South Iowa News

Using Native American symbols and mascots negatively affects Native Americans’ mental health, according to a letter sent to Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds.

The letter, sent by the Iowa Department of Human Rights, said the mascots are degrading and hurtful and should no longer be used.

A report by KCRG said the Iowa Commission on Native American Affairs stated there are currently 66 schools in Iowa with mascots that incorporate Native American names, imagery and symbols.

KCRG also reported studies indicate the use of Native American imagery and symbols for mascots negatively affects Native Americans’ mental health.

The commission’s letter, according to the report, said these types of mascots “have no place in the just society that our schools are designed to foster.”

“I think the more we can do to encourage the public at large to recognize that natives are their neighbors and coworkers and classmates,” Patrick Bigspy, commissioner of Iowa Native American Affairs, said. “We’re one step closer to solving some of those larger policy issues.”

A quote from the Iowa Commission on Native American Affairs is contained within the letter to the governor, according to We Are Iowa, said:

“The use of Native symbols and likenesses is inarguably degrading and hurtful to Native people, who are forced to see themselves reduced to mere caricatures and see their cultures co-opted for purposes divorced from Native self-determination."

The letter also addressed psychological studies done on the effects on Natives seeing their culture being minimized to a caricature, as well as watching it being displayed in school mascots in a way that doesn't represent their culture. 

The Iowa Commission of Native Americans voiced its stance on this issue in May 2011, writing a letter that read: “The use of a Native American symbol or likeness is degrading to our culture and to our people. We see it as offensive and an invasion of our spiritual way of life.”