TURNERS FALLS — Two local Native American speakers called for more education during their presentation at the third community event in the ongoing review of the Turners Falls High School’s mascot, currently the “Indians.”
Chief Cheryll Toney Holley of the Hassanamesit Nipmuc Nation and Dr. Lisa Brooks, Amherst College professor and Abenaki, touched on a wide range of concerns, including the impact of Native imagery in mascots on Native American students. The school board is currently debating whether to keep the mascot.
Both speakers come from local Native American tribes and touched on the main arguments in the current Turners Falls debate, including the research and studies that show Native American mascots can have a negative impact on Native students.
“A lot of people are saying that you have this mascot to honor us,” Toney Holley said. “It does not honor us in any way.”
She said the stereotypical mascot portrayal ridicules the culture of local Native Americans.
“I just don’t see how that could honor anyone, living or dead,” she added. “It’s adding insult to injury.”
Both speakers supported changing the mascot.
The two said that while the majority of Native Americans nationally do not support Native mascots, there are individuals and groups that do support keeping them. Brooks said that not every person in a race is going to agree on an issue like this, and that it’s important to understand that all Native Americans have different life experiences and beliefs.
“There’s a diversity of opinions and that doesn’t mean that any of us should dismiss opinions that are different than ours,” she said.
School Committee members noted that they had heard from many self-identifying Native Americans, and that a connection to the Native American community is consistently important to those who speak from Native American perspectives within the debate.
The speakers also touched on the intention of actions by students who say the mascot is a way of honoring Native Americans.
School Committee Chairman Mike Langknecht said he struggled with the idea that students were intentionally perpetrating ridicule by doing the Tomahawk Chop or other actions.
“If there’s a moral failing, it’s an institutional one,” he said.
Both speakers said it was more important to look at the structural racism of the institution, and not beneficial to label individuals or students as racists, especially when many do not understand the impact of their actions on Native people.
However, the two believed it was crucial to look at the impact and start there. Both said many who want to keep the mascot aren’t intentionally trying to cause harm, but the debate should be focused more on the outcome, and less on what the reasoning behind it is.
“The question you have to ask is how do you educate people in the community, that even if they don’t mean harm, even if we give them the benefit of the doubt, their actions can still cause harm?” Brooks said.
The conversation shifted toward how to go forward when it comes to educating people about Native American issues when there is such a conflict about the mascot.
“It’s going to be hard to have a dialogue when people aren’t ready,” said David Brule, co-president of the Nolembeka Project and a Turners Falls High School alumnus. He compared it to a dentist yanking out a tooth, and said that there will be public blowback if the mascot changes.
Brooks said if the mascot does change, then the main piece moving forward will be educating the students so there isn’t a lack of understanding in the future.
“If you want to honor us, get to know us, come see us,” Toney Holley said, suggesting that a starting point would be for students to learn about the culture.
Many audience members who spoke and asked questions also called for more education, saying it is a complex topic and this may be a long process. Brooks said that for many schools that go through this process, it’s often long and uncomfortable.
“You’ve got to start where you are,” Brooks said.
Reach Miranda Davis at
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