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WISCONSIN LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL

Posted on March 13, 2009 - Filed Under POLL |

A Wisconsin legislator has proposed a bill that would require their state Department of Public Instruction to investigate Indian mascot complaints. Schools that still use Indian mascots would be given an opportunity to defend their mascot. The schools would have to argue that their mascot does not discriminate, harass or stereotype. If the State Superintendent believes the complaint against Indian mascot has merit, the school would have to retire the mascot or face fines ranging from $100 to $1,000 each day it continues using the mascot.

Other state legislators have made attempts at legislating away Indian mascots, with not much success. In the past, California, Oklahoma, Kentucky, New Jersey and Vermont have tried to pass legislation aimed at banning Indian mascots. So far, no state has been successful at passing anti-Indian mascot legislation.

I can think of numerous flaws with proposed anti-Indian mascot legislation, but my intent is not to find fault with anti-Indian mascot legislation. My overall opinion is that legislation or litigation should not be the method of choice for retiring Indian mascots. However, after several class discussions, some students think legislation would be the only way to get schools to get rid of Indian mascots. My preference is education. Most schools teach very little about Indian tribes and people.

Another option that was discussed was legislation requiring schools to teach Indian history. I think that this option has merit. However, there would be some difficulty in crafting legislation to accomplish the desired objective. It would be much easier and preferred if schools took the initiative to address this issue on their own. However, that does not appear to be imminent.

What do you think?

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