Hermus -JRG Grade 7

A: if were talking about all kinds of insensitive Mascots, then anything agaisnt African Americans is also in this debate. B: Abel Cooper is a full blooded Native American, if he says that the name bothers his family, then it bothers most full-blooded Native Americans, whose whole image is of people in buckskin clothing and feather headdresses.

Mr. Chitko that does not mean that any of those students were of the Aztec ethnicity. Let me ask you this, if the name does not have anything against them why should they want to change it?

If even a small group of people are offended, then it needs to be changed, stated Abel Cooper in the article Panel: Native Americans Mascots Devalues Culture. This is stereotyping the whole entire Native American Tribe.

To Mr. Cooke it may seem to stand for, 'bravery, courage, and a stalwart spirit.' Red Mesa High School in Arizona, a primarily Native American school, agreed that use of the word, redskins, outside American Indian communities should be avoided because it could perpetuate “the legacy of negativity that the term has created.” Meaning, that it could create negative stereotypes, and young children who cheer for this team, are cheering for the scalps of Native Americans, WHICH WERE SOLD AMONG FUR PELTS! The Native American Rights Organization says that to them, the word 'Redskins' is called the R-word, which is just as bad as some defining words for African Americans.

Mr.Mancheski is saying that we shouldn't change the mascots if a small group of people find it offensive, because if everyone got their way the world would be in anarchy almost. But I say that mascots should be changed if their found offensive, or as some people refer to them as 'legalized racism'. As stated in the article "Panel: Native American Mascots Devalues Culture"

'Abel Cooper remembers taking his daughter to a high school football game once and watching as a cheerleader came running onto the field wearing what looked like a Native American headdress and buckskin clothing..... Mr. Cooper, a full-blooded American Indian, said his daughter became so offended, her eyes filled with tears and she asked if they could leave. "I taught my children to respect warriors because they are veterans of battle," Mr. Copper said. "That girl doesn't understand that every feather in that headdress would have been earned in battle. She wouldn't know that each one represents a life that was taken. (The cheerleader) was making a mockery of us."' Says Panel: Native American Mascots Devalues Culture.

"When you look at sports teams, you see a lot of animals and Indians," Said Mr. Cooper. "We're tired of being in that category and more and more of us are starting to stand up."'

If well known schools have changed their Mascots/Logos/Names to accommodate the wishes of the community. Schools such as Stanford University gave in to the students complaints and comments of the 'Indian' mascot and the team name 'The Indians'. Which was found offensive toward Native American tribes. In 1972, the Mascot changed to the letter 'S' and the team name was changed to 'The Cardinals'. Then in 1974, Dartmouth University followed suit, changing their team name from 'The Indians' to 'The Big Green'. And recently, in 2078 Arkansas State changed their mascot from 'The Indians' to 'The Red Wolf'. If schools known nation-wide are able to change their mascots that appear on everything from the gymnasium floor to water bottles, from the front of the schools sign to team apparel sold in stores across the nation, then Professional sports teams that are looked up to by young kids, should be able to change.

Source #2: Article "Mind Your Own Mascot"

I think schools or professional sports teams should change their logo/mascot/name if it is a sensitive or derogatory term used against a group of people of a different race, gender, or religion.