Native American – NAACP New Bedford

Public hearings on the Dartmouth mascot

[caption id="attachment_2328" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Maulian Dana speaking at Skowhegan, Maine school board meeting, March 8, 2019. Photo by Amelia Tuplin, Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0.[/caption] On March 8th, the Dartmouth School Committee heard from members of Mashpee, Pocasset, and Aquinnah tribes about the harms of Native American mascots and related imagery. Several members of the Aquinnah spoke in support of the mascot and one member spoke against it. On March 22nd the School Committee offered an opportunity for general public comment. All things considered, this sparsely-attended meeting was relatively calm and respectful although several members of one group of mascot...

Dartmouth School Committee hears indigenous views on mascot

A joint session of the Dartmouth School Committee and Equity and Diversity Committee met on March 8th to finally hear from a number of indigenous voices on the matter of the "Indian" mascot. Several of those who spoke last night oppose the mascot and were being heard for the first time by the committees. You can view the meeting here or by clicking on the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zjDTReoyDc

Reckoning with race and history: Dartmouth edition

[caption id="attachment_2328" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Maulian Dana speaking at Skowhegan, Maine school board meeting, March 8, 2019. Photo by Amelia Tuplin, Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0.[/caption] Like so much in America that is touched by race, a reckoning with the Dartmouth High School mascot has been simmering for years. Maine, Oregon and Washington state have all banned Native American school mascots. And here in Massachusetts -- even after Pentucket, Groveland, Merrimac, West Newbury, Athol, Barnstable, Nashoba, Hanover, Winchester, Grafton, Brookfield, Taconic High, Braintree, Walpole, and Pittsfield abandoned theirs -- many in the Town of Dartmouth insist on defending their "Indian" mascot...

Dartmouth, it’s time to retire the mascot and logo

[caption id="attachment_2328" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Maulian Dana speaking at Skowhegan, Maine school board meeting, March 8, 2019. Photo by Amelia Tuplin, Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0.[/caption] With the author's permission, this post combines two separate articles in the Dartmouth High Spectrum written by Assistant Editor Avary Amaral. Ms. Amaral is also a member of the NAACP New Bedford Youth Council. The views in this essay are Ms. Amaral's alone and do not represent those of the DHS Spectrum. Introduction This past year, despite COVID, multiple active shooters across the country, Asian hate, and the death of 212 people by police issued...

Wakefield School Committee to host tribal leaders to discuss their mascot

[caption id="attachment_1586" align="aligncenter" width="800"] "Protest against Washington football team name”, by Fibonacci Blue, licensed under CC by 2.0[/caption] The Wakefield School Committee and district administrators will host a panel made up of tribal leaders and representatives from around the state. The public panel will be held virtually on Wednesday, March 17, 2021. https://patch.com/massachusetts/wakefield/wakefield-invites-tribal-leaders-discuss-school-logo Participants will discuss the use of Native American imagery in school logos and related visual materials. The panel comes as Wakefield reconsiders the "Warriors" name and logo for the high school. Over 3,000 people have signed a petition to change the school mascot, calling it "a harmful...

Support the Massachusetts Indigenous Legislative Agenda

Please support the Massachusetts Indigenous Legislative Agenda Please endorse the Agenda and if you are a member of an organization, ask your leadership to endorse the Agenda as well. The Massachusetts Indigenous Legislative Agenda consists of five bills supporting human rights, honoring culture and history, preserving heritage, and expanding education for Native Americans. An Act Establishing An Indigenous Peoples Day Fact Sheet House Bill: HD.2422 Senate Bill: HD.664 An Act to Protect Native American Heritage Fact Sheet House Bill: HD.1662 Senate Bill: SD.1887 An Act prohibiting the use of Native American mascots by public schools in the Commonwealth Fact Sheet...

Massachusetts anti-mascot legislation re-filed

[caption id="attachment_1586" align="aligncenter" width="800"] "Protest against Washington football team name”, by Fibonacci Blue, licensed under CC by 2.0[/caption] Professional sports teams are rapidly getting rid of their Native American mascots. And here in Massachusetts the Barnstable, Acton-Boxborough, Braintree, Quincy, and Walpole schools have all addressed them in recent months. But some Massachusetts towns are clinging to their racist mascots as desperately as others do their Confederate monuments. Dartmouth is one of about two dozen towns in Massachusetts that still won't give theirs up. While these towns and school boards root around their cupboards for the moral courage they seem to...

NAACP Decries Silencing of Native Voices in Dartmouth ‘Indian’ Debate

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: July 20, 2020 – 8:30 a.m. NAACP Decries Silencing of Native Voices in Dartmouth ‘Indian’ Debate New Bedford – At a meeting of local activists convened by the NAACP, area residents criticized the Dartmouth School Committee’s handling of the debate over the school’s offensive mascot, particularly singling out the Committee’s decision to exclude anyone not a Dartmouth resident from its deliberations. This virtually ensures that no Native tribal members and leaders will be heard. In response, the group agreed to mobilize to ensure that those and other voices are brought before the public. The...