Letter to the Editor
Foster's Daily Democrat
Monday, May 29, 2006

Organizations that oppose mascot

To the editor:

It is the opinion of the Society of Indian Psychologists that "the use of a historically and culturally inaccurate, stereotypic image undermines the educational experience of all members of the community. It seems especially problematic for those who have had little or no contact with Indian people and their cultures."

The National Congress of American Indians "condemns the racist and condescending attitude of team owners, colleges, and high schools, which continue to demean the members of our Nations."

The National Indian Education Association states, "the use of an American Indian stereotype is demeaning by its very nature, whether intended as such or not."

The Intertribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes states, "to continue the negative use of American Indian tribal names and images is an offensive and disgusting practice that would be considered intolerable were other ethnic groups or minorities depicted in a similar manner."

The National Education Association "deplores prejudice based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, age, disability, size, marital status or economic status and rejects the use of names, symbols, caricatures, emblems, logos, and mascots that promote such prejudice."

The NAACP has called upon "all professional sports teams, and public and private schools and universities currently using such names and images to reject the use of Native Americans, and all historically oppressed people and their cultural traditions, as sports mascots and symbols."

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights states they have "a firm understanding of the problems of poverty, education, housing, and health care that face many Native Americans. The fight to eliminate Indian nicknames and images in sports is only one front of the larger battle to eliminate obstacles that confront American Indians."

The N.H. Board of Education "endorses the elimination of the use of Indian sports mascots and encourages all districts to examine this issue and to eliminate the use of sports mascots."

Michael Hopkins, Nancy Warren, and Robert Pedersen, when will you seriously address this issue?

Pete Sanfaçon
Framingham, Massachusetts