Indian Mascots Criticized by Professors

A coalition of 90 university faculty members and human rights advocates is urging Harvard—and all NCAA Division I schools—to cease competition with teams bearing Native American names and mascots.

Specifically condemning the University of Illinois Fighting Illini and the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux, the group of primarily university professors conveyed its position in a letter sent to Division I university presidents, chancellors, and athletic directors. The document encouraged them to end intercollegiate play with the 18 schools that were barred from hosting championship tournaments in an August NCAA ruling.

That same decision labeled University of Iowa (UI) and University of Wisconsin (UW) “model institutions” for following a policy of not scheduling games against teams with Native American “nicknames, imagery, or mascots.”

“We are targeting all non-Native American schools that have Native American mascots,” said University of Illinois Professor Stephen J. Kaufman about the boycott proposal. Kaufman, who is also the leader of the coalition, explained that the goal of the effort is to “end the racial stereotyping that is inherent in using Native Americans as sports mascots.”

While the letter has yet to elicit participation from other universities in the boycott, Kaufman has received affirmation from athletic directors who he said recognize the “seriousness of the issue.”

“I think when institutions start to speak out to promote racial justice, then, even if only one does, it is a very positive thing,” Kaufman said. “Perhaps students at Harvard could convince the administration there to do something similar.”

According to Athletics Communication Director Charles V. Sullivan, Harvard will not, however, model its policies after UW and UI.

Sullivan said the College plans to participate in its scheduled ice hockey games against the University of North Dakota.

Although the coalition includes professors from his school, according to Thomas P. Hardy—the executive director for university relations at the University of Illinois—the school does not plan to change its mascot.

“There is no question that [the coalition’s effort] reflects a minority opinion, and it is a tactic that has been tried before,” Hardy said. “The presidents, chancellors and athletic directors to whom these letters were sent within the NCAA make determinations based on the best interests of their institutions and athletic programs. They have done that in the past and will continue to.”

Similarly, Hardy said that the University of Illinois’ board of trustees is currently trying to resolve issues related to the Chief Illiniwek tradition.

But Kaufman, whose disapproval is shared by the National Association For The Advancement Of Colored People and the American Psychological Association, said he does not see a valid argument for maintaining the Native American references.

“Those people who think that [our] position is wrong, we listen to them, and they offer the same arguments that have impeded social, economic and judicial progress in the country,” Kaufman said. “Those arguments don’t hold much water.”