Why are Indian mascots still ok?

One of the most exhausting issues of blatant discrimination being fought by tribes and Native American organizations today is the American athletic teams' use of Indians as mascots. It has become politically incorrect to discriminate against ethnic groups because of origin but we know there are still groups that are open targets like big people, gays, and Native Americans. This is not simply a matter of "oh, just get over it." People have been physically attacked and even had to withdraw from their universities over this debate.

I'm sure we can all remember a time during our childhood watching a football game, be it college or NFL, with caricatures of American Indians on the field for teams like the Fighting Sioux, Florida Seminoles or Washington Redskins. Many want to know why a mere logo is offensive. It is offensive because a group of historically disenfranchised, who are in the throws of regaining their ethnic identity after it was taken, are once again being put in the position of having to fight for their basic self respect. Some have been split on the issue - I certainly don't speak for all - but this has created hostility at a time when there are too many other debates to be wrestled with.

I know how I feel every time I see kid running around after their parents have purchased a freshly painted face at a pow wow wearing a feathered bonnet headdress making fake war "whooping" sounds as my friends and I just look at each other with the here-we-go-again look.

I would never disrespect another culture in that way nor should children witness or emulate this kind of behavior but that simply perpetuates the historical misinterpretation of the American Indian competing in championships furthering the need for the eventual eradication of the symbols. Shortly after, Native American students were met with hostility that lead to out right daily attacks from non-natives. On campuses in and around Indian country, Native American men and women who spoke up against the issue began to endure threats, rocks being thrown and beatings. No other race is puppeteered in this manner. Could you imagine if other groups were masqueraded with face paint or a bone through there nose to represent the culture that you grew up?

In 2005, the National Collegiate Athletic Association had agreed to bar teams with Indian mascots from postseason tournaments but no other prohibitions otherwise. Florida State's Seminoles have been under fire resulting in a lawsuit threat against the NCAA for their action. In response to the controversy, the Seminole Tribe of Florida sanctioned the University’s use of the images creating a storm of disapproval of Seminoles in other states not to mention several N.A. groups and individuals further deepening the wound.

A long standing dispute over the ban of the North Dakota's Fighting Sioux has been dragging on for years with the original agreement of withdrawal being contingent on the basis of two of the states tribes remaining consistent on the mutual agreement that the name should be abolished. A state judged ruled last month granting the North Dakota Board of Higher Education to get rid of the name as per an arrangement to meet NCAA's deadline. However due to the Spirit Lake Sioux's attorney, that sued to retain that name, filed an appeal to the State Supreme Court further prolonging the process.

Eastern Connecticut State, California State: Stanislaus, East Stroudsburg University, Southeast Missouri State University, San Diego State University, Merrimack College, University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Winona State University and Lycoming State College are some of the institutions that have erased their former offensive mascots.

Annually, this time of year is the time for holiday gatherings like elders dinners, pow wows and socials with feasts and presents for the children. This year, however, was a bit of a different story, with dwindling attendance getting worse every Christmas and not enough money to have a tree or the usual amount of vendors. Some of Indian country's urban Native community centers are on the brink of closing, and countless people are wondering not only what's going on, but where's the money?

I never thought I would see the day that our centers⎯which provide services like employment, housing, food banks, health support and art; which are the main arteries of the cities far from reservations and tribal communities⎯choked at Christmas. How is there not enough dough to pay a staff, that is sub-par in quantity in comparison, when they’re making just the minimum wage? Generally funded by government, there's hardly enough money to keep the lights on. No matter how tight things were in Washington, there’s always been a certain amount set aside to provide financial assistance to the various organizations. But are our new Chief and his administration keeping their promise? It’s been a year already.

As time has made the urban leadership reevaluate its methods and business plans, employees have remained resilient in the face of adversities, even themselves cooking at times to feed those who were in need of a good meal. There's already the burden of office parties and putting gifts under the tree without the additional worries of the not being able attend the holiday events that bring out community members who you may not see throughout the year.

For those who are directly involved in organizing, there's a strong divide among those who want to keep things the old ways and those who have adapted to the more modern era methods⎯which is quite similar to the old debate of traditionalism versus Christianity. My question is: everyone can't agree all the time, but aren't there enough folks out there willing to lend a helping hand to be able to sustain without so much of the government’s support? There are definitely enough Native professionals able to dedicate a set amount of hours monthly to volunteering their services which could be instrumental in putting the grass back in grassroots. Haven't we been complaining about the Bureau of Indian Affairs being a little too involved in our own affairs? I certainly don't have a degree in business, but neither did our ancestors who knew nothing of federal assistance, and they kept "the family" together.

Christmas trees and holiday festivities are not for everyone, and the main point is gathering in spite. This I understand. It's just that urban centers face a problem larger than non-urban centers, mainly due to the abundance of unenrolled members, which puts the administrators at a disadvantage because whatever funds are allocated are solely for the enrolled membership count. In a large city, Indians that have come from all over the country and generations later for a myriad of reasons, are no longer enrolled, if ever, disqualifying those same people from receiving the most basic of services. Uncle Sam won’t even fund without a certain amount of roll numbers on the roster. So that leaves the locals out in the cold. See the problem? Until there are some sure fire changes, this issue won’t be resolved, endangering Native American community centers from being able to keep the doors open. I say to hell with the funds, and let’s get back to basics.

- Cielo Goto

This month, I thought I would talk about the most common question I'm asked every year around this season: "Do you celebrate Thanksgiving?" I think that it's really more of a question of whether or not Indians observe the holiday. I never understood why so many people thought that a similar opinion could be held by so many people from such a variety of tribal backgrounds among a myriad of personal ideas about what the day means. Considering the history, is it something that should be interwoven into the fabric of Native American families and the celebrations that gather us? The answer is different depending on whom you ask.

I think I've heard enough untrue versions about the first Thanksgiving to rival Imelda Marco's shoe collection, but I'm a bit more partial to the version of the first nation's people of the Northeast coast where all the events originally occurred. The version that I've come to believe true is the story of the Wampanoag tribe, who had first contact with the Pilgrims. The result was more bloodshed and smallpox epidemics, which killed countless people, rather than peaceful dinners with goodwill towards men.

The wheels are still turning to change the grossly misleading textbook version, which paints a story as mythical as the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny. In schools, the magical pageantry continues to play out, as children dress up like turkeys and pilgrims for their yearly plays, reenacting the situation at Plymouth Rock. In protest of the fairy tales perpetuating a former Aquinnah Wampanoag leader, Wamsutta Frank James, was invited to speak on the Pilgrim arrival. Organizers later revoked his invitation after reviewing his speech, where he planned to speak of the deaths, slavery and bigotry, rather than the pacifying tale. Since then, in 1970s, the "Day of Mourning" was born and held yearly since.

I have to admit, I know several families that celebrate the holiday, both Native and non-Natives. Those who think Christopher Columbus discovered America, for example, celebrate differently than those with other beliefs. Even the most compassionate people may not know the Thanksgiving story in detail, but at least show some level of sensitivity to the past⎯at least until everyone gets completely engorged with turkey that they have to be wheeled away from the table.

I used to be hardcore anti-Thanksgiving, and couldn't for the life of me understand how come our own people weren't fasting on that day, for Christ's sake! Why weren't we out there protesting on the National Lawn to have this day stripped from the national observance list as if the Freedom of Religion Act had just been repealed?

Aside from my flare for the drama, I dined with a group of residential and urban community leaders, and learned a great lesson. I dined at a close Cherokee friend of mine’s home. The chef was gourmet and Native American! We were all clearly against the idea of pure celebration, but had the idea to turn our day together into a day of honoring those who lost their lives by prayer and keeping with the traditional diet. We each contributed in our own way.

As we laughed and drank, we conversed about the history and ways of educating those outside our region, who may not understand the real history of Thanksgiving. It turned out to be more meaningful than any dinner I ever spent with my own relatives. And we had to eat anyway, right? I left that day feeling honored and proud to be Chickasaw. I no longer associated guilt with the holiday after enjoying it with those who share a similar history.

There’s nothing like the smell of Native-harvested brown rice, wild turkey, cranberries, rosemary and thyme, potatoes, tomatoes, corn bread, venison stew and yams to make you rethink about people’s beliefs. I know I did. I've heard the saying, "It's about being thankful to be with the ones you love,” a million times. I totally disagree. It's far more complicated than that from where some of us stand. But if we're educated or educating, then we can continue the celebration. The truth and empathy must be present in order to ensure a more hopeful future. Ugly truths should not be swept under the rug, because nobody will learn from them. It’s better to know our past so that we can build a stronger nation.

- Cielo Goto

Who's block is it anyway? Recently I was a witness to hate crime in my neighborhood known for it's ethnic diversity (well over 300 languages spoken here) and safety, I gotta say that I never saw this coming.

The attackers; young Irish Americans. The victims: Arab American Muslims.

For some reason the drunk belligerents felt that because the Muslim girls (with one guy) were wearing hijab that they were ripe for the picking thus ending a night of drunken terror with a group of 5 men attacking a man until unconscious while the Muslim girls cried helplessly in hysterics. The cries that I heard were "F!@#$%^& terrorists, the Irish were here first !"

I wasn't that surprised, but it wasn’t what I was expecting to hear at 3 a.m. This is a big problem that people think that an ancestral timeline gives them a sense of entitlement, don’t they know what the Irish, as well as every other immigrant group, went through when they first arrived? Had they no knowledge of the IRA and its past? What would happen if Indians used this kind of ignorance and violence to justify colonization?

Human beings have come so far from the concepts of nature that man has begun capitalizing on the earth by putting both price tags and name tags on the soil. I've heard over the years that Indigenous people have been the guardians of the land, but never heard that we owned it. Land can't be owned because it's something that is considered to be of the mother of both ancient and modern people. Early original inhabitants were tricked out of the land that they resided in dirty deals with the colonists due to the colonists awareness of Natives' spirituality that disconnected the landscape with sacks of gold.

This brings me back to my reality of the urban sprawl of Manhattan and how we comprise of the greatest population of internationals living in one city in the western hemisphere where humanity and prejudice coincide whether we like it or not. New Yorkers are known for their bluntness and willingness to give you subway directions, but I really wonder how we actually get along.

After I broke up the first attack, in a series of ass whuppin’ that ensued, I ran home to call the cops, several onlookers stared in disbelief from behind the comfort of their well installed screen doors doing nothing. With the brigade of at least 10-12 NYPD treating the victims as if they America's most unwanted, they laughed and enjoyed cigarettes as the man lay helpless unable to move until the ambulance arrived. One officer even began screaming at the Muslim girl as she frantically asked where the medics were. Only one of the NYPD behaved half way humanely but refused to take my statement, Oh yeah, did I mention the bar owner was involved from the same bar that the attackers had just come from?

I couldn't help but be reminded of the Australian Aborigines being hunted down for miles into the bush by Aussies, not that long ago, in a fashion that could only be compared to the Ku Klux Klan, which is not that far back in our own history. This style of homegrown terrorism has happened to not only Native Americans and Arabs but countless different minorities and we never hear about it. Who the hell will police these kinds of acts if we can't even count on law enforcement? I felt ashamed of local police department and my neighbors.

We don't "own" land no matter how much we pay for it and this is such an old message that everyone should think about, because when Nature puts the smack down like she did in with the tsunami in Indonesia or Hurricane Katrina, everything you've ever known can be taken in an instant without mercy. This nation has come a long way, but we must remember that all of us bleed the same color.