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The July issue of Liberty magazine published an article by William R. Tonso entitled The Chief and His Ethnic Buddies concerning the ongoing struggle to have the University of Illinois remove their mascot, a fictional Indian chief named "Chief Illiniwec." More generally, he attacks what he calls the politically correct effort to have American sports teams stop using American Indian nicknames, such as the Washington Redskins.
Tonso repeats an old and respectable argument. That is, he points out that sports team nicknames are chosen in order to highlight admirable traits of the chosen symbol. Thus, animal names like Tigers, Lions, Bears, etc. are chosen because those animals are seen to be ferocious competitors. Similarly, names like The Fighting Irish (Notre Dame) honor the pugnacious nature of the Irish people. Thus, he asserts, Chief Illiniwec, was chosen because Native Americans are seen to be admirable people. In short, the crux of his argument is that, by choosing Native American names for sports teams, the choosers are actually honoring Native American culture. The article also inserts a lot of irrelevant material including humorous anecdotes about how other sports teams got their names and how he personally "sympathizes" with racial and ethnic minorities who suffer oppression.
He also describes his own first encounter with Chief Illiniwec, at a University of Illinois football game. Here is his description.
As the band approached the midfield it launched into a stylized Indian rhythm long associated with its university, and a figure attired in a Plains Indian costume, gorgeous feathered headdress and all, exploded from its ranks performing a stylized Indian dance.
He did allow that it was true that no Illinois Indian ever wore such a headdress...the costume mimics Sioux attire, never worn by the Illini tribe...and his description of the Indian rhythm and dance as "stylized" gives the impression that these events closely paralleled...and thus honored...Native American tradition.
A more accurate description of this event, as described by Dr. Charlene Teters, the person who began the protest more than a decade ago...and, as seen in the documentary film In Whose Honor?...is that the band neither honors the traditional Indian rhythms nor does the Chief honor Native American dance. Native drumming typically mimics the human heartbeat...buh-bum, buh-bum, buh-bum. What the band played was the Hollywood cowboys-and-Indians version, BUM-bum-bum-bum, BUM-bum-bum-bum, BUM-bum-bum-bum. Native dance is nothing like the acrobatic gyrations of Chief Illiniwec. Both of these things are regarded as sacred by many Native Americans.
Tonso does say that if some sports teams were named the Dumb Dagos or Sneaky Kikes or Lazy Nigras (this unpolitically correct spokesperson can not bring himself to put the word "Nigger" into print, so he uses the Lyndon Johnson version...before that former president learned to say "Knee-grow") he would be duly offended, but sees nothing objectionable about the antics of Chief Illiniwec and the U. of I. marching band.
Perhaps we can assist him in "getting it." He might consider the impact of, say, Notre Dame naming their team the Pugnacious Priests and having a group of students dressed "authentically" like priests...but perhaps with a little more color, say purple and green...with a central scepter wielding "Il papa" dressed like the Pope and sprinkling Coca-Cola like holy water on bystanders...during the half times of their football games. To add a little more contemporary authenticity, perhaps the attending student-priests could chase little boys around the field, as Il Papa mutters incomprehensible blessings and prayers into the microphone.
Many of our Native American friends and acquaintances have described to us, in detail, the troubles they had when their children attended public schools and encountered other children going "Whoo-whoo-whoo-whoo" or brandishing imaginary tomahawks or scalping knives when they learned of their Indian backgrounds. Try to imagine explaining to a young child what this all means, how Disneyland and Hollywood stereotypes of Native Americans have saturated the psyches of these other children. Just teasing? Yup. Those kids know not what they are doing. Vicious? You betcha.
Just for the record, the term "Redskins" does NOT refer to the color of Indians skins, but rather to a practice in colonial America of placing a bounty on the heads of Indians. Most of the reapers of this bounty were White trappers although "friendly" Indians also participated. In order to prove that they had killed an Indian, they had to scalp him or her...women and children's bounties were less than that of a man...which is the REAL origin of this gruesome practice...and bring the scalp to those offering the payment. To distinguish these "skins" from deerskins or beaver skins, they were called "red skins," descriptive of the condition of these particular "animal" skins, which the trappers didn't bother to clean up.
Knowing this, does the nickname "Redskins" of the Washington football team take on a little special meaning to you? If not, then Ed Gein and Jeffrey Daumer would be proud of you. As the protesters say, "Indians are PEOPLE, not MASCOTS!"
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