Indian Mascots

racing-mom4, BSN, RN · Jan 9, 2009

thanks for encouraging me to educate myself--i did do just a quick search and i did find this interesting web site:

http://www.nativeweb.org/pages/legal/squaw.html

below is just a portion of what i read but i found it to be informative. i did learn how squaw used in the wrong context can be and has been insulting, but its true and orginal definition is not an insult.

my mother in law is a shaman so even though i was not raised with indian culture, my children have had some native american influence in thier lives--there is alot i do not understand or know but am always eager to learn more. here is an exerpt from the article i read.

kwai kwai. greetings. i write to you as an alnobaskwa, an abenaki woman, questioning the motion to gut our original language in the name of political correctness. over the past few decades, in my travels as a traditional storyteller and historical consultant, i have met many indigenous speakers and elders who are concerned at the efforts of otherwise well-meaning people to remove the word "squaw" from the english language.

squaw means the totality of being female

squaw is not an english word. it is a phoenetic rendering of an algonkian word that does not translate to "a woman's private parts." the word "squaw" - as "esqua," "squa," "skwa," "skwe" and other variants - traditionally means the totality of being female, not just the female anatomy. the word has been interpreted by modern activists as a slanderous assault against native american women. but traditional algonkian speakers, in both indian and english, still say words like "nidobaskwa" = a female friend, "manigebeskwa" = woman of the woods, or "squaw sachem" = female chief. when abenaki people sing the birth song, they address "nuncksquassis" = "little woman baby."

during the contact period, northeastern american indian people taught the colonists the word "squaw," and whites incorporated it into their speech. english observers described women's medicinal plants such as "squaw vine" and "squaw root," among many others. there are rumors about the word's usage as an insult by french fur traders among western tribes who were not algonkian speakers. but the insult was in the usage, not in the original word.

any word can hurt when used as a weapon. banning the word will not erase the past, and will only give the oppressors power to define our language. what words will be next? pappoose? sachem? pow wow? if we accept the slander, and internalize the insult, we discredit our female ancestors who felt no shame at hearing the word spoken. to ban indigenous words discriminates against native people and their languages. are we to be condemned to speaking only the "king's english?" what about all the words from other native american languages?

let me tell you a story. a good friend, a revered new england algonkian elder, gave her granddaughter a traditional name that ended in "-skwa" meaning "powerful little woman." that poor girl came home from school in tears one day, asking, "why did you name me such a horrible name? all my teachers told me it's a dirty word." when our languages are perceived as dirty words, we and our grandchildren are in grave danger of losing our self-respect. that school is now being taught that squaw is not a dirty word, but an indigenous term that has been misused and misunderstood, and that it is an appropriate, traditional, and honorable part of this girl's name.

some american indian activists have written to me saying, "well, you can use the word if you want, but we consider it obscene." this labeling of my indigenous language as obscene is a racist statement. it makes no sense for native people to cling to and accept a wrong translation. we must stop now and educate, rather than tolerate the loss of our language due to ignorance.

Editorial Team / Admin · Jan 9, 2009

Same author of above link:

Out of respect, we can cease using "squaw" as a generic term for Native women, just as we can cease using "brave" as a generic term for Native men. We can educate the general public to understand the marvellous diversity of our histories, languages, homelands and cultures, instead of stereotyping all Indians as western Plains warriors in feather headdresses.
It is my fervent hope that our dialogues about the details of history will result in better understanding, and respect for, the diversity of Native Nations, the diversity of responses to the colonial invasion, and the diversity of processes for recovering indigenous histories, rather than further insult.
http://www.nativeweb.org/pages/legal/squaw.html

Just a few other educative links:

http://www.main.nc.us/wncceib/DUGANREPORT.htm

http://www.msh-ta.org/Resources/Sexual%20Assault%20Manual/Sexual%20Assault%20Advocacy%20Guide.pdf

allnurses Guide · Mar 13, 2009

Growing up I never saw a problem with mascots, but reading these articles and reactions are changing my mind. Yes, change is possible.

The boarding school for kids from resevervations here name themselves the Braves.