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.” The author continued, introducing a common counterargument: “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 [that it hurts] our culture. If you agree, please sign and show your support.”
Personally, I thought this point of view was interesting because i figured it must have represented the feelings of many of community members and alumni who supported the former name, along with many non-indigenous people who can’t comprehend 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; therefore, the situation is different from his example. 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 (or often, the wrong is still ongoing!) by the same institutions and governments that use them as mascots. Mascots like the Spartans, Trojans, and Vikings are also portraying ancient civilizations of the past, and they are not portrayed in a derogatory way that altars people’s perceptions of current cultures. A Spartan mascot is supposed to represent the fierce, fighting, brave spirit that’s admirable about ancient Spartans, meanwhile 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 need 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 [that] 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 those experiences over that of reminiscing 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 former students.
Now, it’s crucial for governments to continue protecting their indigenous students by avoiding making them feel uncomfortable at school. No child should have to walk into school day after day, seeing a harmful caricature of their culture thrown into their faces. No school should encourage misleading stereotypes via their mascot that reinforces racism, microaggressions, and a feeling cultural otherness. Anyone who cares about bettering educational environments must perpetually fight for legislation that supports kindness, cultural awareness and belonging, as well as giving a political voice to those who would otherwise remain powerless. What benefit would there be to preserving a mascot that shouldn’t have existed in the first place?
