AS STUDENTS begin the school year at Poolesville High School in Poolesville, Maryland, talk will be centered on the team's mascot, rather than classes. On Aug. 28, the Montgomery County school board voted out the "Indian" team name of Poolesville High because it was deemed offensive to Native Americans. This decision was wrong on all accounts and showed how the goals of politics and political correctness can blind logic.
The actual decision to ban the name went completely against what the people of Poolesville wanted. Instead, it was decided by outsiders. Last spring, the Maryland Commission on Indian Affairs passed a resolution asking schools in 13 districts with Native American team mascots to change their names. Poolesville High had a vote in which students, staff and parents participated, and they decided by 60 percent to keep their "Indian" mascot ("Poolesville Rallies to Keep Mascot," The Washington Post, Sept. 9).
This should have ended the debate; the had people voted. But the school board decided that if the people would not vote the way it wanted, then it would decide for the people. Because of the disgraceful way this was handled, the main lesson that Montgomery school board officials taught students was that democracy does not matter; they didn't teach students anything about Native American team mascots.
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Another disturbing thing about the school board's decision was that it involved a national issue, which has been superimposed on one town. Richard Regan, a commissioner with the Maryland Commission on Indian Affairs, is the leader of the movement to get rid of Poolesville High's mascot as well as all other "offensive" team names in the state.
Sharon E. Cox, the one Montgomery board member who voted against the resolution which eliminated the Indian mascot of Poolesville High, told The Washington Post, "I believe that Mr. Regan and the folks he associates with are trying to create grass-root support for a change that will eventually impact the national teams" ("Weast Seeks Ban on Indian Team Names," Aug. 28). Regan goes as far as to say, "We will absolutely go after Redskins shirts or hats; anything that sends an offensive message must not be allowed in school."
The fact that sports teams from high school to the pros use Native American names should be seen as a sign of respect for Native Americans. When one thinks of a team name, the first feeling that the team name should invoke is pride. The Redskins' faithful do not cheer for the team in some sort of perverse way to undermine Native Americans. They cheer because that is their team and they embrace the name.
It is also important to note that the term "Redskin" is offensive to some Native Americans. And even though the team name isn't changing, football fans should be respectful of any complaints and understand where they are coming from.
Teams choose names they feel will invoke respect and perhaps fear in some situations. Even some college teams such as Florida State have Native American names. Few names in any level of football create the level of respect and fear that the Seminoles do. The name "Seminoles" is part of the aura of the program, not an insult to Native Americans.
Some would argue that it doesn't matter if the name had good intentions. If it offends some people, then one must get rid of it. But this does not help the cause of Native American civil rights. Every time a court or a school board or anyone else imposes a name change on people, it creates hostility rather than respect. How many Poolesville citizens now will respect Native Americans more than they did when they actually had one as their mascot?
While Poolesville High should not be forced to change its mascot, there are other things which it could do to show its respect for Native Americans. The most important of these is education. If the school teaches about Native Americans and their importance in American history in an accurate way, it is doing much more for Native American civil rights than renaming its mascot would do. Another option is to make sure that students understood that the school sports teams were named Indians in a tribute to a brave and heroic people.
Poolesville apparently has lost out in its battle for its mascot. While respect must be shown to all ethnic groups and this should certainly be taught in school, the fiasco with the team name of Poolesville only makes a mockery of diversity.
(Harris Freier's column appears Fridays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at hfreier@cavalierdaily.com.)
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