Michigan Group Aims to Educate and Eliminate Native American-Themed Mascots and Logos

As Native American Heritage Month comes to a close, we'd like to highlight an issue that concerns Native American people across the county and at home here in Michigan. That issue is the continued use of Native American-themed mascots and logos by schools, colleges, and professional athletic teams. In Michigan, that issue became real life disruption for Linda Cypret-Kilbourne when her daughter, who was attending Marshall High School in Marshall, Michigan, became the target of racial bullying by other students. Cypret-Kilbourne is a woman of Anishinaabe heritage who identifies with the Osage-Cherokee tribe. It was 1998 and the school, located east of Battle Creek, was at the time using the name the Redskins as its mascot with an accompanying logo. Cypret-Kilbourne first took her concerns to the principal of the high school, then to the school board, then later filing a civil rights complaint which ended up dividing the small town. Finally, after three years, the high school changed its mascot name to the Red Hawks.

More than two decades ago, Cypret-Kilbourne, together with Jim Farrar and Gary Markowski, formed the Michigan Coalition Against Racism in Sports and Media (MCARSM). Their goal was to bring awareness to the routine use of racist stereotypes in what are supposed to be institutions of learning and growth. Cypret-Kilbourne says she believes the racial stereotyping of Native Americans began in the early 20th century, with Hollywood and television leading the way. At that time, minority groups were discouraged from speaking up and speaking out. Today's social environment, however, allows people the freedom to speak up when they see an injustice. "Now people are voicing their opinions on how this is affecting people. When you have a Native American logo or mascot or nickname, and there are Native children attending that school, it's not a good experience for them because they feel they're being ridiculed or laughed at," she explains. "As an example, look at the Native American leader with the spiritual bonnet (headdress) on. People say, 'That's just the chief.' No, actually, it's the spiritual leader, the bonnet is a religious thing, and the feathers are the highest honor you can earn as a Native American. So when they put those images on their gym floor, and they're trampling back and forth across it during their basketball game, that's no different than putting somebody's minister, rabbi, pope, or crucifix on the gym floor. People don't realize this is our religion, our spirituality."

She recalls a discussion she had one time with the owner of a pro football team, with the team owner becoming angry with her stance regarding his team being known as the Warriors and using a Native

American logo. "I tried to talk with him and he became hostile. I asked, 'Why not just be the Zulu Warriors and have a picture of a Zulu Warrior as your logo?' All of a sudden I had become a racist and he said how dare I use that as an example, but to me, being as the gentleman was African American, that exemplified that you wouldn't want to see that; we don't like seeing it either, it degrades our people the same way it would degrade your people," she recalls telling him.

"If you think about it, what do high schools use for logos? Mostly animals, you might see the Vikings, but you don't see any logos of Hispanic people, or Chinese people, and definitely nothing with an African American person," she explains. "Look at some of these Homecoming floats, you may see something that says, 'Kill the Indians' because the other school's team was the Indians, or the cheerleaders are yelling, 'Scalp the Indians.' That's pretty devastating and people just don't think about that at all. They use the excuse that they're honoring us. We're a living, breathing culture of people, we don't want to be honored in that way. There are other ways to honor people."

Self-identified Native Americans made up just 1.1% of the U.S. population in the 2020 census. A study that year by researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed Native Americans "who frequently engage in tribal or cultural practices." Of those polled, 70% said that sports fans wearing chief headdresses was offensive, while 73% said the same of sports fans imitating Native American dances. Michigan is home to 12 federally recognized tribes and a majority of those tribes have resolutions in place prohibiting Native American imagery.

"The use of American Indian mascots as symbols in schools and university athletic programs is particularly troubling because schools are places of learning," according to Ronald F. Levant, former president of the American Psychological Association (APA). "These mascots are teaching stereotypical, misleading, and too often, insulting images of American Indians. These negative lessons are not just affecting American Indian students; they are sending the wrong message to all students." In 2005, the APA called for the immediate retirement of all American Indian mascots, images, and symbols by schools, universities, athletic teams, and organizations.

Cypret-Kilbourne says when she began her activism against Native American imagery, there were more than 100 Michigan schools using Native imagery and symbols to promote their athletic teams, even though it was in the mid1960s that a handful of schools in the state changed their mascot names and imagery to less offensive names. There are currently five schools in the Upper Peninsula still using Native symbols or mascots and 24 schools in Lower Michigan, with the majority of those in Wayne County. "We try to educate as much as possible, we provide literature for school boards, have people come and speak and tell their stories," she says. "We would like people to go to their school boards or

their superintendents and have a discussion with them about making those changes. A lot of schools have made some changes but as long as they're carrying those icons and images, it still affects our kids."

To find out more on this issue go to https://michigancoalitionagainstracisminsportsandmedia.wordpress.com/about/. Linda Cypret-Kilbourne can be reached at 269-832-6281.