Greg holds a Communications degree from Marquette University. He has a "genius" I.Q. He is methodical, considerate and well liked. He is a good family man and a hard worker. He believes the mascot for Marquette should be "Warriors" and not "Golden Eagles" and I agree with him.
When teams were renaming themselves to be politically correct, Marquette University jumped on the bandwagon. Years and years of tradition were thought not to be as important as honoring American Indians' feelings that "Warriors" is a slight. Many teams changed their mascot and team names to soothe ruffled feathers, but as I see it, the boat was missed here.
First, my great-great-grandmother was Cherokee. I enjoy and own real American Indian artifacts. I am proud of the rich history and wise ideas of Mother Earth and our world being our friend. I believe these thoughts. However, I do not believe changing the mascot name of a sports team is the way to prove my support for American Indians.
The crimes committed against American Indians, include the Trail of Tears when seven Cherokee clans were forcibly removed from their homelands and put in forts and reservations. Four thousand men, women and children died on the journey that would become known as the Trail of Tears. Cherokee Rose is symbol of that journey. New mothers were despondent that their infants would die on the journey, so tribe leaders prayed that there would be a sign to encourage the mothers and give them strength to carry on.
Where each tear fell, sprung forth a Cherokee Rose...the white flower represents the tears, the yellow center represents the gold that was taken from the Cherokee Nation. There are seven petals on the flower that represent the seven clans that were moved over the Trail of Tears. The flower flourishes even today as a reminder of the devastation and suffering of the Cherokee Nation.
This is but one atrocity committed against American Indians on their land...in their country, but it is representative of ignorance and injustice of the times. If we are going to make reparations to Indian Nations, we should neither start, nor end with mascot name changes. There should be an exchange of land and holdings and apologies. Public apologies that beg forgiveness for the slaughter of children. We owe so much and it should not be trivialized in stadiums and auditoriums.
5 comments:
true that!!! the atrocity never stopped. the us has and still sets up the navajo and dine tribes to war eachother at 4 corners.
the us continues to bribe the sacred land from amer indians
at the expense of the very earth loving culture/spirituality that could save us. all for oil.
an appology would be a humble start.
thank you for another deep post renee.
My grandmother's mother was Blackfoot. I feel so much of that spirit in me. This post runs really deep within me. I cannot express all of the feelings I have when traveling here in AZ, knowing what has transpired and the conditions the Native Americans live in today. Thanks Renee, another beauty!
Hi Renee, Great post!
It was interesting reading. It reminds me very much of the situation here in Australia and the Native Aborigines. The government wants them to assimilate to a western culture after 40,000 years of tribal culture and living. Pretty tough call for only a couple of hundred years (Captian cook came here in 1788!!)
I think alot of people are ignorant to these issues....if they can go to work and have their esspresso on the way....then come home to their nice house and television and pay packet....there is a tendency to think these issues do not effect you.
But they do....and they effect the community and the country.....I think the more it is talked about...the more people might understad.
I hope this is what is happening in your country at the moment.
Cheers
Pete
http://chocolatemakesitbetter.blogspot.com
Very interesting post. The early settlers and military certainly engaged in systematic genocide of natives.
By the way, I once interviewed R. Carlos Nakai, an accomplished native flute player, he was very quck to point out that natives were not native american -- that they had no american citizenship but were of their own tribes. I found that very interesting also.
gina
http://findingmygroove.blog-city.com
I enjoyed reading this post and the powerful message that came with it. I, too, have Cherokee heritage (which I found out not too long ago). The story of the Trail of Tears is tragically beautiful. An apology is in demand long before stadium and school mascots are changed.
Sarah
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