Seven Native American students and three Dartmouth professors joined a group of several students at Alpha Delta fraternity on Tuesday for a discussion about Native Americans' role at the College and the historical use of the Indian as Dartmouth's mascot.
The Native American students present at the meeting expressed a desire to make sure that information regarding the symbol, its meaning and its history was correct in the minds of outside parties.
"This was an important discussion to have at this time," Joshua Lozman '01 said.
"Right now there is a disconnection between what the symbol represents in the students' eyes, which is Dartmouth College, and what the symbol represents in the eyes of Native Americans, which is a sign of disrespect and misunderstanding," he added.
The discussion began with a showing of the movie, "In Whose Honor," a documentary about the struggle headed by Charlene Teters to ban the use of the Indian as a sports mascot around the country.
The room was then opened to discussion during which several points were discussed, including what the Indian symbol means to Native Americans as well as the views of several non-Native Americans on the issue.
Lozman added that he believes that "in order to make any progress regarding this issue, clarification is needed and this is the forum for it."
"Growing up we see these symbols and learn to root for them as sports teams, not as symbols of Native American culture, and that may be where the disconnection occurs," Andrew Sonnenborn '02 said. "It doesn't justify, but perhaps explains, the attachment that fans have with their mascots."
"For Native peoples there is no disconnect with regard to the Indian symbol," professor and Native American Vera Palmer said, discussing her view of the Indian mascot. "Whether it is the caricature or an authentic Native American symbol, it represents a trivialization of sacred Native American culture."
Education Department Chair Andrew Garrod said he believed the discussion had raised many of the fundamental issues in dealing with this topic.
"The audience seemed very willing to listen to each other and to learn from each other," Garrod said, applauding the members of AD for holding the discussion and those who spoke for freely expressing their views.
Native American student Arvina Martin '02 said the discussion had left her feeling optimistic about educating other students about the issue, and that she appreciated the candid tone with which everyone spoke. "It was very reaffirming to hear the sincerity from the brothers about this topic," she said.
Ben Gebre-Medhin '02 also expressed a positive view of the talk, saying that everyone involved in the discussion had a genuine interest in listening to others' thoughts and viewpoints on the Indian mascot.
"I think this is a great first step," Gebre-Medhin said. "We helped bring the facts to people here, so now their discussions will be informed."
In 1998 a crowd of about 300 gathered in the Rockefeller center gathered to discuss similar issues of Native American imagery in sports team mascots.
Last year Lebanon High School faced the same issue Dartmouth grappled with years earlier in a debate about relinquishing their Indian mascot.
