@@ NYS schools must replace Native American mascots/names

[bears]

whattheheck I had a lot of friends who went to Stuy and could never get over that mascot.

My college mascot was an animal, but they had renamed it in the 90s since it was the Colonials.

[tacokick]

Dec 6, 2022 7:08:12 GMT -5 whattheheck said:

Back when I went to HS in NYC we had the:
Stuyvesant Peg Legs
Bronx Science “Science-ites”
Brooklyn Tech Engineers.

I think Peg Legs is under debate and the Science-ites are now Wolverines.

My husband went to Stuyvesant! I think there was some debate recently about it not because of the peg leg itself but because it represents slave owning Peter Stuyvesant but I don’t think there is a huge push to change the school name or the mascot the way there is at other schools.

[sent]

Dec 5, 2022 15:23:54 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

There was a district near Buffalo that had the same mascot as the former mascot of the Washington Football Team and when they tried to change it maybe like 5 years ago there was SO much outrage from a ton of people who obviously peaked in high school and have never left their hometown. Anyway, they finally got the change through maybe two years ago.

The same name or the same image? I see 2 high schools with a similar facial image and a third one with feathers in the logo but can't figure out the mascot's image. All 3 districts have names with Native American origins. 

I went to HS in this area and since this thread, I've been thinking back to what the various mascots were that we played. Trip down memory lane. 

[ggirl]

Dec 6, 2022 12:52:53 GMT -5 sent said:

Dec 5, 2022 15:23:54 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

There was a district near Buffalo that had the same mascot as the former mascot of the Washington Football Team and when they tried to change it maybe like 5 years ago there was SO much outrage from a ton of people who obviously peaked in high school and have never left their hometown. Anyway, they finally got the change through maybe two years ago.

The same name or the same image? I see 2 high schools with a similar facial image and a third one with feathers in the logo but can't figure out the mascot's image. All 3 districts have names with Native American origins. 

I went to HS in this area and since this thread, I've been thinking back to what the various mascots were that we played. Trip down memory lane. 

It was Lancaster that had the same name i believe. I don’t remember logos

[sent]

Dec 6, 2022 13:38:02 GMT -5 ggirl said:

Dec 6, 2022 12:52:53 GMT -5 sent said:

The same name or the same image? I see 2 high schools with a similar facial image and a third one with feathers in the logo but can't figure out the mascot's image. All 3 districts have names with Native American origins. 

I went to HS in this area and since this thread, I've been thinking back to what the various mascots were that we played. Trip down memory lane. 

It was Lancaster that had the same name i believe. I don’t remember logos

I forgot about them! Looks like they are now the Legends? I was looking at Cheektowaga (facial image), Iroquois (facial image), and Tonawanda (feathers).

[CrazyLucky]

DH's school was the Red Raiders, and they changed it to just Raiders, but kept the native American imagery. I wonder what they will change to now? I wonder if this will have any effect on schools in areas named for Native Americans like Mohawk Valley? I'm glad to see the change.

[msmerymac]

Dec 6, 2022 12:52:53 GMT -5 sent said:

Dec 5, 2022 15:23:54 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

There was a district near Buffalo that had the same mascot as the former mascot of the Washington Football Team and when they tried to change it maybe like 5 years ago there was SO much outrage from a ton of people who obviously peaked in high school and have never left their hometown. Anyway, they finally got the change through maybe two years ago.

The same name or the same image? I see 2 high schools with a similar facial image and a third one with feathers in the logo but can't figure out the mascot's image. All 3 districts have names with Native American origins. 

I went to HS in this area and since this thread, I've been thinking back to what the various mascots were that we played. Trip down memory lane. 

Same name. They are now the Legends with a knight logo, which is cool because it’s not that common and flows better with the town/district name anyway.

[basilosaurus]

There's definitely a place in here for a s/o about summer camps and their vast amount of native American appropriation.

[gretchenindisguise]

Dec 6, 2022 19:27:27 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

There's definitely a place in here for a s/o about summer camps and their vast amount of native American appropriation.

Ugh - see also ymca indian princesses. H refused to be a part of it - so L wasn't a part of it - which I fully support. He got into argument with friends parents about it. 

It was eventually changed in name to something else, but all of the Native American imagery and vernacular remains. Including calling them nations and referring to leaders as chiefs. 

[msmerymac]

Dec 5, 2022 16:17:13 GMT -5 @villainv said:

Dec 5, 2022 15:23:54 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

There was a district near Buffalo that had the same mascot as the former mascot of the Washington Football Team and when they tried to change it maybe like 5 years ago there was SO much outrage from a ton of people who obviously peaked in high school and have never left their hometown. Anyway, they finally got the change through maybe two years ago.

I know there is a district near my mom that’s the Indians, though. There are a lot of kids in military families in that district, which really harkens back to the use of the military against the Native Americans, but also its a pretty diverse district for the area so you’d think they would have reconsidered it by now.

Can you elaborate on how military kids in a district has anything to do with use of the military against native Americans? I have not heard this perspective before and would like to understand it better.

To be fair, I did not grow up in the area, but my mom lives near the third largest army base in the US. The base really supports a lot of the local economy.

I also not knowledgeable about what, if any, amends the military has made for the Indian Wars or persecution of indigenous peoples in general. It just seems somewhat gauche for people who make a living in the military to use people the military helped oppress as a faceless mascot - like they are continuing to dehumanize them, you know? Just a thought!

[msmerymac]

Dec 6, 2022 8:18:32 GMT -5 bears said:

whattheheck I had a lot of friends who went to Stuy and could never get over that mascot.

My college mascot was an animal, but they had renamed it in the 90s since it was the Colonials.

My H’s high school was the Colonials (MA). They also recently changed it.

[msmerymac]

Dec 6, 2022 14:23:35 GMT -5 sent said:

Dec 6, 2022 13:38:02 GMT -5 ggirl said:

It was Lancaster that had the same name i believe. I don’t remember logos

I forgot about them! Looks like they are now the Legends? I was looking at Cheektowaga (facial image), Iroquois (facial image), and Tonawanda (feathers).

I went to a Catholic high school, so we rarely played public schools, except in my quiz bowl league. Orchard Park had a player who got 1600 on her SATs. *shakes fist* also, mascots were clearly not a big deal in academic quiz bowl.

[Deleted]

Dec 6, 2022 19:50:38 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

Dec 5, 2022 16:17:13 GMT -5 @villainv said:

Can you elaborate on how military kids in a district has anything to do with use of the military against native Americans? I have not heard this perspective before and would like to understand it better.

To be fair, I did not grow up in the area, but my mom lives near the third largest army base in the US. The base really supports a lot of the local economy.

I also not knowledgeable about what, if any, amends the military has made for the Indian Wars or persecution of indigenous peoples in general. It just seems somewhat gauche for people who make a living in the military to use people the military helped oppress as a faceless mascot - like they are continuing to dehumanize them, you know? Just a thought!

We have little control over where we are stationed or where our kids go to school. Most of us are trying to cope with the harsh reality of being stationed in places where we have no reproductive rights, our LGBTQ+ friends and family are being persecuted, our Jewish members are experiencing anti-Semitism, and yes, our Native American coworkers have to send their kids to school someplace with racist imagery. Believe me — if we could fix all of these things, we would.

[basilosaurus]

Dec 6, 2022 19:44:28 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

Dec 6, 2022 19:27:27 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

There's definitely a place in here for a s/o about summer camps and their vast amount of native American appropriation.

Ugh - see also ymca indian princesses. H refused to be a part of it - so L wasn't a part of it - which I fully support. He got into argument with friends parents about it. 

It was eventually changed in name to something else, but all of the Native American imagery and vernacular remains. Including calling them nations and referring to leaders as chiefs. 

I didn't realize that was YMCA! I really wanted to do this as a kid as many of my friends did it. Dad was single and had less than zero interest. He probably had neither the time nor mental bandwidth. I'm sure it has nothing to do with cultural sensitivity.

I was shocked to see friends recently posting that same shit with their kids. And pilgrims and Indians school plays wearing the same costumes at the same school where we attended over 30 years ago.

Eta they may have changed the name, but I wouldn't know it from the "2nd generation Indian princess!" posts