Racist terms

To the editor:

As I read Mr. D’Souza’s statements concerning native mascots, I wondered if he had ever read “Tribal Dispossession and the Ottawa Indian University Fraud” by William Unrau and Craig Miner. I also wondered if Mr. D’Souza realized that his alma mater, Stanford, changed from the “Indian” to the “Cardinal.”

Mr. D’Souza’s lack of recognition concerning mascot racism is ironic. The portrayal of native mascots by non-natives is no different than the use of the word “towelhead” by Western cultures. Both terms are equally offensive, and their use should stop. Nationalistic racist comments should stop. The offensiveness lies in dehumanizing other cultures with mascots or stereotypes. Mr. D’Souza should know better. His country was subjected to British racism until 1948. Here, it still happens.

Ottawa University was created out of Article 6 of the 1862 Ottawa Treaty. Twenty thousand acres out of 70,000 that the two Ottawa Tribes owned, were acquired through fraud by the Rev. Isaac Kalloch and Tauy Jones, on behalf of the Baptist Church Missionary System. A school was created for Odawa people, and the non-natives who forced them out of Kansas reaped the benefit. Gee, this sounds like the South Lawrence Trafficway.

The Indian Claims Commission thought so fondly of Ottawa University that they awarded $406,166 in 1967 for fraud damages that occurred against the Odawa People some 97 years earlier. Theft does not convey the action of goodwill and the use of native mascots.

Mike Ford,

Lawrence