[81alum]

So much of all communication is based on context.  Words by themselves are but symbols for meanings, and the meanings change depending both upon the intentions of the speaker and the interpretation of the listener. 

The context of racially charged words like the mascot name in question is that this nation has a very long history of racial oppression of indigenous peoples.  Many believe that oppression continues.  The 1% of the population descended from the original inhabitants of this continent have (on average) incomes less than half of the average American, suffer from unemployment on reservations of as much as 70%, obtain bachelor's degrees at the rate of 13%, suffer from poverty at the rate of 28%, and have infant mortality rates not quite double that of whites.  On the Ogalala Sioux reservation, 25% of infants are born with fetal disorders related to alcoholism.  The indigenous peoples of this country are quite simply the poorest, sickest, least educated, most neglected demographic group we have.  The reasons for these appalling conditions are complex, and there are some signs they are beginning to change,  but it is nevertheless true that these conditions exist at this moment and are not restricted to the distant past. 

The context of people who have never faced these sorts of conditions and those who have makes a difference.  To those who have not personally experienced the residual effects of this nation's efforts to eradicate Indian culture, these mascots symbolize something positive about Indians.  To those who have suffered, however,  these mascots can symbolize the profound ignorance that most of the country has of their religion, culture, history, and especially their ongoing plight.  How can millions of people cheer for a Redskin mascot at something as trivial as a football game, when life expectancy at Pine Ridge is 48, lower than any country outside of Haiti? 

Thus it is that Indian mascots have one meaning to some people and a very different meaning to others.  The divisions on this board reflect this.

Our nation will have to change the social and material conditions of our most disadvantaged group, do a much better job of teaching their history and preserving their culture, and wait for the passage of time to heal our wounds more substantially before these mascots will have positive connotations for all people. 

Some conflicts over symbols in our society are unavoidable and must be tolerated.  But since sports symbols are particularly trivial and arbitrary, it seems especially unfortunate that a franchise cannot find a unifying rather than a divisive symbol.   

[81alum]

So much of all communication is based on context.  Words by themselves are but symbols for meanings, and the meanings change depending both upon the intentions of the speaker and the interpretation of the listener. 

The context of racially charged words like the mascot name in question is that this nation has a very long history of racial oppression of indigenous peoples.  Many believe that oppression continues.  The 1% of the population descended from the original inhabitants of this continent have (on average) incomes less than half of the average American, suffer from unemployment on reservations of as much as 70%, obtain bachelor's degrees at the rate of 13%, suffer from poverty at the rate of 28%, and have infant mortality rates not quite double that of whites.  On the Ogalala Sioux reservation, 25% of infants are born with fetal disorders related to alcoholism.  The indigenous peoples of this country are quite simply the poorest, sickest, least educated, most neglected demographic group we have.  The reasons for these appalling conditions are complex, and there are some signs they are beginning to change,  but it is nevertheless true that these conditions exist at this moment and are not restricted to the distant past. 

The context of people who have never faced these sorts of conditions and those who have makes a difference.  To those who have not personally experienced the residual effects of this nation's efforts to eradicate Indian culture, these mascots symbolize something positive about Indians.  To those who have suffered, however,  these mascots can symbolize the profound ignorance that most of the country has of their religion, culture, history, and especially their ongoing plight.  How can millions of people cheer for a Redskin mascot at something as trivial as a football game, when life expectancy at Pine Ridge is 48, lower than any country outside of Haiti? 

Thus it is that Indian mascots have one meaning to some people and a very different meaning to others.  The divisions on this board reflect this.

Our nation will have to change the social and material conditions of our most disadvantaged group, do a much better job of teaching their history and preserving their culture, and wait for the passage of time to heal our wounds more substantially before these mascots will have positive connotations for all people. 

Some conflicts over symbols in our society are unavoidable and must be tolerated.  But since sports symbols are particularly trivial and arbitrary, it seems especially unfortunate that a franchise cannot find a unifying rather than a divisive symbol.