The NFL got rid of the name Redskins in Washington. Baseball got rid of the name Indians in Cleveland. Now, a California law has taken effect banning Native American mascot names in schools. In 2024, California passed AB 3074, which bans Native American mascots at California schools. While the bill was passed in 2024, it didn’t go into effect until this month. At the time the bill was being considered, it was supported by a long list of organizations, including many Native American tribes and organizations:
ACLU California Action
American Indian Movement – Grand Governing Council
Cahuilla Band of Indians
California Hospital Association
California Teachers Association
Coalition of California State Tribes
Dolores Huerta Foundation
Fernando Tataviam Band of Mission Indians
Folsom High School
Hart High School
Kiowa Tribe
Los Angeles County Office of Education
Origenes Dance Company
Pacifico Dance Company
Pala Band of Mission Indians
Pasadena City College – Indigenous Peoples Advisory Committee Prayer Horse
Pueblos Indígenas Quechua y Aymaras en EE.
San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians Gabrieleno/Tongva
Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians
Stanford American Indian Organization
Tachi Yokuts Tribe
Tataviam Land Conservancy
Tiuvac’a’ai’ Tribal Conservation Corps
Toltecayotl Indigenous Dance
Tule River Tribe
United American Indian Involvement, Inc.
This is only a small portion of the organizations that supported the bill, and many of them are Native American tribes or Native-led organizations. These are the people most directly affected by these mascot names. Yet we still have people in Northern California fighting to keep the name “Indians” at Marysville High School. They argue that it’s not offensive and that it’s meant to be an honor. But if many Native Americans don’t feel honored by it, then how is it an honor? How can any reasonable person tell someone else what they should or shouldn’t find offensive? How can you tell them to be honored instead of offended because that is the way you want them to feel? For me, this isn’t even about whether I am personally offended by Native American mascot names. I’m not. It’s about having compassion and respect for people who are. That’s just basic human decency. You don’t have to personally be offended to understand why someone else might be. The people who want to keep mascots like the Indians at Marysville High School also argue that it’s tradition and that it has been the mascot for more than 100 years. But tradition alone doesn’t make something right. A hundred years ago, there were many things that society considered acceptable that we now recognize as racist and discriminatory. I don’t think anyone would argue that we should bring those beliefs back simply because they were once considered normal. Another argument is that changing the mascot somehow erases the accomplishments of generations of student-athletes. It doesn’t. No one is erasing their records, statistics, championships, or memories. Those accomplishments will always belong to the students who earned them. The only thing being removed is a mascot that many Native Americans have said they find offensive. And in the end, the opinions that should matter most are those of the people directly affected by it.
