By now, most Americans are aware of the movement to push the Washington, DC NFL team to give up its obnoxious team name and mascot, "Redskins." I don't need to repeat the arguments here. The same issue is being confronted all over the country at the college and high school level. There's a long way to go before this noxious problem is resolved. For one example, consider the town of Liberal, Kansas:
When it comes to news from Oklahoma, we come to expect it to be harsh and face-palmingly retro, whether it's the governor, the state legislature or the particularly visible and dreadful nonsense spewed and blockages thrown up by Senators Coburn and Inhofe. This time, they've done the right thing. Earlier this month, the Oklahoma City school board voted to remove the "Redskins" mascot from Capitol Hill High School. And it wasn't a squeaker of a vote, either.
The tally was 8-0. The vote was met with enthusiastic applause, cheers and hugs.
The result was easier than its proponents thought it would be.
“I was actually surprised about how well-received it was. I thought that I would have to do more education on our end to let them learn about the word,” said Star Yellowfish, the district’s administrator for American Indian student services. “But they get it. They got it, and they care about our kids.”
Oklahoma does have the history of being
Indian Country. So perhaps this result is not entirely surprising. But they did use that mascot, and
plenty of other unsavory actions have come out of the Sooner State.
District administrators, effective immediately, will begin eliminating the use of the Redskins mascot and will create a committee of students, alumni and community members to identify a new mascot for Capitol Hill High School before the end of the spring semester, spokeswoman Tierney Tinnin said in a statement.
This is one step in the right direction, but there's still a long ways to go. Not far from Liberal, Kansas is the town of Lamar, Colorado:
High School football stadium in Lamar, Colorado