July 18, 2006
Michael L. Hopkins
Superintendent of Schools
Rochester School Department
150 Wakefield Street, Suite 8
Rochester, NH 03867
Re: Spaulding High School's "Red Raiders" Name and Logo
Dear Mr. Hopkins,
Since my last correspondence with your office I've received a letter from the New Hampshire State Board of Education dated May 2, 2006. As you know, Mr. Ruedig and Dr. Tracy also sent a copy of this letter to you. I am enclosing an additional copy here for your reference.
I call your attention to the third paragraph of the letter, in which the Board states, "[p]ublic education is best-served when members of a local community are engaged in debate and dialogue." So far the Rochester School District has spent just a single hour "engaged in debate and dialogue" on the subject of Spaulding High School's "Red Raiders" name and logo (two hours if one counts the meeting in March where I presented my position on this issue to the Special Services Committee).
I have begun forming a coalition to address the widespread and decades-long use of Indian people and their culture as nicknames and logos for high school sports teams in New England. Spaulding is by no means unique in its use of such a nickname and logo or in its steadfast support of retaining them. In New England alone there are an estimated 100 schools using names like "Indians," "Warriors," or "Red Raiders," approximately 16 of which are in New Hampshire. Nationwide, despite the growing number of schools who have chosen to change their teams' names in recent years, there are still approximately 3,000 schools using some sort of stereotypical "Indian" nickname or imagery. Many of these schools named their teams more than 80 years ago, before women were allowed to vote in this country; before African Americans were allowed to drink from the same water fountain as whites or to sit in the front of a public bus; and before Native Americans were "granted" U.S. citizenship by an act of Congress. During the first half of the 20th century it was standard practice for the government to ship Indian children off to distant boarding schools to help them learn the "white man's way" and to force them to forget their own languages and heritage. There is much work to be done and the need for real education has never been more acute.
Honor or Discrimination?
According to the Rochester Historical Society, Rochester High School adopted "Red Raiders" as their team name in the 1920s. Spaulding inherited the name when it was founded in 1939. Even the most closed-minded of people would be inclined to wonder if the white men choosing these names in the early part of the last century really knew anything about what it means to "honor" another culture. Surely there is a more respectful way to "celebrate New Hampshire's Indian heritage" than to simply name a hockey team the "Red Raiders."
This is a matter of civil rights. The Rochester School District has an anti-discrimination policy based on the policy of the N.H. Department of Education: "The Rochester School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, sex, age, ancestry, national origin, handicap, or social or economic status due to an official policy to this effect." There are students currently enrolled at Spaulding who are of Native American descent. It would be apparent to any clear-thinking individual that these students may feel discriminated against every time they see that bright red-faced logo or hear or see the name "Red Raiders." It is equally apparent to me that they may feel extremely reluctant to come forward and voice an opinion about the nickname and logo which differs from the vast majority of white students, faculty, and administration who support retaining them.
Since I began work on this issue earlier this year, I have received a great deal of encouragement and support from Native people across the country. Here are a number of examples of their comments:
[1] "I would like to thank you up front for realizing the severity of this issue. As a native person it insults me personally and challenges all children who are raised in a school system which proudly displays such racism. Oddly enough, three of my own children attend a school right on Cape Cod in our own (Wampanoag) backyard, which also uses the same name for its mascot (Red Raiders). In a nutshell, the term "red" being applied to a living people is as racist as black and white. For those of us who realize these are not cultures it seems almost pointless for me to describe anyone that way. As a native person, it is appalling to know we fed the first European settlers to arrive in this country, we desperately tried to show them as much survival skills as possible realizing they had no idea how to survive in this climate using the resources available, and yet the descendants of these people can come up with such a misinformed and inappropriate term as "Red Raiders" to depict our people."
[2] "Having Cherokee and Lakota blood, I think the school board should rethink their position. My feeling is that the logo and name makes it seem that they are classifying all Native people as raiders and marauders—which we are not—and completely uncivilized. All they are thinking of is dollar signs (costs of uniform changes plus everything else that would have to be done). If the mascot was the Nazis or a derogatory name for blacks, someone would already have had them in court. But when our people say anything, we are being picky. I won't hold it against you for being white [ha-ha] because I feel as though you have a red heart for taking this stand and if I knew you personally I would probably call you a brother. We feel like all men with a good heart are brothers in the end."
[3] "One thing that has been a factor in the past is that the school board sometimes will say that no one is adversely affected by the racist team names and/or mascots because there are no Native children in their school system. I think the point is that it teaches the wrong lesson to the non-Native children as well as being insulting or demeaning to Native people."
[4] "This is at the same time a very simple and extremely complex issue. The complexity comes about in part because so many people have grown up in communities where they are "under the influence" of stereotypical depictions of Indian people. They cannot see the school mascot as a stereotype because they are so used to it and they associate it with pride and pleasure. This is first and foremost an education policy issue that raises the question, "Is it appropriate to stereotype any human group on the basis of race or ethnicity in the public schools?" Each time a school district reviews its use of a logo, they have the opportunity to let go of this controversial issue that will otherwise keep coming back because it is a form of discrimination."
School Board has a History of Inaction
In August 2001, a full year before the N.H. Board of Education issued its resolution calling for an end to the use of "Indian"-themed team names and symbols, a meeting was held in Rochester to hear from the public. According to a story in Foster's at the time, about 20 people attended. The meeting was prompted by a letter sent to then Superintendent Raymond Yeagley. The majority of white Rochester residents voted to keep the name and the School Board did nothing. Fast forward to 2006: Current school superintendent receives letter asking for a name change, meeting is held, white majority wants to keep it, School Board again does nothing. I've included copies of the 2001 and 2006 Foster's stories. The similarities between them are striking, right down to the quotes from the Callaghans and Dave Colson.
You may recall School Board Chair Warren being quoted in the April 12, 2006, edition of Foster's, following the public hearing in the middle school cafeteria: "We don't need to be a trendsetter. We never have been." In an October 24, 2001, interview in Foster's, Warren stated that "we don't need to lead the brigade." In 2006, Ms. Warren told Foster's that "In my nine years on the board I've never heard anyone was offended by the mascot." Does the letter to Superintendent Yeagley, sent in the fall of 2000, count for anything at all? What about the meeting in August 2001? How many years need to go by? How many letters to superintendents need to be written? How many so-called "public hearings" need to be held before the Rochester School District recognizes the seriousness of the perpetuation of racial stereotypes in our public schools?
At the conclusion of the April 11 meeting, I was assured that at least one legitimate course in Native American Studies would be offered at Spaulding. Has there been a date targeted for introducing this course at the school?
Now that we've begun a dialogue, let's not lose this chance to hear from those who feel strongly that the nickname "Red Raiders" and names like it are disrespectful of them as living people. I propose the formation of a panel made up of advocates for racial tolerance in education in Rochester and members of the school administration. This panel would then address the full School Board in an effort to educate the public about ethnic stereotypes and the harm they inflict on Indian and non-Indian children. Members of this panel would include a representative of the New Hampshire Board of Education, authors of the August 2002 resolution; Judy Cohen, faculty advisor to Spaulding's Human Rights Club; Spaulding Athletic Director David Colson; a member of the Rochester religious community; a representative of the Seacoast Chapter of the NAACP; a representative of the Native American community. I have been in touch with two Native people who have spoken to numerous groups about this issue across New England who would be willing to address the Rochester School Board.
I look forward to your prompt reply and a good-faith effort to address this issue in an open forum.
Sincerely,
Peter V. Sanfaçon
New England Anti-Mascot Coalition
