Teachers, students divided on mascot issue
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By Dave Msseemmaa
Associate Editor
Is it a helicopter? Or a honorable reference to a Native American group? Or is it a mockery of the religion of an indigenous tribe?
Answer: all of the above.
There are as many views on the use of Native American names as mascots in schools as there are individuals. The debate was renewed in mid-April when the U.S. Commission on Civil rights issued a statement calling for the end to Indian names as mascots. The message was aimed at dozens of schools around the country that use the names of Native American groups as mascots, including our own college, “Home of the Apaches."
“Since the 1970s, American Indian leaders and organizations have vigorously voiced their opposition to these mascots and team names because they mock and trivialize Native American religion and culture,” the statement said.
Several faculty members agreed with the statement.
“I still remember how appalled Native American poet Marc Turcotte was when he walked into our lobby and saw that huge purple Apaches banner,” said English instructor Geoff Schmidt. “I find our use of a Native American team name deeply insensitive, especially given the lack of investment IVCC has in any sort of Native American causes or outreach relationships.”
Schmidt, among others, said he can’t understand the attachment to a historical icon that aligns more closely with the history of Arizona and New Mexico than the Prairie State: “The Apaches…are a nation not even indigenous to this area.”
Others feel a strong connection between the moniker Apache and the area’s history, citing tradition as a reason to retain the name.
An Apache newspaper survey of 133 students found 81 percent of students interviewed wanted to keep the Apache as the IVCC mascot while 11 percent favored changing the mascot and eight percent was undecided or neutral. The results of the survey matched an April 1999 survey where 82 percent of the students deemed the Apache acceptable.
“It’s a reference to this area’s historical background,” said Lori Mavity, 19, of Ladd. “It provides us with a sense of the history of our area.”
The history of the name school’s nickname is rooted in Hollywood’s aged image of Indian wars, according to John Strell, the lone athletic coach in 1947 at IVCC’s predecessor L-P-O Junior College.
“During that period there were a lot of motion picture films between the fierce Comanches and their rival Apaches,” Strell told the Apache in a Nov. 1988 interview.
The college chose the mascot of the Apache over the Comanche simply because it was shorter and fit better on uniforms.
Modern uniforms and jerseys have abandoned even the name “Apache” for simply “IVCC.” The college has also dropped the use of the name Apache from all catalogs, viewbooks, class schedules and radio commercials.
“We’ve tried to curtail use of the name ‘Apache’,” said Mike Riley, Athletic Director and men’s basketball coach. “We play under the name IVCC…We try to avoid confrontation by not using or promoting the name Apache on our logo, but we definitely promote the name IVCC.
Riley said tradition is a reason things remain the same.
“It’s the same thing you’ve run into with your newspaper name that we’ve run into with athletics,” Riley told the Apache. “I’m sitting on the middle of the fence.”
College President Jean Goodnow has switched sides of the fence since the 1999 newspaper survey.
“I had an opportunity to talk to American Indian teachers at an administrators’ meeting… and I feel like my sensitivity has been increased,” said Goodnow in a recent interview. “We have the term ‘diversity’ in our mission statement and we need to make sure we walk our talk.”
A student A recent Apache survey found 85 percent of the faculty members polled would be in favor of throwing the name Apache into the college’s past. This number is up from 69 percent just two years ago.
Director of Human Resources and chair of the Diversity Committee Jerry Corcoran commended the complaint process at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where the ongoing debate over the use of their Chief Illiniwek was fueled this semester when their board of trustees voted to keep the Fighting Illini symbol and the Chief.
Corcoran said the structure for voicing complaints worked well and for any student here who wants to make a formal complaint, the same type of structure exists here. Student complaints go through Dr. Bob Marshall, vice president of student services, before the board of trustees would discuss the issue.
Marshall recommended student groups get involved. POWER has written a letter opposing the Indian mascot and is discussing presenting it to the Student Government Association and Marshall.
“Nothing would please me more than to see this issue be taken up by the student government,” said Marshall, who said one suggestion for change is a referendum to let the students decide on a new nickname.“If SGA members agree we need a change, we could determine how to do that.
“Personally, I think it’s past time, more like long past time, for us to find a new name for our sports teams.”