Emotions ran high Dec. 15 as a 16-member “mascot” committee debated changing Wiscasset High School’s current mascot, the Redskins.
The RSU 12 school board voted to form the committee in November in response to a formal request from the Maine Indian Tribal State Commission to consider changing the school’s mascot. According to MITSC, the term “redskin” is derogatory and racist and its use is offensive to Native Americans.
The first half of the meeting was dominated by confusion about the committee’s role and its mandate from the RSU 12 school board. Discussion focused on whether the committee was charged with making a decision, or merely making a recommendation to the school board.
Committee chair and Wiscasset High School principal Matt Carlson said that the committee was charged with studying the issue and reporting back to the board, while others felt the decision should be made locally.
Student Ross Hanley who finally broke the impasse about how, or even whether, to proceed, saying, “We want people to understand the issue. Whether it’s a recommendation or a decision shouldn’t matter; we can move forward either way.”
However, before the group decided to proceed, committee member Eugene Stover objected to the appointment of new committee member Paul Bisulca, a representative of the Penobscot Nation.
Bisulca, a retired army officer and former Maine state legislator, was appointed to the committee to replace Passamaquoddy representative Denise Altvater, who recently resigned her position as committee member.
Stover said, “This is a local issue, the mandate for the committee didn’t mention people from outside the community. Addressing Bisulca, he said, “I don’t think you should be at this table.”
That comment prompted RSU 12 board chairman Thom Birmingham to rise from the audience and say to Bisulca, “I’m happy you’re here.” He then addressed the committee and said, “The tribal council came to the school board and indicated this mascot is hurtful to them. Our neighbors have come and said ‘this is hurtful.’ We need to decide what to do about this. I think that’s a pretty simple charge.”
Carlson attempted to further clarify the committee’s charge and membership, by saying the mandate from the school board was to form a committee that included “all stakeholders.”
In response, Stover asked Carlson, “Will you be able to stay neutral?”
Birmingham then attempted further clarification of the committee’s charge by explaining the tribal commission had approached the RSU, and that the RSU would respond to the request to change the name and mascot. “It was kicked back (for local discussion) as courtesy to the town of Wiscasset,” he said.
When the committee finally did move forward with discussion about the mascot itself, they reported the results of research they’d conducted with other schools that had faced similar issues.
Schools contacted by the committee included Old Town, Scarborough, Sanford and Thomaston/Rockport. The most extensive conversations involved Old Town and Scarborough. Old Town changed its mascot from the Indians to the Coyotes, while Scarborough changed from the Redskins to the Red Storm. The general consensus seemed to be that current students were okay with the name changes, while alumni found such change more difficult.
Committee members also researched the Florida Seminoles, the NCAA and the Washington Redskins.
Member Kelly Duffy reported that, in a lawsuit against the Redskins, a lower court ruling found the name is derogatory, but the decision was stalled during the appeals process.
She also reported that the NCAA had banned teams from post-season play if they were using Indian mascots, and that they cannot use Indian mascots or symbols when they travel. In the case of the Florida Seminoles, because they have received permission from the Seminole tribe to use the name, they are eligible to participate in post-season play.
Committee members Chris Teel and Chet Grover insisted the school is actually honoring Native American Indians by using the name “Redskins,” an idea to which several committee members objected.
“The difference is Seminole is the name of a tribe. Redskins are not,” Duffy said. “It’s derogatory.”
“If the Wabanaki would come in and approve the use of Redskins, that would be different. It’s the definition of bullying and harassment,” Kim Andersson said. “They’ve come to us and said, ‘this term hurts us and our children.’ How can we ignore that?”
Stover said that he had looked up the Webster’s dictionary definition of Redskins and found it was not derogatory. In response, Bisulca said, “I challenge you to walk on Indian Island and ask someone, ‘Hey Squaw, Hey Redskin, can I ask you a question?’ If you don’t think that’s disrespectful; if you think that’s honorable, I can tell you definitively that the term ‘redskin’ is derogatory.”
“There’s a lot of emotion involved in this,” Teel said. “I think passion and honor and tradition are being confused with racism. I don’t think anyone in this town is a racist.”
Both Teel and Grover spoke of the long tradition of the Redskins mascot in Wiscasset, saying it goes back to the 1940s and is important to the town and the high school’s alumni. “I’ve been a Redskin since 1984,” Grover said. “I’ll die a Redskin. I believe we’re honoring the Indian image of stay strong and fight until the end. When we say Redskin, it’s with honor and tribute to American Indians.”
“How can you say you are honoring them when you won’t listen to what they’re saying,” Pooler said. “How can you say you’re honoring if them if you don’t respect them?”
Altvater also said that when she first heard about the mascot issue, she was neutral. “I’m a native person, but I’m not offended by the mascot,” she said. “It’s not the mascot that’s hateful, but the anger. That’s racism. When you can’t look at us without anger, that’s where the racism shows.”
In the end, the committee decided to meet again Jan 12. Student Paige Teel said, “Whatever happens here at these meetings, the atmosphere is magnified in the hallways (of the high school). I want to be able to tell people we’re making progress.”
