Students in Lamar, Colorado, dressed up as fake Indians and set up a teepee as part of homecoming events in October 2014. Photo from The Prowers Journal
A bill to restrict the use of Indian mascots in public schools in Colorado was killed by Republican lawmakers on Wednesday. The Senate State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee heard from Indian students and parents who supported the measure. “I have been bullied because I am an Indian. Redskin is a bad word and it is name calling,” eight-year-old Lucille Left Hand Bull said, The Denver Post reported. But the committee still voted 3 to 2 along party lines against House Bill 1165. The move was anticipated in the Republican controlled Senate. "HB 1165 sparked an important conversation in the Legislature about the use of outdated names and offensive caricatures of American Indian people in many of Colorado's schools," Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia, the chairman of the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs, Chairman Manuel Heart of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and Chairman Clement Frost of the Southern Ute Tribe said in a joint statement. "While issues like local control and financial constraints prevailed, it is our hope that this discussion has encouraged communities to have an open and honest dialogue about this issue," the statement continued. "Institutions which strive to teach respect and dignity to our next generation should recognize that displays of American Indian warpaint, headdresses and tomahawk chants may be offensive to tribal nations and Native people. Intentionally or not, they often degrade the proud and ongoing legacy of American Indians in Colorado and everywhere throughout the nation." At least 10 public schools in the sate continue to use Indian mascots, nicknames and imagery. The "Savages" in Lamar are the most glaring example -- just last fall, students there dressed in faux Indian costumes and rode around town with a faux teepee during the homecoming parade. Get the Story:
Senate committee kills American Indian mascots bill (The Denver Post 4/29)
Senate Republicans Kill Native American Mascot Bill (Westword 4/30)
American Indian mascot bill fails (The Loveland Reporter-Herald 4/30)
GOP-led Senate committee rejects bill to limit Native American mascots at Colorado schools (AP 4/30)
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