Time to replace Indian mascots
Appropriately, the state Board of Education has taken the lead on the issue of Indian names and cultural symbols that are used as mascots for high schools in New Hampshire.
It's been a perennial issue and one that's fostered no small amount of acrimony and resentment over the years.
Now it's time to put the argument to rest — at least in New Hampshire.
The state board urged school districts last week to eliminate the use of Indian names and symbols to represent their athletic teams.
In the Seacoast and the Lakes Region, there are several districts that draw on Native American identities, among them the Spaulding High School Red Raiders in Rochester, the Alton Central Apaches, and the Laconia High School Sachems.
Winnacunnet High School, Coe-Brown Northwood Academy, and residents of Sanford, Maine, also have had this discussion.
Recently at Coe-Brown, residents ditched their Comanches mascot in favor of the Bears.
It's time for other districts in New Hampshire to follow Coe-Brown's example — and the state Board of Education's exhortation — and stop using Indian mascots altogether.
This is the 21st century. We believe an enlightened sensitivity toward all people of all races and religions in the United States has evolved since the civil rights movement of the 1960s. What worked 30 years ago can no longer be considered valid today.
Opponents have argued rightfully that other minority groups have not been subjected to the same treatment and that Native Americans shouldn't, either.
There is no shortage of other mascots available to represent schools in the light they choose to cast — without offending anyone.
In a nation of rich diversity among its people — a nation that has worked hard to promote equal opportunities and protect all minorities from discrimination and harassment — elimination of Indian mascots is the right thing to do.
