A little history...(kind of long)
I think people need to be aware of how deplorably the American Indians have been treated in the US since the anglos first set foot here...there were originally as many as 40 to 80 million American Indians living in this country. Only about 10% remained at the end of the 18th century due to disease (introduced by invaders), wars and basic annihilation.
Indians are the only population that have lost claim to their land, and forced to move to federally provided reservations. As far as Miami University goes, I seriously doubt the relationship with the Miami tribe has been that strong for 200 years. I'd love for anyone attending the school to see exactly how far back these programs and scholarships date. Did they start in 1809? Much of the land (about 30 million acres in Indiana and Illinois) the Indians sold were to pay debts for provisions and whiskey. Tribes sold each other out - the Deleware tribe sold some of the Miami tribes land. Eventually, the Miami Indian tribe was more or less forced to move to Oklahoma. And as far as the university buying the land in Oklahoma, and the Miami Indians were "willing to move and did not complain", what kind of message were they trying to send? "Okay - we are going to name the school after you, but you gotta move to another state cause we really don't want anything to do with you, we'll even pay for the land...how's that?". I don't mean to use Miami University as an example, and don't mean to offend but I have not seen any documentation about the actual relationship, and I think it might warrant a closer look. I think it is wonderful that they have such great programs for the American Indian there now, but would love to see exactly how far back these programs actually extend. And as Kitso said, it really depends on what treaty you look at, and who signed the agreement. You can read more about the Miami history at
http://www.dickshovel.com.mia.html.
In 1830, the Indian Removal Act was passed - which basically meant that government could force the Indians to move further west into the frontier. The Cherokee tribe is a prime example of disharmony among tribes. MOST Cherokee members were opposed to leaving their homelands, but a small group felt the would survive only if they signed a treaty with the US, so they signed on behalf of the entire tribe (Of course the US did not care who signed the agreement as long as someone signed it and they got the Indian land they coveted). Five million dollars and a reservation in Oklahoma later, the Cherokee nation was rounded up at gunpoint and sent on their way. A few ran and made it to survive in the North Carolina hills, and that is why there are two bands of the Cherokee Nation. About one fifth of the tribe perished on the Trail of Tears. American Indians were uprooted and forced from their homes to new lands with no voice, time after time, tribe after tribe.
Kitso has referred to it, but check out the battle at Wounded Knee (
http://www.dickshovel.com/DwyBrd.html.) Or
http://dickshovel.com/hill.html. The US describes it as a battle, the Lakota describe it as a massacre of about 90 men and 200 women and children. The land supposedly belongs to the Lakota tribe, but in 1995 a bill was placed before congress to take that land and build a memorial. A memorial to what? Whose memorial - the US calvary or the Lakota tribe?
Until 1978, when the Indian Child Welfare Act was enacted, the American Indian cultures were decimated by forcing children to leave home at a young age, and sending them to boarding schools, where they were taught how to act like little anglo people. Indian children were taken from their homes, and placed out for adoption among white families in attempts to "civilize" the "savages". Many tribes have suffered irreparable harm to their culture, traditions and values as a result. This stopped only 25 years ago. Every other minority in America has been treated much better than the American Indian.
For about 200 years, this countries unspoken motto towards American Indians was "the only good Indian is a dead Indian". The image of the "redskin" or "warriors" speak of something other than the real people whose complexity and concerns cannot be reduced to such inadequate images, nor should be with mascots or anything else. It is majorly offensive to the American Indian, (as Kitso said, just as offensive as calling a team the N word) and I personally think that teams should respect that.
I don't mean to offend anyone, but I think people need to be more aware and culturally sensitive to the American Indian history. Educate yourself about it. You might just find yourself quite appalled and horrified by what you find.
