Lewis & Clark expert weighs in on use of Native American mascots
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Se-ah-dom Edmo, coordinator of the Indigenous Ways of Knowing (IWOK) Program at Lewis & Clark, weighs in on the use of Native mascots in a recent guest opinion for the Oregonian.
According to Edmo, Governor John Kitzhaber has gone on record saying he will veto Senate Bill 215. The bill, which passed the Oregon House and Senate, would overturn the Oregon Board of Education’s 2012 decision to eliminate the use of Native American mascots in Oregon schools.
Edmo considers this a civil rights issue. “Exposing individual Native students to mascots, targeting and bullying for sport, recreation, and entertainment is not dignified or honoring, and is race-based discrimination,” she writes.
The IWOK Program prepares Native and non-Native teachers, counselors, and related community leaders for leadership roles. The program also empowers Tribal communities by providing educational experiences through a process rooted in indigenous worldviews.
