by Jr. Ross

Madison, Wisconsin (AP)

The head of the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council called on lawmakers during early March to prohibit Wisconsin schools from using American Indian logos and nicknames in what he called a historic speech meant to improve communication lines between the state and the tribes.

Raymond DePerry, chairman of the Red Cliff Chippewa and president of the council, said the mascots were discriminatory images of American Indians that needed to be eliminated.

He also said it was hurtful to see businesses use those images and for communities to continue using derogatory terms to name Wisconsin waterways, singling out Squaw Bay in the Madison area.

“It is unfortunate that we must ask our Legislature to enact legislation outlawing such practices in our public schools,” DePerry said. “But it is even more painful that local school boards and public schools have allowed such practices to continue.”

DePerry’s speech marked the first time the tribes have been asked to formally address a joint session of the Legislature at the state Capitol. It also comes on the heels of a contentious period between lawmakers and the tribes, particularly over gaming issues.

DePerry said after the speech that he purposefully avoided talking about gaming issues because the tribes have made their positions clear on that issue.

“What all of us must never lose sight of, whether we’re black, white, brown or yellow, is that we all belong to the state of humanity, and that is what this day is truly about,” DePerry told lawmakers.

Still, his call to ban American Indian logos and mascots received a mostly tepid response. While the audience – many of them from the tribes – erupted at DePerry’s call for the legislation, a minority of lawmakers reacted enthusiastically.

There are 38 Wisconsin school districts at last count that still have American Indian logos, mascots or nicknames, according to the Wisconsin Indian Education Association.

Assembly Speaker John Gard, who invited the tribes to address lawmakers, said he was open to discussions about the legislation, but acknowledged it was a politically volatile issue. He said his preference was to allow local school districts to take steps to change the mascots without a state mandate, but he promised he would not stand in the way of any legislation that would require such a change if lawmakers embraced it.

Gard graduated from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 1986 and said he thought the school’s nickname of Indians was never meant to be derogatory. The school has since changed its nickname to the Eagles.

“We need to have a greater level of sensitivity to it,” said Gard, R-Peshtigo. “Personally, every time I talk to one of the tribal chairs about it, you get a greater appreciation for the way it comes across to them. I think that’s what we’re trying to accomplish today, for people to try to understand each other better.”

The issue of American Indian logos and nicknames has bitterly divided some school districts. While the tribes insist the symbols are derogatory, supporters say they are meant to honor American Indians, not insult them.

The Osseo-Fairchild school board in northwestern Wisconsin voted in July 2002 to change its chieftain head logo to the letters “OF.” Four months later, voters upset by the change recalled four board members, and the new board reinstated the logo.

After more complaints, the board decided in April 2004 to change the image from a Plains Indian, which doesn’t reside in Wisconsin, to the image of a Ho-Chunk, a tribe with about 1,500 members in several western Wisconsin counties.

The board consulted with local Ho-Chunk members on the revamped logo, which is very similar to the other one. But that has not alleviated the concerns of some tribes.

The gaming issue has been a source of friction between tribes and majority Republicans in the Legislature over the past two years.

Gard and former Senate Majority Leader Mary Panzer, R-West Bend, successfully sued to overturn the gaming compacts that Gov. Jim Doyle signed with many of the tribes. The lawmakers contended the deals broke state law because they had no expiration date and expanded the number of games the tribes could offer.

Several tribes have been harshly critical of GOP lawmakers for the lawsuit, saying it has put a strain on their relationship.

Gard credited DePerry for the decision to avoid talking about gaming, saying his speech will help pave the way for the two sides to come together on other issues.

“Gaming is too complicated and complex to deal with in a half-hour address,” Gard said.