No change w/ Benson and its Native imagery

No capitulation to the law in Benson

It dawned on me the other morning, I should check and see what's up with the Benson High School nickname and logo these days. I thought surely they would be suppressing the old stuff. Even if a formal change had not been acted upon, maybe they'd be going without a sports nickname for a time. Remember "The Washington Football Team" that tided things over? 

Washington held on to its old name for too long. You might say University of North Dakota did too. There was so much kicking and screaming over the adjustment that was inevitable at UND. There was a school president last name of Kupchella who fought hard against the winds of change, as I recall. I exchanged emails with an op-ed writer who was connected to UND, and this individual responded by saying in part, "Kupchella is hopeless." You might say there was no long-term hope in what the entrenched defenders of the old name were advocating. 

And I might add an even more salient point: Why are school sports team nicknames important in the first place? Why are they needed at all? Don't they seem a little, well, juvenile? 

A UND team was once heckled at an opponent's venue with the chant "smallpox blankets." It should not surprise you that the sport was hockey. Well, hockey people can be a little coarse. If you aren't familiar with the background of the chant, I don't really care to explain here. But it's probably exhibit 'A' for understanding why the old nicknames can no longer be permitted. 

So has Benson High School at least toned things down? Well, no. I really thought they might have taken some cursory steps. It appears no. So the school is clearly tone-deaf. 

As the years have dragged on, I have wondered why Benson was given sort of a pass. Is it because we're so remote out here in Western Minnesota? Surely the school leaders knew some time ago that the hammer was going to come down. If the new laws which have proliferated throughout the states are not meant to apply to what Benson does, then where would they apply? 

Benson has done the boilerplate thing with the old Native American theme. Yes they did consult with one or two Natives along the way, so they feel this gives them an imprimatur. One or two Natives who think it's no big deal should not win the day. 

How can this argument be boiled down? Well I would do it as follows: Native Americans are not mascots. They are human beings like everyone else. Public school administrators should realize this more than anyone. 

Shock at still seeing this

So why the foot-dragging? We can understand why school districts are reluctant to spend extra money when they don't really have to. The administration might reason that even if the nickname and imagery are not totally benign, we can live with it. Just watch everyone's behavior to make sure no disrespectful taunts break out - stuff like that. No Indian headdresses, for sure. No "tomahawk chop." 

I once wrote about the Tomahawk Conference in Minnesota. Has that name been pushed aside? 

The Minnesota "Indian war" of 1862 was a very serious thing. Today we move forward with our rainbow of ethnicities. We are dispensing of old stereotypes. 

Maybe we can still have fun with one or two stereotypes attached to Scandinavians. Big difference with that, though: Scandinavians have never been an aggrieved group in the Upper Midwest. The fun-poking (and exaggeration) of the movie "Fargo" was benign. Actually it was a pretty distasteful movie just with its content. Ah, Hollywood. 

Hollywood of course trampled on us with Indian stereotypes through most of its history. The progressive forces of today are irresistible. It's like having to put on your seat belt. People my age went through great frustration with this. Never mind, just do it. So we must shatter, forget about any of the Hollywood stereotypes attached to Native Americans. 

The story of the Little Bighorn has evolved to where the two sides are now seen as moral equivalents. I remember an op-ed once by someone who was shocked at how the "Crazy Horse Monument" was altering the whole discussion to whether Indians might be seen as rather "the good guys." Today I don't think anyone is shocked by the mere suggestion of that. The battlefield site was once named for Custer with the implication that it was he who needed to be memorialized. Today the "Little Bighorn Battlefield" is used. 

A field guide out there says "this history belongs to all of us." Many of the U.S. soldiers were young Irish immigrants who gravitated to the military because their options were limited. There was discrimination against Irish people. And of course the soldiers were out there on directions from the U.S. government. You might say everyone was a victim. 

Crazy Horse monument

And as the Native narrator in the movie "Son of the Morning Star" said as an epilogue: "It wasn't Custer's last stand, it was ours." The Indians went on to freeze or starve after that. 

Most likely the "last stand" story was myth. No one survived to verify. Forensic research on the battlefield has shown that Custer's unit fell into disarray at the end. Soldiers sought to flee and in vain. Human nature would not allow you to simply sit there and keep firing your gun, when you know this would make your adversary just more pissed off. In the late stages it was obvious the soldiers were going to be overrun.

Little Bighorn became one of the most studied military engagements in history. And had Custer simply waited longer for General Terry and his forces, the whole matter would have been handled more routinely even if sadly for the Natives who were being forced out of their lifestyle. 

A "primitive" lifestyle? Well, that's a judgment. I had an anthropology professor once who would argue we should make no such judgments. 

But the State of Minnesota is making a clear judgment now. It has drawn a line in the sand with regard to high school team logos and imagery. So "it's the law." With an asterisk actually. The new law leaves the door open for the famous Donald Trump strategy of "delay and appeal." So that's what Benson High School is doing. 

In the case of Trump, he might be able to come back as president because of how his lawyers draw things up. We cheered for the dinosaur that ate the lawyer in the original "Jurassic Park" movie. "Weird Al Yankovic" took inspiration for this in song lyrics. "Dinosaurs aren't all bad." 

So I wonder if Benson has its own lawyers hard at work, the usual suspects wearing suits and ties of course. They like getting in front of TV cameras. 

So Benson High School is availing itself of an appeal process. But here's what disappoints me: Could Benson appreciate at least the spirit of the law for now? Get rid of the cotton pickin' feather, because that is precisely the kind of symbol the legal measures are meant to wipe away. Get rid of the old Hollywood-inspired imagery. We are in the year 2023. 

District 777 which is Benson will submit a request to the state's eleven Native American tribes and the Tribal Nation's Education Committee requesting an exemption allowing Benson Public Schools to continue to use the Braves name and logo. The Benson school board recently voted "unanimously" to submit the letter. 

Well, all I can say is this: If these Native American entities actually do approve an exemption for Benson, it's just because they are in the mood to be "nice." I'm not good at predictions but I predict that Benson will be denied. If they are not, then what is the purpose of the law? Again, "Indians are not mascots." 

I wonder what my old friend the late Mike Miller of UMM would say about this. 

If you feel that Indians as mascots is immoral on the face of it, then you might wonder why Benson has not been pro-active from the get-go, regardless of any law being passed. That's sort of where my mind is at.

Just no subtlety at all at Benson High School. Well, we'll see.

 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com