Indian nicknames could be history in TN

[tulsaunion]

I went to the following Sequoyah High Schools websites to see how they portrayed the native american imagry at each school. I went to Sequoyah High in Tahlequah, Oklahoma (Nickname Indians), I went to Sequoyah High in Claremore, Oklahoma (Nickname Eagles) and Sequoyah High in Monroe County, Tennessee (Nickname Chiefs). The first one, in Tahlequah, is owned and run by the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. It is a school run by Cherokee's for Cherokee's (they have a nationally ranked girls basketball team also). The second one, Sequoyah High in Claremore, Oklahoma, the whole school district is named Sequoyah Public Schools, this is the name of the school district so with only one high school in the district it is Sequoyah High. Their website was new and I couldn't find anything about the sports teams. The last one I went to was the website for Sequoyah High in Monroe County. When the webpage opened I saw this image:

 

I knew immediatly that this was not Sequoyah. I clicked on the image and it said in the properties "A_typical_Nez_Perce.jpg"

This is Sequoyah:

 

When the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation gave Monroe County Schools permission to use the name Sequoyah, they probably though that an educational institution would not play fast and loose with the facts. If a child turned in a research paper with incorrect imagery they would fail.

This is the problem with native american nicknames. Great care should be taken to make sure everything is historically accurate and correct. One of my children goes to Sam Houston Elementary School in Maryville. They have taken great care to make sure that Sam Houston is honored and is portrayed historically. Do you think they have any old photo in the lobby. No. They have Sam Houston. Does William Blount High School have any old picture in their lobby. No they have a depiction of William Blount. The same goes for Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett and others that are named after real people. So why put up a plains indian picture instead of a photo of Sequoyah. Why refer to your new assistant principal as the "Lady Chief in Charge" on your website.

 

I'm not for legislation on this matter. I just think people need to realize that this is important. The facts and history are important.

[nrgrizzlies]

I hope that simplifies the situation for all those "bigotry is good because it's un-p.c." folks out there. Should MBA and Harpeth Hall call their teams the lilly-whites?

 

It wouldn't be very p.c. - as a matter of fact even the suggestion of it is pretty anti-p.c., thus lots of people who post on this forum should gladly embrace that concept.

 

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DISCLAIMER:

The above post may end Western Civilization as

we know it and cause pseudo-macho sports fans to fall

into a lifestyle of atheism and flag-burning.

******************************************

 

 

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Disclaimer to the Disclaimer:

***MAJOR SARCASM ALERT***

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[DBGRAD70]

QUOTE(nrgrizzlies @ Feb 4 2007 - 04:03 PM) 826358144[/snapback]

I hope that simplifies the situation for all those "bigotry is good because it's un-p.c." folks out there. Should MBA and Harpeth Hall call their teams the lilly-whites?

 

It wouldn't be very p.c. - as a matter of fact even the suggestion of it is pretty anti-p.c., thus lots of people who post on this forum should gladly embrace that concept.

 

******************************************

DISCLAIMER:

The above post may end Western Civilization as

we know it and cause pseudo-macho sports fans to fall

into a lifestyle of atheism and flag-burning.

******************************************

.......................................................

Disclaimer to the Disclaimer:

***MAJOR SARCASM ALERT***

.......................................................

 

 

Non sequitur (comment which is humorously absurd or has no relation to the comment it follows; a statement so foolish, or illogical that can not be responded to)

[compusatman]

QUOTE(tulsaunion @ Feb 4 2007 - 10:32 AM) 826357838[/snapback]

I went to the following Sequoyah High Schools websites to see how they portrayed the native american imagry at each school. I went to Sequoyah High in Tahlequah, Oklahoma (Nickname Indians), I went to Sequoyah High in Claremore, Oklahoma (Nickname Eagles) and Sequoyah High in Monroe County, Tennessee (Nickname Chiefs). The first one, in Tahlequah, is owned and run by the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. It is a school run by Cherokee's for Cherokee's (they have a nationally ranked girls basketball team also). The second one, Sequoyah High in Claremore, Oklahoma, the whole school district is named Sequoyah Public Schools, this is the name of the school district so with only one high school in the district it is Sequoyah High. Their website was new and I couldn't find anything about the sports teams. The last one I went to was the website for Sequoyah High in Monroe County. When the webpage opened I saw this image:

 

I knew immediatly that this was not Sequoyah. I clicked on the image and it said in the properties "A_typical_Nez_Perce.jpg"

This is Sequoyah:

 

When the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation gave Monroe County Schools permission to use the name Sequoyah, they probably though that an educational institution would not play fast and loose with the facts. If a child turned in a research paper with incorrect imagery they would fail.

This is the problem with native american nicknames. Great care should be taken to make sure everything is historically accurate and correct. One of my children goes to Sam Houston Elementary School in Maryville. They have taken great care to make sure that Sam Houston is honored and is portrayed historically. Do you think they have any old photo in the lobby. No. They have Sam Houston. Does William Blount High School have any old picture in their lobby. No they have a depiction of William Blount. The same goes for Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett and others that are named after real people. So why put up a plains indian picture instead of a photo of Sequoyah. Why refer to your new assistant principal as the "Lady Chief in Charge" on your website.

 

I'm not for legislation on this matter. I just think people need to realize that this is important. The facts and history are important.

 

 

 

Pretty good post there. I like it how the soft sell aproach appeals to the inteligent side of the brain instead of the trigger side.

[Sequoyah SID]

QUOTE(tulsaunion @ Feb 4 2007 - 10:32 AM) 826357838[/snapback]

I went to the following Sequoyah High Schools websites to see how they portrayed the native american imagry at each school. I went to Sequoyah High in Tahlequah, Oklahoma (Nickname Indians), I went to Sequoyah High in Claremore, Oklahoma (Nickname Eagles) and Sequoyah High in Monroe County, Tennessee (Nickname Chiefs). The first one, in Tahlequah, is owned and run by the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. It is a school run by Cherokee's for Cherokee's (they have a nationally ranked girls basketball team also). The second one, Sequoyah High in Claremore, Oklahoma, the whole school district is named Sequoyah Public Schools, this is the name of the school district so with only one high school in the district it is Sequoyah High. Their website was new and I couldn't find anything about the sports teams. The last one I went to was the website for Sequoyah High in Monroe County. When the webpage opened I saw this image:

 

I knew immediatly that this was not Sequoyah. I clicked on the image and it said in the properties "A_typical_Nez_Perce.jpg"

This is Sequoyah:

 

When the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation gave Monroe County Schools permission to use the name Sequoyah, they probably though that an educational institution would not play fast and loose with the facts. If a child turned in a research paper with incorrect imagery they would fail.

This is the problem with native american nicknames. Great care should be taken to make sure everything is historically accurate and correct. One of my children goes to Sam Houston Elementary School in Maryville. They have taken great care to make sure that Sam Houston is honored and is portrayed historically. Do you think they have any old photo in the lobby. No. They have Sam Houston. Does William Blount High School have any old picture in their lobby. No they have a depiction of William Blount. The same goes for Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett and others that are named after real people. So why put up a plains indian picture instead of a photo of Sequoyah. Why refer to your new assistant principal as the "Lady Chief in Charge" on your website.

 

I'm not for legislation on this matter. I just think people need to realize that this is important. The facts and history are important.

 

 

 

I agree totally with you, and was not aware of this, but I am working on resolving this. Thanks.

[DiverCity]

QUOTE(nrgrizzlies @ Feb 4 2007 - 05:03 PM) 826358144[/snapback]

 

 

I hope that simplifies the situation for all those "bigotry is good because it's un-p.c." folks out there. Should MBA and Harpeth Hall call their teams the lilly-whites?

 

It wouldn't be very p.c. - as a matter of fact even the suggestion of it is pretty anti-p.c., thus lots of people who post on this forum should gladly embrace that concept.

 

******************************************

DISCLAIMER:

The above post may end Western Civilization as

we know it and cause pseudo-macho sports fans to fall

into a lifestyle of atheism and flag-burning.

******************************************

 

.......................................................

Disclaimer to the Disclaimer:

***MAJOR SARCASM ALERT***

.......................................................

 

 

 

Merely labeling someone as a "bigot" or "racist" does not make it so. Some of us made certain unequivocal statements and arguments which you chose not to attempt to refute. Rather, you simply devolved, in accordance with your race-conscious ideology, to stifle debate by dropping the ultimate epithet. Can you say ad hominem attack? I stand by what I said, and I still reject the leftist notion that the atomization of society into groups of rights-bearing individuals is a good thing.

 

BTW, athiests, perhaps unlike most flag burners, are not necessarily race-conscious leftists, the majority of whom probably claim some type of religious affiliation. Many athiests nonetheless understand that religion, the family, marriage, sexual distinctions, nationhood and national memory, intellectual and literary traditions, manners and mores, and so on are good for society because they lend stability to it.

[nrgrizzlies]

Definition of Knee jerk

 

Knee jerk: The reflex tested by tapping just below the knee causing the lower leg to suddenly jerk forward.

 

What is tapped to elicit this reaction is the patellar tendon, the tendon that runs down from the quadriceps muscle in the front of the thigh, over the kneecap (the patella), down to the lower leg. And what happens is that the quadriceps contracts and abruptly brings the lower leg forward. This reaction is involuntary since it occurs without the person willing it to happen.

*************************************************************

 

Since it is involuntary, many times knee jerk reactionary types are not held responsible for it.

In other words: they can't help it.

[atomicdog]

Some of you are so ignorant. I'm just reading the convo. There is so much I could respond to, but I'll just try to touch on a few points. I'll just say that most of you will never know how it feels to be discriminated against... and please refrain from saying you lost out on a position or job in favor of some undeserving minority, because that does not happen all that often.

 

The point is, people are offended. If they want the name changed, change it. I grew up in Tennessee, but fortunate enough to go to college out West, and now live in Arizona. I can say I didn't really have anything against the terms, until I went to college and had real discussions with Native Americans. Someone said on here, "I'm part Indian and I'm not offended." I would bet that you've always considered yourself white and people usually see you as white. I also bet you didn't grow up on a reservation. You probably haven't thought about any other issues affecting the Native American community either. After hearing their arguments and the issues they have to face, I refuse to support any effort of keeping these mascots. If you don't see the disgrace in a white kid dressed up in traditional Native head gear, face painted blood red, and dancing around a football field like a drunkard, then you'll never understand.

 

Now, looking initially, it seems as though Sequoyah High went about things the right way, specifically asking those Native Americans in the community for permission before using the name. But like someone else posted, you don't even have a real picture of the real person. How is that honoring him? It isn't. I hope the poster from Sequoyah really looks into this.

[ORidgeKat]

Atomicdog, you are right about one thing. I didn't grow up on a reservation, and I consider myself part Cherokee, and I really don't care how other people see me. Sorry, but I am not offended. And yes, I do attend Eastern band of the Cherokee Indian functions and celebrations regularly, so yes I am aware of the issues facing the Native American people. So, you shouldn't be so quick to call people you don't even know ignorant.

[atomicdog]

Okay, I'll say that I was wrong by assuming you weren't involved with the Native community. Forgive my writing style. I'm sure the "ignorant" term seemed to be dealt to you. And I won't even say any specific person on here is ignorant. I don't want to offend anyone and as you said, I don't know the people on here. But, the statements about "our culture " and "American culture" like the one about seeing the Native American wearing blue jeans was pretty ignorant.

 

So, ORK, since you are part Cherokee and well aware of the social issues facing your community, you cannot be proud of white people, portraying your people as vicious savages? Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the tomahawk chop a reference to scalping? I don't think Natives used to stand on the battle field and do the arm motion as part of a rallying effort. Is that honoring? Is painting your face blood red? Mimmicking rituals?

 

I think there's a correct way to truly honor these people, if that is what the intention is, however, I just don't think it's being done by many of these sports teams/schools.

[ORidgeKat]

You make some good points. I look at the tomahawk issue like this: it is a reference to a tool of war, or a weapon weilded by Indian warriors. It was used in some instances to scalp rival tribes' warriors, or any other person that was a threat to the survival of one's own tribe. Unfortunately, it was for some a vicious and savage existence, that was the way of the warrior. I do not think that these schools and mascots are making fun of Indian heritage or intentionally representing Native Americans in a derrogatory way. I simply see it as an acknowledgement of the Indian warrior spirit, fierceness, and fearfullness. but hey, to each his own, right? We can just agree to disagree on that. fair enough

[Sequoyah SID]

Now, looking initially, it seems as though Sequoyah High went about things the right way, specifically asking those Native Americans in the community for permission before using the name. But like someone else posted, you don't even have a real picture of the real person. How is that honoring him? It isn't. I hope the poster from Sequoyah really looks into this.

 

I am looking into this, and I will not stop until it is changed. I have contacted the principal and hope to meet with him this afternoon. I also talked to a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and he assured me they would speak on behalf of Sequoyah High School to retain their names. He also said the elders stress to them there are more important issues that are facing the Nation to worry about what some high school in Tennessee has used as a nickname. I have also talked with our Director of Schools and he said that if it came down to us being told to change one or both names, we would change without any argument out of respect to all Indian Nations. I hope this helps clear some things up, and I will continue to make sure Sequoyah High School becomes more correct in their usage of portriats and other things pertaining to the Cherokee Nation. I also have ancestors from the Cherokee Nation and I want to respect them along with all others from the Cherokee. No one nationality or race should be considered a minority or treated as such. We should all recognize and respect all the different cultures that are in the U.S.A. After all we are all created equal.