Ed Rice 9/23/14 (Indian Country Today) As my plane winged its way to Cleveland last week, to give a library talk in praise of Maine Penobscot Indian Louis Sockalexis and against the Cleveland Indians’ continuing use of Chief Wahoo, I began imagining myself as being something like the Jimmy Stewart character in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” Upon my return trip to Bangor, after thinking about a solitary walk around Progressive Field that left me infuriated by the Cleveland Indians’s … [Read more...]
Mainer confronts Cleveland Indians execs in quest to honor Penobscot Indian player
By Ed Rice, Special to the Bangor Daily News As my plane winged its way to Cleveland last week, on my way to give a library talk in praise of Maine Penobscot Indian Louis Sockalexis and against the Cleveland Indians’ continuing use of Chief Wahoo, I began imagining myself as being something like the Jimmy Stewart character in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” Upon my return trip to Bangor — after thinking about a solitary walk around Progressive Field that left me infuriated by the Cleveland … [Read more...]
Recognize Sockalexis by ditching Wahoo and changing course on Ohio team names and mascots: Ed Rice
By Guest Columnist/cleveland.com on June 18, 2014 at 7:22 AM Some day, probably under an entirely new ownership and new organizational leadership, I believe Cleveland's baseball team will reverse course and demonstrate, like most of the rest of the country is currently doing with mascot and nickname changes, that there are far, far better ways to show respect to our Native Americans and their culture. At that time, Clevelanders may demand a more attractive portrait of Louis Sockalexis at … [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...]
Cleveland Indians must end offensive use of Chief Wahoo — or seek blessing of Penobscot Nation
By Ed Rice, Special to the Bangor Daily News While it’s admirable — and I’m completely sarcastic here — that the Cleveland Indians organization sought feedback from its fan base on the controversial issue of its racist mascot, Chief Wahoo, and has started 2014 by implementing a partial end to its use, wouldn’t it finally be considerate of the team to seek the blessing of the Penobscot Nation for even part-time use? This is comparable to a group deciding, “Hey, it’s OK to use the swastika … [Read more...]
The Cleveland Indians need to learn same lesson Ohio schoolchildren have learned: Ed Rice
By Guest Columnist/cleveland.com on October 18, 2013 at 4:39 PM ORONO, MAINE -- The Cleveland Indians organization has never had any real understanding -- or appreciation -- of what it has in the historical figure of Louis Sockalexis, a man who almost certainly broke professional baseball’s color barrier, a man who was definitively the first-known American Indian to play, a man who went through the exact same experience Jackie Robinson endured 50 years after him but never gets any comparable … [Read more...]
Will Baseball HOF finally start honoring the game’s native pioneers?
9/7/13 (Indian Country Today) The stated mission of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, in Cooperstown, New York, is “to preserve history, honor excellence and connect generations.” It fails on all three counts where Native American players and history are concerned. For even as its exhibition walls feature portraits of pioneer players and time-lines for Afro- American players, Hispanic players and women players, no such recognition and celebration exists for the American Indian … [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...]
Indians facing curse?
Perhaps the city of Cleveland and fans of the Indians should be asking the question: Are we in the presence of a baseball curse, one that may be beginning to approach the magnitude of the one that allegedly faced the Red Sox for 86 years and is steadily creeping toward the magnitude of the one that still, allegedly, plagues the Cubs for more than 100 years now? If there is a curse, it’s deserved. Already, around the country and here in Maine, people are beginning to talk about the “Curse … [Read more...]
Hall should address real issues
“Forget Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson, put Louis Sockalexis in the Baseball Hall of Fame!” To hear that truly great master of being disingenuous and champion of using “Straw Man” fallacies — using logic fallacies I’ve cautioned my students not to use on their peers in my oral communications classes for a decade — you’d think that is my position and the Penobscot Nation position, according to Bradford Horn, National Baseball Hall of Fame public relations director. Of course, if you had … [Read more...]