California Bans Use of the term 'Redskins': Center for American Progress Weighs In

California Bans Use of the term 'Redskins': Center for American Progress Weighs In
Author

Center for American Progress

Release Date

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

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On Sunday, California became the first state in the nation to ban the use of "Redskins" as a school team or mascot. Erik Stegman, Director of Field Outreach and Advocacy of CAP's Poverty to Prosperity program, an expert on American Indian and Alaska Native issues and long-time advocate in the efforts to advance this ban, has specifically discussed the negative effects that native mascots and team names have on American Indian and Alaska Native Youth in his report, titled "Missing the Point".

The report also proposes recommendations to local, state, and federal agencies that will help school administrators, educators, and community members transform learning environments that are hostile and unwelcoming to AI/AN students and their families into ones that are supportive, including:

  • The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights should use its full authority to enforce civil rights protections for AI/AN students and promote a safe and welcoming learning environment.
  • State-level boards of education and education agencies should identify schools in their state with AI/AN representations, examine their impact, and develop recommendations to remove harmful representations.
  • Nonprofit legal assistance organizations and law school clinics should develop programs to support AI/AN students who want to file complaints.
  • The federal government and foundation community should identify and fund new research on the impact of derogatory AI/AN representations in schools.
"AI/AN students across the country attend K-12 and postsecondary schools that still maintain racist and derogatory mascots. Research shows that these team names and mascots can establish an unwelcome and hostile learning environment for AI/AN students. It also reveals that the presence of AI/AN mascots directly results in lower self-esteem and mental health for AI/AN adolescents and young adults. And just as importantly, studies show that these mascots undermine the educational experience of all students, particularly those with little or no contact with indigenous and AI/AN people. In other words, these stereotypical representations are too often understood as factual representations and thus “contribute to the development of cultural biases and prejudices.”

"These are some of the many compelling reasons why major professional organizations have already weighed in. For example, the American Psychological Association called for the “immediate retirement of all American Indian mascots, symbols, images, and personalities by schools, colleges, universities, athletic teams, and organizations” nearly a decade ago. Similarly, the American Counseling Association passed a resolution in 2011 calling on their members to advocate for the elimination of these stereotypes where they are employed, and the American Sociological Association called for the elimination of AI/AN names, mascots, and logos in 2007."

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