Copyright © 1999 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

Introductory Remarks

I would like to thank the board for this opportunity to speak about the mascot issue at Erwin High School. Contrary to what some people may say, this is no trivial issue, for there is no educational goal that is more important than teaching our students that all people are to be respected. I know that you have other pressing matters that you need to deal with as a school board, that you have urgent financial and curriculum issues, but I would point out to you, that while this has obviously become a financial issue, it is also a curriculum issue. But first and foremost, it is a moral issue. The more I educate myself about this nation's history, and I have to educate myself because many of these unpleasant chapters are not in our state adopted textbooks, especially this nation's history of its treatment of Native Americans, I am convinced that if our community and students had known this history, it would never have even considered using Native Americans as their mascot. We cannot change what was done against the indigenous people of this land in the past, but we certainly can correct it now and we have the moral obligation to do so.

This board has been praised, and rightly so, for making its character education program a part of the curriculum in Buncombe County Schools. We are teaching our students the importance of virtues such as, honesty, integrity, respect, and fairness, but our teaching will be hollow and meaningless if we, as educators do not practice what we preach. I would like to remind you of the character education word for the month of February - courage. We now must have the courage to do what is morally right, even if doing so is not the popular consensus of opinion.

The statement from the faculty at Erwin has been slightly amended from the text I sent you a week ago, and I need to explain why. For some time now, many teachers at Erwin High have wanted to speak out about the impropriety of using Indian mascots, and many of us have done so individually. When the issue came to a head last year, many of us felt frustrated because we had never been given a chance to speak out as a faculty on our position. We were informed of the process which was that some of us would conduct two 90-minute sessions of 'education' about the history of the controversy, a brief video statement from a representative from each side of the issue, and a discussion of two or three articles representing Native American views on the subject with our students, and then the students would vote. Originally we were told that this vote was to be simply a polling of the students to get an idea of where they stood, but as you know, this changed somehow to become a binding policy. While many of us disagreed with the idea, we followed the board's directive. However, we did ask our principal, Mr. Brown, for a chance to present our view on the issue to the board, a request which Mr. Brown graciously honored. He polled the faculty at that time, and an overwhelming majority, a clear consensus, stated that they felt that our mascot should be changed and that it should not reflect any suggestion of Native Americans at all. This opinion was never made a matter of public record, however, and many of us remained frustrated that the public did not know where we stood.

Recently, a group of us met and wrote the first draft of the statement which I am about to read. Teachers were polled again, not about their position on the mascot issue, but whether they would support this statement. A majority of those expressing an opinion supported the statement, but a number stated that they could not. One might well wonder what could have changed in a year. I would like to share with you the responses I heard. What some of those teachers expressed to me was that while they personally wished for the mascot to be changed, they did not feel they could request for you to overturn the students' decision. Others expressed to me that they did not feel it is our place or our responsibility to state what should be done, but rather, that it is the board's responsibility. Thus, in order to truly reflect the faculty's feelings, the statement was amended to read as being from 'the undersigned faculty,' rather than the faculty as a whole.

Frequently I've heard people ask, 'Just how many students are affected or offended by the Erwin mascots? Who are we really hurting?' They imply that we can't have very many Native Americans in our schools, thus this can't be a really big problem. My first response is that this issue should not be about numbers. The question should not be 'How many people are we hurting?' but 'Are we hurting anyone ?' My second response is that we are indeed hurting all of our students when we continue to perpetuate a stereotypical view of a segment of our population. We are teaching them a false view of who Native Americans really are, and I use the word 'teaching' deliberately--this is a curriculum issue. We are teaching all of the students in Buncombe County that American Indians today are like the images we present in our halls, on our shirts, and on our uniforms, and that image is of a people of years past, a people whom this country at one time sought to destroy. Throughout U.S. history, Native Americans suffered the loss of their land, their religious freedoms, their language, and of course, their lives. Can't we at least ensure today that we will no longer be a party to their loss of dignity?

Many people in Buncombe County have said that the Indians ought to feel honored by being chosen as Erwin High's mascot. I'm reminded of Glen Morris's words, ' People should remember that an honor isn't born when it parts the honorer's lips; it is born when it is accepted in the honorees ear.' In other words, if people don't feel honored, then they haven't been. Twice Buncombe County has bestowed upon me an honor which I greatly treasure -- the honor of being named the Buncombe County Teacher of the Year. I believe that you recognized in me a genuine commitment to the students of Buncombe County -- all of the students of Buncombe County. It is because of that commitment that I stand here tonight and present the following statement on behalf of the concerned faculty at Erwin High School. One last thought before I read that statement...In a time when people are asking for, begging for decent, moral leadership, I for one, would be so proud, to be able to say that on this issue the Buncombe County School Board made a decision to refrain from using Native Americans as mascots, not because the federal government told them to, and not because of the expense to the taxpayers, but because they felt it was the right thing to do:

Concerned Faculty of Erwin High School:
Statement to the Buncombe County Board of Education

In the belief that a public education institution has not only a social responsibility, but a moral obligation to respect and to teach respect for all people, regardless of race, religion, gender, or culture, we, the undersigned Clyde A. Erwin High School faculty, respectfully request that the Buncombe County School Board examine its previous decision to allow the mascots at Erwin High School to remain as the 'Warriors and Squaws.'

The directive to allow the student body at Erwin High School to decide whether or not to change the mascot placed the faculty in an awkward position. While the intention of providing the students with an opportunity to participate in the democratic process was commendable, a consequence of this exercise was to convey the message that decision-making is based on personal preference rather than what is right or wrong. Additionally, continuing to use 'Warriors and Squaws' has caused many of us to feel that by our silence, we are giving our tacit approval to a practice which we find morally wrong. We are finding it increasingly difficult to live with such a feeling of hypocrisy, that is, the idea that we teach tolerance and acceptance of all people, while perpetuating a stereotype which demeans Native Americans through our continued use of the Erwin mascot.

Although we acknowledge that no harm or disrespect was ever intended to be directed toward Native Americans, we also recognize that to use any group of human beings as mascots encourages and perpetuates stereotypical depictions of those people. We believe that if we truly desire to honor Native Americans, we would refrain from using likenesses of them or objects often associated with their sacred ceremonies and beliefs.

Unfortunately, even on a national level, when research is conducted on the topic of racism in schools, the names 'Clyde A. Erwin High School' and 'Buncombe County Schools' surface. We have an opportunity to be recognized instead as an example of a school system that made a conscious decision on its own to promote a genuine spirit of respect for all cultures and all people.

In that spirit, we, as members of the faculty of Erwin High School, would like to encourage the Buncombe County Board of Education to act courageously and honorably by effecting a change of mascot at Erwin High School, not because it is the politically correct thing to do, but because, quite simply, it is the correct thing to do.