MIAA takes up school mascots
By Kathy Uek/Daily News staff
Friday, February 09, 2007

FRANKLIN - As Natick counts down to a March 5 School Committee vote on whether to ax the Redmen nickname, officials from the MIAA met yesterday to discuss the contentious statewide issue of Native American nicknames in schools.

The Sportsmanship Committee of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, which included representatives from Natick and Waltham high schools and Keefe Regional Technical High School, concluded the issue merits further study and will examine a questionnaire completed by member schools.

"The School Committee has been discussing the issue," said Tom Lamb, Natick's athletic director and football coach. "No one wants to offend the Native Americans. The advantages to some of the meetings (are) we have come to understand the emotion of the name around for some time."

The Natick School Committee sparked a major controversy among students, athletes, town residents and American Indians when it began discussing removing the Redmen nickname.

Bill Gaine Jr., deputy director of the MIAA, said he wanted the organization to find out from member schools whether they want to do anything. "It's a discovery process to get reaction from our schools," he said.

As part of that process, the MIAA planned to get reaction from a questionnaire distributed by Ruth Lynch, principal of Pembroke High School.

Keith Manville, superintendent of Saugus Public Schools, said "the mascot is totally embedded in the town culture."

The Saugus High School nickname is Sachems.

Al Thomas, principal of Chelmsford High School, remembered attending Middleboro High School, whose nickname is also Sachems, and never heard anything negative.

Another issue discussed at the meeting is who should make the decision. Manville said in Saugus it would have to be a townwide meeting.

Some attendees questioned whether the athletic director, the principal, the superintendent, the selectmen or the state should make the decisions.

Peter Roby, director of the Center for the Study of Sports in Society at Northeastern University, added the state has its own issue. "Look at the state seal, it's a Native American with a sword over its head," he said. "The sword suggests he is under our power and control.

"People want to maintain the mascot because of history and see it as a source of pride," he added. "When speaking about the history of Native American people, you can fairly accurately depict it as a genocide. They find it offensive and not represented as historically accurate."

The issue of school mascots and nicknames that some find offensive began in 1968, when the National Congress of American Indians raised the issue to address stereotypes of Native Americans and replace the nickname, according to Roby. "It's not new, he said. "The issue has been around for more than 30 years, but the activity got more explosive in the last 10 years and the last few when the NCAA rid schools of using mascots."

As part of the continued discovery process, Lynch will review the questionnaires with MIAA at the next meeting.

Roby wants to promote the issue of diversity and American Indian history, but if the nicknames continue and are used as a symbol of respect, he wants everyone to be educated about history.

(Kathy Uek can be reached at 508-626-4419 or kuek@cnc.com.)


 

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