By Todd Richmond
Madison, Wisconsin (AP) March 2010
Wisconsin schools that refuse to drop American Indian logos or mascots that the state superintendent deems discriminatory could face thousands of dollars in forfeitures under a bill the state Assembly approved during late February.
Under the Democratic-authored measure, a school district resident could
file a complaint with the state about a race-based school nickname,
logo or mascot. If the state schools superintendent finds the name,
logo or mascot promotes discrimination, the superintendent must order
the school board to stop using it.
No state has passed legislation banning race-based mascots and
nicknames. Bills in California to ban the term “Redskins” were vetoed
in 2003 and 2005, and a Vermont bill that would have prohibited schools
from using American Indian symbols failed in 2005, according to the
National Conference of State Legislatures.
Colorado lawmakers earlier last month withdrew a bill that would have
required schools to get permission to use Indian logos and mascots.
Oklahoma lawmakers are currently considering a ban on racially
derogatory school nicknames and mascots.
Wisconsin schools have been moving away from American Indian logos,
mascots and nicknames over the last 20 years to avoid offending
American Indians. Nearly 30 high schools had dropped them as of
October, according to the Wisconsin Indian Education Association’s
“Indian” Mascot and Logo Task Force.
“Any high school with an ‘Indian’ logo is teaching a course in hands-on
racism,” the task force’s Web site says. “‘Indian’ logos do not honor
Indian people; these logos are nothing more than outmoded, culturally
demeaning symbols of oppression.”
But the mascots remain a touchy issue in a state with a past steeped in
American Indian culture. Eleven tribes still make their homes in
Wisconsin. Communities across the state take their names from Indian
languages, including Minocqua, Sheboygan and Waukesha.
Thirty-six Wisconsin high schools still use Indian names, including the
Gale-Etterick-Trempealeau Redmen, the Lancaster Flying Arrows and the
Tomahawk Hatchets.
Rep. Amy Sue Vruwink, D-Milladore, amended the bill to provide a
measure of protection to the Auburndale High School Apaches in her
central Wisconsin district. She added language that permits the
superintendent to opt out of an investigation into a complaint about a
mascot or nickname that refers to a federally recognized tribe.
Auburndale is the only school in the state that uses a proper tribal
name.
Assembly Republicans branded the bill an attack on school districts’
identities. They said Democrats should turn their attention to serious
education issues.
“Are people really that agitated over a nickname? And if they are,
don’t they have better things to be agitated about?” said Rep. Bill
Kramer, R-Waukesha.
Rep. Joel Kleefisch, R-Oconomowoc, called the bill “a foolish waste of time.”
“You don’t get to decide when someone else is offended,” Rep. Tamara Grigsby, D-Milwaukee, shot back.
The Democratic-controlled body ultimately passed the measure 51-42.
Barbara Munson, an Oneida who leads the WIEA task force, watched the
vote from the chamber’s overhead gallery. After the votes were tallied,
she stood and burst into a one-note song that echoed throughout the
chamber.
Assembly Sergeant-at-Arms William Nagy kicked her out of the gallery
for causing a disturbance, but she was unfazed. She told a reporter she
was offering her own song of thanks to the creator.
“I usually sing it to eagles and hawks,” she said.
The Prairie Du Chien School District uses the nickname Blackhawks after
Chief Black Hawk, a Sauk warrior who surrendered to Col. Zachary Taylor
at a fort in what later would become the city. Taylor would go on to
become the nation’s 12th president.
Superintendent Drew Johnson said use of the name goes back generations.
Students don’t see the name as demeaning or as a bad caricature and
even learn about Black Hawk’s life in elementary school, he said.
“They hold Black Hawk in reverence,” Johnson said. “It (the name) is
woven into the fabric of the area. If we’re forced to change by the
state, we’re not going to pay the fine. We’re going to do everything we
can to abide by the law. We’ll deal with it just like anything else but
it will be difficult.”
The American Civil Liberties Union, the Forest County Potawatomi, the
Lac Du Flambeau, the Menominee and St. Croix tribes all have registered
in support of the bill, according to state ethics records. No groups
have registered against it.
“There’s a feeling, a sense of hurt,” Mike Wiggins Jr., chairman of the
Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa said of Indian mascots. “What
may not be perceived as harmful to one person may be harmful to
another.”
The measure now goes to the state Senate. The measure must pass that
house and get Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle’s signature before it can
become law.
Carrie Lynch, a spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker,
D-Weston, said Decker must talk to his caucus about the bill. Doyle
spokesman Adam Collins didn’t return a message.
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