Morris High School board hears request to change 'Redskins' mascot name

MORRIS – A request was made last week by resident Ted Trujillo that Morris Community High School change its mascot’s name.

It was the first time, to District 101 Superintendent Pat Halloran’s knowledge, a request was made in a public meeting to remove the name “Redskins.”

Trujillo, an MCHS graduate and Morris resident, made the request in the public participation portion of Monday’s school board meeting. Halloran said he first met Trujillo in 2007, and intermittent dialogue about the topic has followed.

But Trujillo said talks with school leadership have not advanced enough in private, so he went public. The term “redskins” is considered offensive to many Native Americans, Trujillo said, while some institutions – including a National Football League team – believe it honors them.

Trujillo said he is a full-blooded Native American, adopted by a white family when he was four days old. Although he grew up in Morris and learned a little about Native American culture the same way other students did in classes, he said his adoptive mother made him aware of his true ancestry.

It wasn’t until after high school that he spent time on a reservation, where he learned how difficult life is for Native Americans, relegated to live on small parcels of land in a country they once freely roamed.

He had to earn the respect of his elders and welcome their wisdom, and learned about the plight of his ancestors and remaining indigenous tribes.

After earning his way into the Passamaquoddy tribe he was born a member of, he finally met his biological family, including his siblings. He learned his mother took a stand against Christian boarding schools that targeted Native American children in an effort to Christianize them.

Trujillo is a member of the American Indian Movement and Not Your Mascots, a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing the misappropriation of and harmful effects on indigenous identity and imagery through the acceptance of mascots, stereotypes and racist behaviors.

History of the term

An Internet search produces varying results as to the origin of the term. Trujillo said it originated from battles between American Indians and those who settled on the continent. There were bounties on the heads of Native Americans, similar to those on a bear or beaver skin, he said.

“Christian women didn’t like the ‘scalp’ term,” Trujillo said. “So they used ‘redskins.’ It made Christian women feel better.”

District 101 Board President Denny Best said he has done research since first privately meeting Trujillo and found four or five accounts about the term’s origins.

“Of those interpretations, I’d only refer to one of them as having a negative connotation,” Best said. “That one is the one Mr. Trujillo and the organizations he’s a part of are basing this off of.”

Best said he’s read that Native Americans coined the term to differentiate between people with white or brown skin. He’s also read white settlers used it to differentiate – either because Native Americans wore red paint, appeared sunburned or had skin color differences from other races.

Board member Judie Roth, who Trujillo debated the most at last week’s meeting, said she has always viewed it as a prideful term used to honor the area’s earliest settlers.

“I believe when the school was founded, it was to honor Native Americans,” Roth said. “People do not use the term as a slur. It’s not even thought of.”

Roth said she believes the pride is shown not just in the mascot of MCHS, but Shabbona Middle School, which is named after Potawatomi Chief Shabbona.

Trujillo disagrees.

The present

According to Merriam-Webster.com, the term is considered usually offensive. To Dictionary.com, it's older slang that is considered disparaging or offensive, Trujillo said.

According to OxfordDictionaries.com, it's a dated or offensive term for an American Indian: It originally had a neutral meaning and was used by American Indians themselves, but it eventually acquired an unfavorable connotation. Redskin, like the related terms "red man" and "red indian," is now dated or offensive, it states.

Out of 250 federally recognized tribes, Trujillo said 90 percent have formally agreed that “redskin” is a derogatory term.

“It’s an extremely racist term. If you say ‘redskin’ on a reservation, you’ll be spitting your teeth out,” Trujillo said. “This is U.S. history, and no school touches on it to the point that it should be.”

Trujillo believes all mascot names in the likeness of Native American culture should be removed – especially at the high school level and younger, because students are not properly educated on the subject.

“Kids don’t know [Native Americans] were killed for our land,” Trujillo said. “Christopher Columbus enslaved natives. No one wants to teach the truth on how this country was founded.”

The school is hoping to complete an informational program about area Native Americans soon that it will show to freshmen, Halloran said. He said staff hopes to get feedback from Trujillo when it’s complete, as he has supplied the school with books in the past.

“I think you can always do more to educate,” Halloran said. “I don’t think we do enough [teaching] about our area. It’s also an opportunity to introduce our students to this topic.”

Though he can’t speak for teachers, Best said the proper way to present the tutorial is with background information and facts that can be absolutely confirmed. He hopes national and local history will be included.

One of Trujillo’s biggest problems with using the term lies in the MCHS student handbook, which states students can be disciplined for harassment or intimidation based on, among other things, ethnicity, ancestry and wearing or possessing items depicting or implying hatred or prejudice.

“They’ll discipline a student for using the ‘n-word’ and others, but will promote the ‘r-word,’” Trujillo said. “MCHS doesn’t have a right to pick and choose what racial slurs are allowed.”

Halloran said as the district has been using the term for 70-plus years, the board does not view it as racist, nor is the board interested at this time in changing the mascot name.

Trujillo said he also considers it a contradiction of the handbook – and hypocritical – to use a chief as the school mascot and have a white student who knows nothing about the topic dressed in regalia that is considered sacred.

“The naming of a chief is given to people with high authority,” Trujillo said.

Halloran said the MCHS mascot position is awarded through an application process, the regalia was designed for authenticity and the chief no longer does a dance that Trujillo considered offensive. Halloran said the current presentation, at football games, is respectful in nature. The mascot calmly walks and stares straight ahead before leaving the field.

The future

Having spent 37 years in Morris, Best said he’s aware of how deeply ingrained in the community the term is.

Best said it’s possible laws or changes at the national level, such as a renaming of the NFL team, would have to happen before MCHS changes its mascot’s name.

“Honestly, in our situation, that’s probably what it’s going to take,” Best said. “There would have to be external forces.”

Trujillo said it appears the school board is afraid to make a tough decision, and as elected officials, they shouldn’t be.

Protests and lawsuits are just a couple things that could happen next, Trujillo said, adding that no one wants to go through a lawsuit.

Halloran referenced the Naperville Central Redhawks, which changed its mascot name from the Redskins more than 20 years ago under similar pressure. Morris is one of five schools in the state using the term.

Other Illinois schools have changed their mascot names, and California recently became the first state to ban use of the word as a team name.

“As a board I think we respect Mr. Trujillo’s opinion,” Best said. “Whether the board was receptive to the request is another thing.”

Trujillo said people would still root for the school and teams would have the same success regardless of the name. He said those opposed to change cannot see it as a racial issue – they instead see it as a shot at the school.

“I’m sure at some point the community would continue to support our teams, students and programs if it came to a change,” Halloran said. “But it’s not a conversation at the board level.”