Native American mascots have been a topic of controversy for around 60 years, and at this point, most seem to agree that institutions and sports teams with mascots like the Redskins, Tomahawks, and Indians are culturally insensitive and inappropriate. But did you know that our very own high school used to have a controversial name? Yep, we used to be the West Seattle Indians!
Since our school was built in 1917, and up until 2002, we had an Indian Chief as our mascot. Discussions around changing the mascot name were introduced as early as in 1974, and it was considered and rejected for many years, up until West Seattle reopened after its remodel in 2002. On July 10th, 2002, the Seattle School board banned the use of an indigenous person as a school mascot, after years of local tribes claiming that it was hurtful and offensive. At the time, West Seattle was the only school in the district affected by the decision.
Many wanted to keep the school mascot name, like alumni and members of the community. Personally, if the West Seattle mascot changed after I graduated, I probably wouldn’t know or care because I’d be off in my life doing other things. I guess in my heart I would always be a Wildcat, but I wouldn’t be overly attached to future students going by the same mascot! In my research, I stumbled across a petition made in 2017 to change the name back to the Indians. The creator of the petition wrote in its description, “I would like to see West Seattle High School be called the Indians again. I believe there are a lot of people like myself. Who feel it should have never changed. There is a proud tradition for graduates having Indian pride. I am Greek and we have names such as the Trojans/Spartans that are used as names for teams/schools. I do not believe it is a bad thing or hurt our culture. If you agree please sign and show your support.”
I thought this point of view was interesting because it must represent the feelings of many of the community members that supported the former name, and some non-indigenous people who don’t get why it’s offensive.
The argument about being Greek and not caring about Trojan and Spartan names is invalid because Native Americans have said that they feel offended by these mascots, so that’s already different. A Seattle Times article on West Seattle’s mascot change said that local tribes had complained about the mascot for years, and the Association of American Indian Affairs said they condemned the use of derogatory Native mascots because they believe they’re harmful and undermine the learning environment in a school. Unlike the Spartans or Trojans, Native mascots are the portraits of current cultures, and ones that have been wronged in the past (and often, the wrong is still ongoing!) by the same institutions and government that are using them as a mascot. Mascots like the Spartans, Trojans, and Vikings are also portraying ancient civilizations as the past, and they are not portrayed in a derogatory way. A Spartan mascot is supposed to represent the fierce, fighting, brave spirit that people admire about ancient Spartans, while Indian mascots are not seen in the same way, often having demeaning, animal-like qualities.
Then, there’s the “I have Indian pride” argument. People that don’t have Indian or Indigenous heritage don’t get to have pride towards a culture or name of a culture that isn’t theirs. Steve Brown of the Seattle School Board told the Seattle Times that it didn’t matter how many members of the community objected to the changing of the name. He said, “The issue is what’s the effect on others, [and] the effect, from what I’ve heard, the effect on a reasonable portion of people, of Northwest Indians, Native Americans, is this is hurtful, this is discriminatory. Therefore, I need to honor and respect that.” Schools are more concerned about their current students and ways to improve their experiences over alumni who’ve been outside the SPS system for years. It wouldn’t make sense for them to blatantly ignore the institutional racism that had plagued West Seattle for years to preserve the “Indian pride” of alumni.
“End Harmful Mascots.” Association on American Indian Affairs, https://www.indian-affairs.org/notyourmascot.html. Accessed 25 Sept. 2024.
“Institutional Racism.” Wikipedia, 13 Sept. 2024. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Institutional_racism&oldid=1245571511.
Millman, Zosha. “A Look Back at West Seattle High School.” SeattlePI, 29 Nov. 2002.
“Native American Mascot Controversy.” Wikipedia, 11 Sept. 2024. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Native_American_mascot_controversy&oldid=1245114744.
Seattle Public Schools, 1862-2023: West Seattle High School. https://www.historylink.org/File/10609. Accessed 25 Sept. 2024.
“Sign the Petition.” Change.Org, https://www.change.org/p/west-seattle-high-school-change-west-seattle-high-school-name-back-to-indians. Accessed 25 Sept. 2024.
