On the issue of the Dartmouth Indian I am one of the group, which I believe is the vast majority, tired of sanctimonious calls for sensitivity and sick of the blatantly offensive materials that motivate them. I do not want to be part of a debate. I want to cheer for a real mascot that represents our sports teams. I think that we need discussion and then to determine our mascot, take a cue from professional sports, by a democratic vote with all options on the table.
Before examining the Dartmouth Indian, I think that we should look to the wider world of sports for guidance. Major League Baseball has a team called the Indians whose goofy logo depiction of a Native American was only recently and partially replaced by a more tasteful "C" for Cleveland. Baseball also has the Atlanta Braves, whose logo is a tomahawk and team song a supposed Indian war chant. The National Football League has the Washington Redskins and the National Hockey League the Chicago Blackhawks, whose logos look almost identical to the Dartmouth Indian.
Most of these Native American mascots are used tastefully and, in my opinion, give no more grounds for offense than other anthropomorphic and animal mascots. The cowboy, for example, of football's Dallas Cowboys might be offensive to those who object to the gender-biased conception of the cow"boy." Even more progressive objectors might take issue with the Dallas Cowpersons or Cowpeople on account of their current census classification as "supporters of activities for animal production." And surely not all pirates conform to the Pittsburgh Pirate stereotype of grizzled beard, eye patch and antiquated, uncouth speech patterns. Most mascots that are not anthropomorphic depict animals, which for some might bring to light cause of animal objectification. Think of all the Cardinals and Marlins and Tigers, all the poor Devil Rays and Panthers and Timberwolves, and of course all the Raptors that are objectified and made to look foolish in the callous causes of corporatism and consumption.
Maybe it is easier to see in professional than collegiate sports that letting democracy and the free market run their courses is best. In professional sports, decisions about mascots and logos are made considering their economic implications. What is going to get the most people excited about a team, willing to buy merchandise and come to a game? After the Milwaukee Brewers dumped their mascot, an overwhelming outcry from fans was followed by a vote that reinstated Bernie Brewer.
Perhaps the only way to resolve a contentious issue like our mascot is by a democratic vote. We tried a campus-wide vote a few years ago, which garnered neither the interest nor the legitimacy to claim a democratic mandate. But alumni-wide trustee elections and constitutional amendment referenda are successful at resolving similar Dartmouth issues. Let's let everyone who has participated in the Dartmouth experience have a hand in shaping our future. Even a decisive vote should not be thought of as an all or nothing proposition for either side. Why can't we design a mascot that honors whatever Indian traditions Dartmouth has in a way respectful to everybody, as the University of North Dakota seems to have done with its Fighting Sioux?
In the absence of that, I am personally partial to the Dartmouth I-Banker or official recognition of Keggy the Keg, although I think the Dartmoose and Indian are both far better than the color green. The important idea is that we at Dartmouth should choose our own mascot for ourselves, just as every other school or team owner should have that right.
My primary concern is that, as seems to be the case at the University of Minnesota, such large decisions are made by fiat. Rather than selecting mascots made through democratic consensus, the decisions are being handed down arbitrarily by some unrepresentative board or organization somewhere in college bureaucracies.
The bottom line is that we need to choose a mascot and rally behind it. Speaking out through publications, rallies and attendance is telling but a democratic vote with all options on the table would establish definitively where Dartmouth stands on the issue. It seems as though for some groups the controversy is an end in itself, but for those of us who thrive on school pride and unity rather than conflict, the only resolution might well be a vote, an exercise in democracy.
