Maine Banned Native American Mascots

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?

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.

We live in a curiously impolite era. We know no new sporting team in this country – whether spawned to give identity to a new grade school, college or amateur team, or to promote the creation of a new professional enterprise – that would dare feature a mascot or logo with a direct racial or ethnic theme. And, of course, no one would seriously contemplate a design that would clearly be offensive to the Black, Hispanic, Jewish communities, etc.