Evan, his brother proposed a change of mascot to the school board, which obviously didn't go as he had hoped. Evan, continues this dispute of the mascot by also going to the school board multiple times to defend his heritage. Imagine you are Evan, and write a short letter to the school board that would propose why this stereotypical Indian mascot might be a offensive and ultimately a prejudgement about American Indians as a group.
Dear Members of the School Board:
ReplyDeleteMy name is Evan, and I am a Native American. I currently attend a high school which has a "Chief" as its mascot.
Would it seem appropriate to a person of Irish descent to go to an American school with a leprechaun as a mascot? I doubt it. Would it be appropriate to have a Pizza Maker for a mascot and call it "The Italian"? Not hardly. Perhaps a certain school reveres Adolf Hitler for his military tactics. They want their sports teams to reflect this. So they put his picture up on every bulletin board at the school and call themselves "the Germans." Would anyone, anywhere think this is appropriate, no matter what the reason was behind it? Definitely not.
A tribal chief is something a respected status among native peoples of this country. It is not something to scream in the middle of a football game. A chief guides and advises his people. He does not care who wins the regional basketball finals. A chief's headdress and clothing are parts of a culture that goes back many thousands of years. It is not something to be exploited at a volleyball match.
I ask you to please consider changing the mascot at my school. It hurts me, my family, and the memory of my ancestors. We wouldn't condone offending Italians, or Germans, the Irish. Does my Indian culture somehow garner or deserve less respect?
Sincerely,
Evan
To the members of the School Board,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Evan, and I am writing this letter to you to try to appeal to your sense of humanity. In doing so, I will try not to offend you as I have been offended, but I will state my case in the hopes that you can see where I am coming from, and with the hope that change can occur.
I am a Native American. I take great pride in my heritage, customs, and family. I find it disturbingly offensive that a group of educated people, such as yourselves, find it okay to continue this school to use a blatantly racist figure as its school mascot.
By allowing this figure to be used you are basically saying that you agree with racist profiles, and that you have no shame in that decision. Years ago my brother came to you with the same request, and nothing came from that. I am appalled by the fact that you do not see anything wrong with this mascot.
I am begging of you to look inside yourself, and ask the question; how would I feel if I were in this boys shoes? I hope you would feel the disgrace, shame, and embarrassment that I feel knowing that this is the symbol that represents my school.
Please take me request seriously. I would be willing to work with a focus group of other students to come up with a mascot that isn't offensive or work with you on other alternatives.
I thank you for your time and consideration, and hope that you can find it in your heart to change
Dear School Board,
ReplyDeleteIt seems as though, in the desperation to appeal to the majority of school students, you have also forgotten me, the minority, the "savage Indian," which you have so blindly overlooked in your desperateness to seek majority approval. Now I have learned about MLK and even of my fellow anscester Occum, but do you honestly think that Occum would stand for such savagery on your behalf? You depict me, a fellow brother of my community, and expect me to stand for what my ancestors fought so eagerly against. What am I then, if not a useless hope on behalf of my forefathers? Have we not fight for our rights, abandoned our territories, and handed over our very existence in the face of your name? Has there not been enough bloodshed? Have my ancestors fought for nothing? Now, as if endorsing the finances for such a mascot was not enough, you spit in the face of an entire nation, tear down the maypole and characterize us into animalistic heathens. Can you have equity in your school, or has your pride shown no mercy in saving face, by painting red on the misunderstood culture in which you mock?