Those Colonial Legacies

Epithets, Mascots, White Supremacy

Native American children who were forced into U.S. boarding schools

Mascots

The high school my daughter attends has a Native American name. The name of the school and the school mascot. In fact, most of the schools in the school district have such names.

The names come from the local history. The established, long standing native population that had been living here for thousands of years was forced off their land at gunpoint, and then forced to sign a bogus treaty that said they agreed to deed land to the European settlers.

One by product of that — those who settled here named the region and many things after the people they violently forced off the land, including the schools. It is a familiar story.

Now, at last, after decades, there is a move to change the name of the mascot of that high school and the other schools in the district. Finally, it is happening. The summer of 2020 is responsible for this development.

George Floyd was murdered. Jacob Blake was shot. Breonna Taylor had been killed and no one had to answer for it. Protestors hit the streets daily and called into question the entire history of their country. They demanded better. They demanded justice.