By Ed Rice, Special to the Bangor Daily News Well-publicized across the state, the Skowhegan-area school board, by a narrow 11-9 vote in early May, rejected an appeal by Maine’s four Native American tribes to end the use of their inappropriate nickname and mascot. For the time being, those 11 school board members have thumbed their noses at more than 30 other Maine communities and public schools that have ended such usage over the past decade. Skowhegan is the only school in Maine not to … [Read more...]
Skowhegan High School stands in Maine’s way: ending Native American mascot use
By Ed Rice, Special to the Bangor Daily News When all around her members of Congress stood frightened and mute in the face of Joseph McCarthy’s Communist fear-mongering, Margaret Chase Smith of Skowhegan stood, alone, in opposition and spoke what she knew to be right, what she knew to be the truth. Today, we need that spirit in Skowhegan once again. As we move through the 2014-15 academic year, Skowhegan Area High School is now the only school left in Maine using a Native American nickname … [Read more...]
Time for Skowhegan, Nokomis to answer: What makes your school so special?
By Ed Rice, Special to the Bangor Daily News Nearly 30 schools in Maine have stopped using Native American nicknames and symbols, mostly over the past decade. Standing all alone are Nokomis Regional High School of Newport, Skowhegan Area High School and southern Maine’s Wells High School in a race for infamy: Who will be the last to stop this insidious practice in Maine? A handful of education officials are, quite simply, arrogantly demonstrating to their students a poor model for showing … [Read more...]
Maine students should protest, end Native American school mascots
By Ed Rice, Special to the Bangor Daily News From our Colonial period right through to the present day, Native Americans have always been the victims of an intrinsic “institutional racism” in the United States. Or, put more bluntly, it’s always been okay to be flat-out disrespectful. Don’t think so, huh? Ready to join the gutless, no name-given and no address-given e- mailers who will undoubtedly post their “enough with the political correctness” mantra to this commentary on this … [Read more...]
Indian nicknames lacking in respect; mascot makeover might be in order for some Maine high school teams
This story was published on April 02, 2004 on Page C1 in all editions of the Bangor Daily News (Editor note: This is the first of three columns concerning disrespect to Native Americans in the world of sports and, in particular, disrespect to a Maine legend, Louis Sockalexis, by Sockalexis biographer Ed Rice. In this first column, Rice explores the continuing use of the nickname “Redskins.”) We live in a curiously impolite era. We know no new sporting team in this country - whether spawned … [Read more...]