An article in The Daily Campus on the recent Mustang loss to Arkansas State read:
“For the third time this season, SMU’s defense gave up at least 500 yards in a 45-28 loss to the Indians.” For anyone who is sensitive to racism and cultural oppression, however, unhappiness with the Mustangs’ loss should be overshadowed by a moral repugnance over the fact that SMU continues to schedule non-conference athletic events with teams like the Arkansas State “Indians”- which have not yet given up nicknames, imagery and logos derived from Native American culture.
Overwhelmingly, Native American communities say that they are displeased with and very opposed to the use of their images and names by athletic teams. This use violates many sacred traditions of identity and faith, and has no place in modern-day college athletic competition.
SMU needs to engage in a dialogue regarding whether it should adopt a policy expressly forbidding the scheduling of (non-conference) games against opponents which use these nicknames and logos. Not raising the issue makes us appear morally insensitive, uncaring or worse – maliciously unwilling to give credence to Native American concerns.
In 2001, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights declared that Native American nicknames and mascots at colleges were “inappropriate” and “disrespectful” and should be eliminated.
Stanford University and Dartmouth College retired their “Indians” team nicknames over 30 years ago; both had very bitter fights with alumni. In recent years, numerous universities and colleges have retired their Native American mascots or nicknames, as well as the degrading imagery.
In July of this year, the Arkansas State University Mascot Review Committee recommended to its chancellor that steps be taken toward selecting a new nickname and mascot for the university’s athletic teams, and to its credit, the university has indeed agreed to change its mascot, symbols and imagery, effective for the 2008-2009 school year.
SMU (which had an agreement to play Arkansas State University before ASU decided to change its mascot) should at least be willing to have a dialogue regarding whether our athletic program should discontinue scheduling contests with schools which still have and use Native American logos or refuse to change in this way.
This is a human rights issue dealing directly with human dignity, and our silence speaks volumes about who we are.
About the writer:
Rick Halperin is the director of the SMU Human Rights Education Program. He can be reached at [email protected].
