Letter to the Editor
Foster's Daily Democrat
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Need to rethink use of mascots
I am responding to Ms. Trepanier's recent letter to the editor regarding Spaulding's Red Raider mascot.
Wearing school colors and cheering for fellow classmates and your children at a hockey game is not the issue. I'm sure students at Dover High are proud of their Green Wave, and Somersworth High students are proud of their Toppers, too.
Native American stereotypes used as mascots in public school sports across the country have been deemed offensive by numerous Native American organizations over the past 30 years. Spaulding's Red Raider is simply one of many.
I ask all those who support retaining this mascot and others like it to think about this from another perspective and do your homework on the subject.
As I stated in my own letter to the editor, in 2002 the N.H. Board of Education asked all school districts to eliminate these mascots. The board's statement reads, in part, "It is important to be culturally sensitive and to educate everyone working within the New Hampshire school education system, that no matter how well meaning their intentions, that their actions may be offensive and harmful to some and therefore, need to be eliminated." On Sunday, August 25, 2002, Foster's Daily Democrat ran its own editorial on the subject, Time to replace Indian mascots.
I ask again, why do we choose to ignore the growing number of Native American groups and other organizations around the country who call for an end to such mascots? Visit any of the websites that offer the perspective of native peoples on this issue: aistm.org, aimovement.org, or racismagainstindians.org (Students and Teachers Against Racism).
I applaud Spaulding for founding the Human Rights Club this year. I am hopeful that this organization's activities will help educate all of our children about prejudice and intolerance.
Ms. Trepanier suggested I should worry about the state I live in and that I am "not connected with this school." I feel I am connected with the school and that I have every right to make an effort to open a dialogue on this topic in the town where I grew up.
Pete Sanfaçon
Framingham, Massachusetts