Letters to the Editor
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Some responses to the responses...
Let's continue the debate!
Although I'm sure you can find a Native American supporter of Chief Illiniwek if you search wide and far, the idea of Native American support for these mascots is a myth. Every "Native American" supporter of the Chief I ever encountered based their ethnic affiliation on the fact that their great-great-grandmother was supposedly 1/4 Indian, or something like that.
Sean Fowler
See my earlier post about the Peoria tribes statements of support until 2000. I'm not sure if they were paid for it. Aditionally, If you're going to discount the opinions of those of less than 100% Native American heritage, you're discounting the vast majority of what our own government considers, technically, Native American.
There are stacks of broken treaties where we promised huge tracts of land to different tribes in perpetuity.
hillboy127
Does this take into account the recent trend of tribe-owned casinos, which can be quite lucrative?
I am aware of the US government's inability to follow through on promises, although I was surprised to find that this only happens is when Native Americans were involved (sarcasm!).
It's a halftime show. It's a spectacle. If you're really serious about honoring the Peoria tribe, you don't do it as a sideshow at a football game. And you shouldn't force them to contribute to something that they see as offensive. That's like saying, "Okay, blacks don't like lawn jockeys. So why don't the black people produce the lawn jockeys themselves? You know, make them authentic."
hnutsworth
Ignoring the issue that MANY important things have been honored at football games without too many being appalled (the 9/11 tribute with Bono comes to mind), what's wrong with spectacle? Most things we honor come with spectacle, be they war memorials or Mother's Day parades. If you want to get on the "no spectacles" bandwagon, I'm OK with that, just don't expect too much support from the city council. Also, I reject your comparison at face value: dancing had many uses in Native American culture, one of them being celebration. You can still go to a reservation and watch dancing and drum circle performances. No part of African American culture has ever involved dressing up like a horse jockey and I'm pretty sure its never been a part of African American cultural festivals or the like.
Thanks, all! Good talk!