We’ve long been critical of school mascots such as the Lamar Savages and La Veta Redskins. Many American Indians find them insulting, and for good reason. Such names should be retired.
But by lawmakers to force schools to dump mascots — particularly when politicians try to stack the deck so that almost no name referring to Indians or Indian traditions would survive.
Gov. John Hickenlooper is proposing a less divisive approach. He is creating a commission that will include members of tribes and communities, and which will hold hearings in locales with the mascots. Importantly, it will have no authority to punish communities that fail to replace their mascots.
Maybe nothing dramatic will come of such discussions. But they could still be valuable in helping each side to understand the other’s perspective.
“Open, honest dialogue, free from the threat of penalties, can result in new paths forward and avoid future deadlock,” said Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia. At the very least, it’s a good start.
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