"Why are Indian sports logos still are at UND and so hard to get rid of? The best way to explain this is what’s known as the “process of colonization.”

Colonization is the conquering of the minds and habits of oppressed people such as American Indians so that they internalize and accept inferiority as an inherent characteristic of themselves.

Decolonization reverses process that by breaking with the ways by which our reality is defined and shaped by the dominant culture and by asserting our understanding of that reality or experience. (By the way, 99 percent of U.S. Indian tribes have voted against using themselves as Indian sports logos.)

What people need to remember, especially at UND, is that the mascot issue is part of a longer history of Indian oppression and discrimination. Negative images of indigenous people began with the colonial campaigns of violence waged in the Americas by the Spanish and others. The colonizers used criminalization, theft, rape, murder and the determination of how Indians would be defined so they could use the Indians’ land and resources.

By defining us as “savage,’ “evil” and “dirty,” the colonizers rationalized their own fear and hate and made murdering of Indians tolerable, even honorable acts. Not coincidently, the invaders were able to take away Indian people, land and resources for their own use."

Get the Story:
Michael Eshkibok: History, colonization permanently sully nickname (The Grand Forks Herald 12/6)
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