Oregon Native American Mascot Ban

            The Oregon school board made eight high schools, this past summer, retire their Native American mascots, symbols, and names. Since 1970, 600 hundred schools have changed their Native American names and symbols, and 20 of them being from Oregon. Theses schools have five years to comply with the school board’s demands. There is a large controversy over the banning of Native American names and logos. Some people believe that these names show pride, while other people believe that it is racist and stereotypical.

            The reason for changing these school’s names is that people believe that the names and symbols are racist and stereotypical to Native Americans. Se-ah-don Edmo, the Vice President of the Oregon Indian Education Association told the school board, “It is racist. It is harmful. It is shaming. It is dehumanizing.” (referring to Native American names and symbols) The Superintendent of the Oregon school board also had a remark on the subject. “I do not believe any of our schools with Native American mascots intended to be disrespectful… Our role as educators needs to be to create a safe, supportive, and welcoming environment for all of our students. An environment which honors them for who they are as individuals with a rich and varied cultural history. We can no longer accept these stereotypical images for the sake of tradition. Not when they are hurting our kids.” People claim that these use of Native American names and symbols is no different then having a mascot be the “Blacks” or the “Asians”.

Which One is Worse?

The ban of Native American names and logos in Oregon has been very controversial. Some schools say that it is going to cost too much to change uniforms, artwork, signs, and other athletic gear. One school said that it would 200,000 dollars to change their name and symbol. This is a reason not to change because school and school boards are not going to be able to afford this change. Also the towns people have traditions that they do not want to break. Some people even say that the images and names celebrate the Native Americans.

The Banks High School mascot is shown on the wall of their gym Thursday in Banks, Ore.

An experiment was done where a short essay about Native American mascots and names with a picture of common mascot was given to Native American high school students to read and look over. The students were asked what they thought about the essay and mascot symbol. The findings show that most of the students did not see the mascots as negative towards Native American, although, the findings also showed negative psychological consequences. 


"The Native American Mascot: Tribute or Stereotype?" by Sam Sommers
"Oregon bans Native American school mascots, images" by CNN wore staff

"The Debate Over Native American Mascots: Claims Of Racism Should No Longer Be Ignored"