At a mostly white high school near Salt Lake City, steps leading to the football field are covered in red handprints, arrows and drawings of Native American men in headdresses meant to represent the mascot, the Braves. “Welcome to the Dark Side” and “Fight like a Brave” are scrawled next to images of teepees, a tomahawk, and a dream catcher, the AP reports. While advocates have gotten some Native American symbols and names changed in sports, they say there’s still work to do, mainly at the high school level, where Braves, Indians, Warriors, Chiefs and Redskins persist. At Bountiful High School, there’s nostalgia for the Braves name that’s been used for nearly 70 years and comes with an informal mascot—a student dressed in feathers. Fans point to tradition when rhythmically extending their forearms for the tomahawk chop, wearing face paint and chanting at football games. It’s an honor, they say, but not to many who see the portrayals throughout high school, collegiate and professional sports.
21 Comments on Yes – There is nothing more hurtful than your people being described as Brave and Warriors
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As an Irishman, I would rather be a brave warrior than a drunken, fighting Irishman. Where are our reparations?
Gay Indian Warriors are all the rage. Otherwise known as Brave Fuckers,
They were all gay weren’t they? Or at least bi. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
The HS I went to was called the Ferris Saxons, across town were the Shadle Park Highlanders. Neither name is probably not politically correct these days, gimme a friggin break. Other high schools were the Pirates, Tigers and Indians and the Catholic HS were the Bull Pups because of their affiliation with Gonzaga University. Eastern Wash. University used to be the Indians when I went there in the late 70’s and early 80’s, now they’re the Eagles. Quit messing with names for schools or we’ll all end up being a bunch of pussies afraid of our own shadows. And what about Bullwinkle’s alma mater Wassamattu.
let me try to wrap my head around this … so there were no ‘warriors’ throughout the world before the Europeans encountered the non-evolving nomadic native tribes of the America? there were no ‘Chiefs’ throughout the world until the Europeans encountered the indigenous population of America? seriously, there were no Indians??? … gee, I wonder why that guy who’s statues we must tear down called those folks ‘indians’? … probably ’cause he wanted to denigrate them … yeah, that’s it!
what sort of warped thinking does it take to think this crap up? … & what sort of non-thinking person follows such thinking?
How about the Richland Bombers? Richland, WA, is next to the Hanford Area, where the plutonium was made for nuclear weapons, including the two dropped on Japan,
The city of Seattle is named after Chief Sealth. The University of Seattle at one time were named the Chieftains, (makes logical sense, after all, the city is named after a Chief). They changed it to the Redhawks. Oh, and by the way, did you know Chief Seattle (Sealth), owned slaves?? Burn it down! (true story btw. You can look it up)
I won’t be surprised if schools do away with competive sports because, after all, competitions are hurtful and demoralizing and stuff!
The hell ya say?
How could anyone not recognize that this shrinks to insignificance when compared to naming a public school after Woodrow Wilson.
I confess to being an alumnus of said high school. Ms. Lane may be the only Native American currently enrolled at the school, but when I attended, there were (after consulting with my yearbook) nine members of the Indian Club (their club, their name). They were, by no means, all the Native American students on campus. It was not a big high school then, or now (biggish but never big), so those Native American students didn’t disappear into the woodwork.
Unfortunately, Ms. Lane is representative of this overly-sensitized, easily offended and personally entitled generation. I don’t know what traditions have evolved over the decades since I was there, though I feel I can safely assume that what she saw is quite different to my experience, so I can’t really say if it is disrespectful or tasteless. For it to suddenly become an issue, after 69 years and hundreds of Native American students, is sad but understandable, given the rapid pace of change being pushed on us every day. For me, the only appropriate response to her complaint is to politely ignore it, until the culture war ends. No one should gain from this violent move into chaos.
Say what you may about the Indian Placement Program, but I can selfishly say that the white majority (that would be 98% or higher in most communities) in metropolitan Utah greatly benefited from the inclusion of Native American students, grade school through high school.
There were a lot of negatives associated with the program and it was good to have ended it, but I think, while that was better for the tribes, and many of the students and their families, there was a socio-cultural loss to the host communities (and the removal of an opportunity as felt by some Native American students and their parents).
Ironically, there was an article the same day on KSL.com lamenting the poor level of education offered on the reservations:
https://www.ksl.com/article/50004393/the-federal-government-gives-native-students-an-inadequate-education-and-gets-away-with-it
This is the mascot article as posted at KSL.com. It is more detailed:
https://www.ksl.com/article/50004387/native-mascots-still-a-sticking-point-in-utah-high-school-sports
Joe6Pak, and the Richland Bombers also had a logo of an A bomb on their sports uniforms and football helmets. And there is also Bombing Range Rd. in Richland as well. Once upon time before World War 2 that area was used as a bombing range by the Army Air Force because of its remoteness and nothing being out there, same as with Boardman, Oregon. My favorite is still the Orofino, Idaho Maniacs with the logo of a spaz having a seizure on their sports uniforms. The HS is located next door to the state insane asylum which is why they’re called the Maniacs. I’ve told this story before but it’s true. there’s also the Davenport, Wash. gorillas with a fierce gorilla as their logo.
How long before PETA gets involved in representing all those oppressed animals for which sports teams are named?
Let’s go full on military with high school sports. The Green Berets, the Rangers, the Screaming Eagles, the Cavalry. F it.
Their misstake was not setting up a deal with a tribe in the first place. Why is FSU still known as the Seminoles? They made a deal. That’s why, when all this crap started about 10-15 years ago, the Seminoles told the NCAA to pound sand when they (NCAA) wanted FSU to change their name. Every shirt, hat, etc with the Seminole name or logo sold brings the tribe a piece of the sale.
Money trumps PC everytime.
Pekin Illinois… Used to be the Pekin Chinks..With Dragon Logo’s.
I think They made it all the way to 2002?
If you’ve never been to Hanford which is about 25 to 30 miles North of Richland it is the most desolate godforsaken, dried up, hot, hot, hot area of Wash. state. Which was the reason they built it there in the first place so no one could have access to it during World War 2. The whole area is almost as bad or worse than the Mojave desert in California. And besides I hate sagebrush which is all that it can grow out there.
They should change the name to the Drunken Savages.
Ever hear of a high school team that named itself the Central High Prison Bitches or the East High Drama Queens? Or the Smallville Inbreeds?
Of course not, because mascots are, by necessity a symbol that a team rallies behind. Its something that gives you pride Thats why my high school team was The Broncos, a horse that wont be broken … as opposed to The Broken Down Nags or The Brood Mares
American Indians put up a great fight – they were brave warriors – nothing to be ashamed about. They lost because they were not united and did not have a modern technical society to be able to win over the white man. Still, they were noble by trying to protect their families and hold onto what they had.
The result is they control great swaths of US territory especially in the west and are getting rich by opening and operating casinos.
At this point, they should feel proud to be honored by sports teams using their images. But Alinksy the communist managed to convince them they were a persecuted minority.
The Jews in Europe during WWII would have liked that kind of “persecution”.
There is a university in Nova Scotia whose sports nickname is “The Clansmen”. It means the Scottish Clans, not the KKK.
The university may feel pressure to change it. Everything that happens in the US eventually happens in Canada as well.
Having known a few Mormons, I’m kinda surprised they buy into this PC crap.
But SLC is after all just like any other city, Temple or no.