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The American Anthropological Association (AAA) made their voices heard this weekend at the Chicago Hilton as they called upon all educators and administrators of educational institutions to stop promoting the stereotypical representation of American Indian people through the use of sports mascots.

During the annual business meeting, members of AAA voted unanimously to recommend to the Board of Directors that the Association cease to schedule Annual Meetings in the State of Illinois until such time as the administration and trustees of the University of Illinois, the flagship educational institution of the state, replace their “Chief Illiniwek” symbol with one that does not promote inaccurate, anachronistic, and damaging stereotypes of Native American people.

AAA members state that the persistence of such officially sanctioned, stereotypical presentations humiliate American Indian people, trivialize the scholarship of anthropologists, undermine the learning environment for all students, and seriously compromise efforts to promote diversity on school and college campuses.