And now:[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: What's in a name? Dispute By S.E. RUCKMAN World Staff Writer 11/14/99 http://www.tulsaworld.com/Default.asp?WCI=Displaystory&ID=991114_Ne_a21whats Union officials say there school, whose nickname is the Redskins, takes care to depict Indians in a respectful manner, but Cherokee Chief Chad Smith says the mascot mentality must go away if race relations in the country are to improve. STEPHEN HOLMAN / Tulsa World Smith (bottom photo) Tribal official says using Indians as mascots creates a demeaning stereotype, even in Green Country. At a recent Tulsa race relations forum, five panelists expressed hope, direction and perseverance for the new century. It was a metaphorical linking of hands. Then, like a ram charging past the timber line, one of the panelists broke off onto provocative ground. Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation Chad Smith said he found distasteful the representations of American Indians as team mascots. At first it sounded like an oft-retold complaint given obligatory time by the media. Then Smith added some local flavor. No longer was the idea of stereotypes a safely abstract nemesis to be battled in the coming years, but it was here at home, he said. Smith focused on a local powerhouse, the Union Redskins. Bypassing convention, he pointed the finger at what he considered demeaning "mascot mentality" on behalf of the school district comprising students from southeast Tulsa and northwest Broken Arrow. The tribal leader proceeded to tap into the collective conscience of the 100 attendees at the forum concerning the use of negative stereotypes by the media to portray American Indians. Only after the acceptance of an Indian mascot mentality has stopped will the country become serious about changing the face of race relations, he said. A week later, Smith is unrepentant. As leader of the state's largest Indian tribe -- and the second-largest in the nation -- Smith said depic tions of American Indians as mascots give people the wrong impression about who Indians are. "It hurts my children, and it hurts (other) Indian children," he said in a telephone interview. "My son sees a T-shirt with a depiction of an Indian as an ugly, foolish person and he says, `Ooooo, gross!' He doesn't want to be that. What do you think is happening to other Indian children?" Meanwhile, at the home of the Redskins, Union officials said they don't believe Smith's contentions are warranted in this instance. Gretchen Haas-Bethell, spokeswoman for the Union district, said the school takes care to depict Indians in a respectful manner. "It is with reverence and a sense of pride that we use it," she said of the name. By policy, the district plays a tape-recorded message before athletic events to explain the use of an Indian theme by the school, Haas-Bethell said. Part of it is worded, "The Redskin tepee bearing the Union `U' represents a rich Native American heritage and our undying passion to ex cel." The tape is a disclaimer worded to emphasize Union's adoption of Plains Indian culture. In fact, the school uses only symbols that are reviewed by a committee composed of Indian parents from the Union community, Haas-Bethell said. Debbie Raffensperger, a Cherokee, is a member of Union's Indian Education Committee. Raffensperger's daughter writes for Smoke Signals, an American Indian publication at Union High School. Raffensperger said the committee tries to be very conscious of what symbols are permitted. "One time, an opposing school had a poster that depicted the Redskins being scalped, with those words," she said. "We didn't want that kind of sign in our stadium." But Smith questions why the district would want to use a name that is offensive. According to Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, "redskin" is defined as "American Indian -- usually taken to be offensive." The Cherokee chief feels vin dicated by this definition, he said. "Let's go up to Union, to their marquee with `Union Redskins.' They do have a dignified Indian up there, but it's stereotypic. Let's do the same thing and put another race up there, and the response would be quizzical," he said. It is the embracing of the whole Indian motif as mascot that angers him, Smith said. Raffensperger believes the issue is being blown out of proportion. The Redskin mascot brings pride to the Union community, she said, because it is a clean character of strength. She views the fireworks displays in the shape of an Indian at big games as an exciting symbol that promotes unity across the schools' ethnic barriers. "It gives me chills," she said. "You see Hispanics and Asians standing up and cheering -- all proud to be a Redskin," she said. On red-white-and-black banners, a stoic depiction of an Indian can be seen whipping in the wind at Union home games. Supporters vehemently defend their tradition of having players run out of a smoking tepee prior to a football game. But Smith thinks it's time to usher in a new mindset. "The parallel is apparent with black folks. You don't see a Sambo's restaurant anymore," he said. "They understood after black folks stood up and said that was offensive. ``We assert the same kind of claim for racial respect." Not all entities that adopt Indi an nicknames are to blame for Indian stereotypes, other schools say. Northeastern State University's director of public relations, Neal Weaver, says the Tahlequah school is a responsible user of Indians as mascots. The "Redmen" name resulted from a mascot-naming contest years ago, he said. The college has its roots deeply embedded in the history of the Cherokee Nation, with the Cherokee tribal headquarters lo cated in the same municipality. "The name is respectful to our heritage," he said. "No one from the Cherokee Nation has indicated, in any way, that we've abused the name in any way," Smith remains firm that the negative portrayal of Indians must change, beginning with education. If Americans are to speak of racial equality, he said, they must stop the gross distortion and rationalization responsible for Indian mascots. "I have to re-educate the public on what Indians are, what our rights are and the validity of those claims," Smith said. "The mascots are really symptoms of poison in our system. They are evidence of a deeper problem." S.E. Ruckman, World staff writer, can be reached at 581-8462 or via e-mail at [EMAIL PROTECTED] <<<<=-=-= =-=-=>>>> "We simply chose an Indian as the emblem. We could have just as easily chosen any uncivilized animal." Eighth Grade student writing about his school's mascot, 1997 <<<<=-= http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/racial/ =-=>>>> IF it says: "PASS THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW...." 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