Tribal lead says Indian nicknames OK, if done right

If an Indian name used as a school mascot is not degrading and is sensitive to the native American population, one tribal spokesman in northern Michigan says, there are usually no objections to the use of an Indian as a logo. John Hatch, historian and tribal member of the Chippewa Indians of Sault Ste. Marie, believes names such as ?running Redskins? or ?wild Indians,? or outright fabrications, are offensive, but if a logo is not demeaning, ?we let it pass.?

Hatch said he?s not in favor of the use of nicknames such as the Redskins, which the professional football team in Washington uses, but names such as Central Michigan University Chippewas are not degrading. Two weeks ago, the State Board of Education adopted a non-binding resolution ?strongly recommending? Michigan schools eliminate American Indian nicknames, mascots, logos, and fight songs. That lead to discussion locally about Rogers City?s ?Huron? mascot.

The Rogers City Area Schools Board of Education is expected to have the issue on its agenda as an informational item Monday night.

SUPERINTENDENT ED SCHULTZ is still awaiting a letter from the state superintendent on the decision of the state board. Schultz believes there won?t be any action by the local board any time soon. New officers have just been elected, plus committees are still being formed. The issue could take a couple of directions, said Schultz.

An ad hoc committee could be formed, or principal Jim Connell could be advised to have a student panel study the issue. ?It?s probably going to be a long term thing,? said Schultz. ?It?s certainly not something that?s going to be brought up and decided tomorrow.

?I would look at this as probably a year long study. That would be my recommendation.? Sen. Jason Allen recommended districts work with local tribal officials, but local tribal representatives of the Hurons, were not available from the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Sault Ste. Marie. There are none. Locally, there was no information on the Huron tribe, but Hatch says the tribe, which was decimated by the Iroquois in the 1760s, settled large farms in the area of Presque Isle County. Ojibwe (Chippewa) were also from this area, according to Hatch.

PAM CAMPBELL, superintendent of the Tekonsha school district, whose mascot is the ?Indians,? went through discussions with the local tribe, the Potawatomi, six or seven years ago on the issue. The town Tekonsha is named after the chief of the Potawatomi and the tribe believes it honors them and is ?appropriate.? Campbell said the district worked with the tribe and decided to add native American culture information to the curriculum, plus corr

ect the look of the mascot. The chief had originally been given a full headdress, which tribe members said was incorrect for the look of the Potawatomi. So it was corrected and the school board in Tekonsha approved it. Tekonsha is near Marshall, a community that recently dropped the ?Redskin? nickname.

HARTFORD SUPERINTENDENT Gary Pardike says it?s not been a local issue in his community. Hartford High School athletes are known as the ?Indians? as well. Pardike said school officials worked with the area tribe, the Potawatomi, and had it deemed as ?acceptable,? portraying the local tribal in a ?positive light.?

Pardike, whose father Marlowe Pardike grew up in Rogers City, believes the recommendation by the state board of education pertained to ?new schools.? Rogers City athletic director Pat Lamb said the cost to make the change, if it were to occur, would be ?astronomical.? He said the Huron name and/or logo is on everything from posters to banners to uniforms.