Good on you Kathy!! I'm a member of the Sto:lo Nation in the southwest of BC Canada. I stand up for all that is good and honourable and I stand against all that is racist and inhuman. This mascot issue is but the tip of the iceberg but is one of those horrors that never goes away so long as people see it as harmless. It is a sad reflection on the devistation to our communities and the onlygoing effects of a colonialist mentality. We are still told to assimilate. We are not respected as nations of people with treaty rights that are still ignored without consequence. Our people are still oppressed and still treated as second class citizens in the employment lines and college entrance lines. Deny it and you are living in a bubble somewhere.

I'm so proud of you Katthy for speaking out. I have to stop myself here because I get pretty wired when I start talking about stuff like this. I work with a few groups who are very active fighting this kind of racism. We name it for what it is. We spend time in our own communities and other native communities raising awareness because sadly apathy causes people to become ammune to these kinds of perpetuated racism. We do workshops on stereotyping and the issue of mascots is high on the list of persisting models.

As for what is politically correct in terms of native, indian, aboriginal, indigenous.... the only truly politically corrent tag is the person's Nation. Here in Canada we are referred to in our constitution as Aboriginal. This is meant to be inclusive of First Nations, Metis and Innuit. Activists in our community insist on using the term First Peoples or Indigenous. The political consequence of the use of the term Aboriginal allows some to impose 'immigrant status' upon our ancestors. We prefer to hold to a history that has us born to this land from forever. Within our own communities is common to hear us refer to each other as Indians but when a non-native used the term its less acceptable. First Nations refer to people still living on reserve or at least a band member. Metis are those of mixed ancestry with French settlers, usually with Cree, Ojibaway and some Mohawk nations. Innuit are those from the north sometimes referred to as Eskimo. There are many nations of native people within Canada each with their own unique lanugage and cultural traditions.

The fact that we struggle to settle on a 'universal label' for Native Americans is because we are not all one nation of people. We were not conquered by a nation of people... never conquered but negotiated treaties to share.... yet we are not acknowledges for our true national affiliations but relegated to hypenated attachments. Not right but it is what it is until people can see more clearly the harm they do by condoning, underestimating or ignoring the ongoing effects of racism, oppression and apartide government policies.

Stopping my rant now.... sorry for the vent but gee wiz people.... open your eyes. Kathy has seen the injustice and is taking action. Well done Kathy. May more follow you on your journey. The battle isn't over till the last mascot is put to rest. It may never be over. Here in BC the Olympic committee come up with 3 mascots for the 2010 game that are a total disrespect for our cultures. We even have strong native representation of the committees and still they messed it up. Not sure when this kind of stuff will end but I do know it won't end if people don't start to notice its negative effects on the people being falsely represented and society as a whole as it continues to suffer from the racism all around us.