Whew! In my community, our school logo(an Indian) was painted over after the first home game of the season. The logo was a massive and courageous face painted on the pavement between the stadium and field. It had been there for as long as I can remember. The logos on the press box were removed. It could have been done over the summer after dialogue with school parents. It could have been done after the season. Nope, it was done right smack in the middle of football season. It is just bad timing, and the decision was equally awful. This has been poorly received by many in our community. Whoever made this decision walked into a maelstrom of self-induced controversy.
Firstly, no school logo is going to make everyone happy. With the constant re-iterations of Leftist “tolerance,” most of us can barely keep up with the bougie glossary of allowable mascot names. When I was growing up, American Indian was the acceptable term I was taught to use when referring to Native Peoples. As I got older it was Native American and then Indigenous People. I have always understood the Indian logo to be one which represents courage, steadfastness, wisdom, and was utilized to honor the thriving culture which existed here before the arrival of Europeans. The problem is that what was once acceptable terminology has been replaced by a newer term which is probably more accurate in nature. But the first term(American Indian) was never meant as an act of disrespect when the name was selected to represent my school.
If the school’s symbol is changed to indigenous peoples, fifty years from now that term would be likely replaced by another term. Do we keep changing mascot names with each passing turn of the generational clock? Or are we capable as a civilization of learning the context of the original decision to choose a logo/symbol/mascot, and understand the intent behind it? Some would have us believe that was meant to cause harm, to disenfranchise. Some would have us believe the name is a slur against an entire nation. Nope. It isn’t now, and it wasn’t then.
And Native American symbols are not the only peoples represented in the world of sports mascots. We have the Fighting Irish, the Mountaineers, the Trojans, Cowboys, Sooners(a term for a cheater), and more. Are we going to erase them as well? Where does the rebranding end? I mean there is even an awesome fight song out there about making moonshine on top of a mountain with a woman(are we even allowed to differentiate between men and women any more?). Oh, and if you all think Tribe is going to remain untested, think again. Just a matter of time.
I do understand that Native Americans have been persecuted beyond what most of us can imagine. They were removed from their lands, displaced, and forced onto reservations. Many tribes have never recovered their freedom. We cannot fix that with rebranding, but we can certainly honor those lost cultures. And maybe our remembrance of those great cultures will raise awareness. I don’t think erasing their images, erasing their names, and erasing their memory is going to right that terrible wrong.
E Pluribus Unum. Out of many, one. We could change our name to the Big Red or the Red Elephants or just go pure vanilla – Tribe. I think the first two were maybe our original nicknames. I would be fine with Red Elephants. But I really would like for us to honor those who came before us, who saw this land first, and who taught us courage in the face of great odds.
Roughly 100 years ago, a great high school was born. They chose an image and culture to represent the school, the American Indian. I would really hope that we can stand and make the case for that choice. If in the end we lose that argument, then so be it, but it is worth making the argument. The argument for keeping our school symbol is this: We embrace the good from our past, and we are not disposing of it.
Instead, we have taken a can of asphalt paint and erased part of our community’s history without at least having the courage to have a conversation with the community first. Whoever is behind this decision needs to come out of the shadows, and own the decision. My cynical nature (that I have acquired as I get older) assumes someone said, “Just paint over it. It is easier to ask forgiveness than permission. Once we do this, they will complain for a while, but we won’t put it put it back regardless. The complaints will, over time, grow quieter.” Or maybe they will just say it was weathered. Either way, it was rebranding. If it wasn’t rebranding, they would have placed the original logo back where it was. It was surrender without dialogue. It was someone taking an eraser and wiping clean our collective history.
NASCAR made a similar error years ago. They went to a common car and long, very vanilla race tracks. The history of NASCAR which was born on short tracks (or oddly shaped tracks) began to disappear. With that loss of flavor, NASCAR began to lose a part of itself and unfortunately the fans as well. To be clear, I am not calling for a boycott. That wouldn’t be fair to the players and families. They didn’t make this decision. They deserve our support.
I will end with this story. At graduation, after graduates walked across the stage, the superintendent would say, “Once an Indian, always an Indian.” It was meant to convey that you always have a home here. With a can of paint, we have symbolically and quite literally self-cancelled that beautiful benediction. Now, we can at least say, “Once a Red Elephant, always a Red Elephant?” or flatly, “It’s great to be a part of the Tribe?” I don’t drink, but somebody might as well pass me a warm beer.
Buckle up buttercups and grab your popcorn, the demand for rebranding won’t stop there. Every, single school name and symbol is now up for grabs. This is a painful and arduous journey that we have begun. It will gobble up massive amounts of time which could have been dedicated to student learning. And if anyone dares speak against it, they will be cancelled. Pandora’s box has been opened….I hope they bought a lot more asphalt paint. They are going to need it.
Plenty of people will express passionate discontent. Yet, the actual, tangible response I predict to be softer than Charmin. Nothing will be done. Progressives will cheer, then march onward, and notch yet another win in the name of cancel culture.
Or maybe we can just vote on a new name, and end up with Boaty McBoatface.
