Controversy over the Chippewa name has once again made an appearance on CMU's campus.

With the closing of Native American history month, one wonders how much the average student has truly learned from the past. Some were affected by the education they gained throughout the month about Native Americans, and began to apply that information to CMU. 

The Fighting Illini were the center of the controversy played out in the documentary shown Monday, November 23, In Who's Honor: American Indian Mascots in Sports.  The film described the objectification of Native American people and their ways of life through mascots. 

What is seemly harmless to some, is seen as hurtful and racist to others in this documentary. The documentary told the story of Charlene Teters, who stood up for Native American rights to stop the racist abuse of their name and culture. Native Americans shown in the film all presented the same idea: that these names are hurtful to a living people and that ignorance is not an excuse for racism.

They identified the Redskins nickname as the most blatant racist symbol, and yet it is still allowed to be used. 

After the movie was shown, the audience was asked to share their reactions, and all were in favor of stopping the use of Native American names and symbols in sports. 

Audience members believed it was because of the low population of Native Americans that they still have not won, after all, Native Americans will never be the majority, they will always be the minority in any vote. 

In 2005, the NCAA took the first step and banned the use of Native American mascots because they deemed the names to be "hostile and abusive."  The University of Illinois, referenced in the film, dropped their mascot, Chief Illiniwek, in 2007. They did, however, keep the name. 

CMU was affected by this ban because of our name, but we obtained an agreement with the local Saginaw Chippewa tribe to let us continue to use their name. 

The Chippewa nickname for CMU has been around for quite a while, since 1942. But before we were Chippewas, we were the Dragons in 1925, and then the Bearcats from 1927 to 1941. 

Then, in 1941, CMU football coach, Lawrence Sweeney, suggested the name Chippewas be used in front of the student council. He argued that the name Bearcat offered no geographic location that corresponded with CMU's campus.

The name Chippewa, however, spoke of this place specifically because the Chippewa tribe used to be scattered all over this area (until they were placed on the Isabella Indian Reservation by the US government).

He also argued that the Chippewa River flowed through Mount Pleasant, and that the name could lend to more showmanship and pageantry, giving examples of possible pow-wows that would replace the traditional pep-rally, a chief symbol for more distinct uniforms, and the growth of beauty in our schools flags. 

The name was voted on by the student population, winning 351-90, but this only accounted for half the student population at the time. 

All of these reason to change the name to Chippewas were negated in 1988 when the Michigan Civil Rights Commission declared that any use of Indian names or logos promoted racial stereotypes. 

They recommended that all names or logos referring to Native Americans be dropped, which were being used at the time by 4 colleges, 62 high schools and 33 junior high schools.  This recommendation prompted Eastern Michigan University to drop their former nickname, the Hurons, and adopt the Eagles in 1991.  CMU, however, dropped all but the name following this recommendation. 

Why drop all references to Native Americans but keep the name? Some say it is because students identify with their school's nickname, and have grown attached to those names.  Many students here at CMU believe the name honors the Chippewa tribe and since the Indian references have been taken out of our symbols, it's okay. 

There is even a Facebook group dedicated to students supporting the Chippewa name, called Chippewa Pride: Keep the Chippewa Name.  The group has grown in the past couple of days from near 600 on Monday, to over 1,000 on Wednesday. 

 "Why is there a need to single out a people, racially, to use? Such behavior only objectifies them." said CMU faculty member, Dr. Ramirez-shkwegnaai, an Anishinaabeg and a descendent of the Saginaw Chippewa tribe.

Dr. Ramirez believes that knowledge and understanding are what is most needed in this controversy and identifies maturity as the key to that understanding.

He believes, like other Native Americans shown in the documentary, that using names and mascots that relate to Native Americans is the objectification of a living people.

"Making people into objects is what I have a problem with," says Ramirez, who would like to see the student population get more involved with this issue. 

He believes the students are the ones with the power to change our nickname, but he wonders, "are the students growing enough to understand this?" 

Most students, when asked, care little about our nickname. Most do not see it as bad or hurtful to Native Americans but this is because they have not been educated about the subject.

Most know little about the name's history, why we adopted it, and why it might be wrong, that is why Dr. Ramirez believes change will happen by "bringing it to the forefront."

CMU students need to know about the pros and cons of the Chippewa name to make a valid decision, and this can happen through regular conversations with the tribe itself and Native American students on CMU's campus. This topic needs to be presented to the average student in a way so they can no longer ignore it and we as CMU students can make an educated decision.

Suggestions for a new nickname range far and wide, the most inventive being the Soaring Eagles, or celebrating CMU's history with the Bearcats or Dragons.

Using one of these names would open up the possibly of having a real mascot and symbol too. People don't see the name as wrong, but it's the same as calling ourselves the Jews or the Japs. We are using the name of a living group of people as our object, and though we see names like Jews and Japs as wrong, we somehow think Chippewas and Chips are okay. 

Many students on CMU's campus wear shirt that say "Buck the Froncos," well, what do the Broncos wear? Just because we use the name respectfully does not mean others do. 

It is important for CMU students to really think about this issue, think about how much the name Chippewas really means to them, and how much it means to the people it hurts.

Is the name so important to CMU that we would continue to objectify a group of people who live a few miles down the road? 

The average student knows so little about the actual tribe as a people, yet we feel comfortable using their name.  Maybe, just maybe, it's time for change. Maybe it's time to stop the ignorance and do the right thing. Maybe.

GCM photos courtesy of CMU

By Brittany Smith

 

 

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