Response to Indianola School Board Decision

Written by Jessica Engelking and graphics by Tobias-Ana Soudaly-Espinosa

On Monday September 9th the Indianola School Board voted to keep their Indian name and imagery, going so far as to stipulate that they would not allow further discussion of the issue unless asked to by the state. 

While this decision is disappointing, there are a number of positive takeaways from this meeting. This meeting did a great job of highlighting that these decisions are an exercise in power. It’s very clear that despite creating the appearance of a debate, some members of the board had no intention of even considering changing the name. The best arguments did not prevail. Very common sense arguments like “Mascots should unite, this mascot is clearly divisive, therefore we should choose a new one.” went ignored. The people who want to cling to the Indian name have not made a good faith effort to address the actual arguments being made. We can say for the millionth time, “This is about the demonstrable, peer-reviewed scientific evidence that these mascots harm children.” and they will respond with “Why do you get offended by a word? I don’t get offended by words.”  They draw weak analogies, appeal to anecdotal evidence, and engage in non sequiturs. They had a non-Native wearing a headdress because that’s what this dehumanization leads to.

It’s good to dispel this illusion that this issue is a matter of debate, because we really shouldn’t even be debating our humanity. It’s insulting. Indigenous tribes and organizations have made it abundantly clear that the use of these mascots is unwanted, but Native consent does not seem to matter. It is good to drop the guise of debate because it can mean giving weight to the majority opinion, even if that opinion is wrong. Just because a majority of people want something, doesn’t make that thing ok. Morality is not dictated by popular opinion. People should not be allowed to inflict harm on others for their own benefit, but too often representatives of the dominant group use their power to maintain control of the narrative that they want to tell themselves. But regardless of how they see themselves, they are objectively on the wrong side of history. Their petulant “Make me” response to calls to change the name shows that they understand what they have is might, and they have no intention to bend to what is right.

The majority of the board opposed to the name change showed that they are simply not going to be reasoned with. It’s clear that going forth, efforts to change the name will need to focus on challenging those seats. Now is the time for anti-racist citizens to step up and run for these offices. We need to rally around candidates that will use the power of these positions to better the lives of people, not maintaining racial dominance.

It got brought up at the meeting that many other schools in Iowa have Native mascots. It was mentioned by the pro-mascot people as though the evidence of the social acceptability of Native mascots was indicative of the rightness of their use. There are 27 Native mascots used by school districts in Iowa, and we do intend to keep fighting until that number is zero. To help achieve the retirement of all these Native mascots, we are going to need the help of the students and parents and community members with or around these mascots. If your school has a Native mascot, start writing letters to the Superintendent and School Board. If your school competes with a school with a Native mascot, ask that the name of the mascot not be used when they are the away team. If all the schools that Indianola plays against in sports would only call them the “Indianola team” then maybe they’ll start to get the hint. People can also be contacting news outlets to ask them to not use the name of Native mascots when reporting. 

As disappointing as the result of the Indianola School Board meeting was, it doesn’t mean that this is over. We are never going to give up fighting for the children.