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COAIM BLOG CO AIM LATEST NEWS MEDIA
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4 June 1993 Mr. Pete Golden, Principal Dear Mr. Golden: The American Indian Movement (AIM) of Colorado has been contacted by Ms. Sylvia Ripen, an American Indian parent with students attending your school. She has expressed her concerns to Colorado AIM regarding the continuing use of the "Braves" name and offensive logo by your school. We have agreed to assist her in her attempts to have the mascot and accompanying logo removed. Although, at this late date of 1993, the use of an Indian caricature by an institution that purports to instill knowledge and values in young minds is reprehensible enough, Ms. Crippen reports that you have consistently been insensitive and unresponsive to her concerns on this issue. Colorado AIM is committed to the elimination of educational practices, whether mascots or curricula, that serve to injure the self-image of American Indian students. We believe that your school's policy promotes such injury, and we expect you to stop it. Let me also apprise you that Ms. Crippen is a well-respected member of the American Indian community of Denver, and AIM wholeheartedly supports her and her children. Your disrespectful treatment of Ms. Crippen and her concerns are unacceptable to AIM, and we expect you to give Ms. Crippen and this matter your highest consideration. Perhaps the recent events at Arvada High School should be instructive to you about the potential volatility of the Indian mascot issue. I suggest that you contact Principal James Melhouse at Arvada High School and Father Knapp at Regis High School, both of whom have taken courageous positions in removing Indian mascots from their schools. I suggest this because the "Braves" issue is not going to disappear for you or for your school, and you might benefit from some of the positive and creative solutions that Regis and Arvada have employed. It is my understanding that you do not view the Indian mascot question as an important one. Let me assure you that others, such as Colorado AIM, consider it very important -- especially when it involves the minds and self-image of our next generations. As your own last name suggests, perhaps you have come from Jewish stock. If so, imagine your consternation of a middle school with the mascots called the "Kikes," with a caricature of a Jewish money changer on the school's entrance floor. That is the light in which your school's practices are viewed by many in the American Indian community. Ms. Crippen's request that your school drop the name "Braves" and remove the cartoon Indian from the front entrance of your school is perfectly reasonable. If you cannot accommodate Ms. Crippen's requests and concerns in a respectful and timely manner, I can assure you that the American Indian Movement is fully prepared to elevate this issue to a higher level of debate, including pickets and media at your school when classes resume in September. I look forward to your expeditious reply to this communication, and I await a reasoned and positive resolution of this matter. For all our relations, Glenn T. Morris |
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Colorado AIM Contact us at
denveraim@coloradoaim.org or
303-832-2544 |
