School ban on tribal nicknames upheld

There will be no Indians, no Braves and no Chiefs at Seattle's public schools after a King County Superior Court judge yesterday upheld a school district policy banning the use of tribal names for school monikers and mascots.

Judge James Doerty dismissed an appeal of the policy adopted last July, which prohibits the use of American Indians or Alaskan Natives as school symbols and nicknames.


		Meryl Schenker / P-I
	Cree Okimow, 13, Analisa Zahne,13, and Kira Harvey, hold signs in protest of having the West Seattle High School mascot be an Indian, outside the Seattle school’s administration center. Okimow’s sign said, " I am not a mascot."

Seattle Public Schools established the policy after the student-run Native American Club at West Seattle High objected to the Indian mascot and nickname used at the school for more than 80 years. The Indian mascot was nixed when the school moved into its new building in September.

West Seattle High's alumni association challenged the policy, asserting that it discriminates against those it was intended to protect by disregarding the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees equal legal protection for everyone.

Robert Zoffel, the president of the alumni association and the attorney who filed the appeal, said the policy discriminates by putting Native Americans and Alaskan Natives in a different class than other races. He pointed out that Rainier Beach High School uses Vikings as a mascot and nickname, and that other schools in the district -- Chief Sealth High, Sacajawea Elementary and the African American Academy -- have race-oriented names.

"Regardless of the intent of the policy, the policy discriminates against those who are proud of their name," he said during the appeal hearing, which was attended by about 25 students from West Seattle High.

The school district's attorney, John Cerqui, said naming a building after an individual or racial group "is a sign of respect and honor. Buildings and mascots are different."

The alumni association, which originally wanted the school to retain the Indian moniker, later altered its stance to advocate for a "race neutral" policy that wouldn't single out any particular group.

Cerqui said the issue is about providing an educational environment for all students that is free from bias and stereotypes. The Indian nickname, he said, made some Native American students uncomfortable.

Countering Zoffel's constitutional argument, Cerqui said the 14th Amendment was originally intended to eradicate slavery and discrimination and not to protect the rights of people to be used as mascots. The district, he said, doesn't have other ethnic mascots and wouldn't allow nicknames like the Blacks, the Japanese Kamikaze or the Germany Jews.

"Europeans came to America, we conquered the Indians, we forced them onto reserves and now we want to perpetuate stereotypes that they're second-class citizens by making them mascots," Cerqui said.

Zoffel said the school board approved the policy last summer without consulting with students or local Indian tribes. It "completely disregarded and overlooked" West Seattle High's constitution, he said, which affirms the use of Indian as the school's mascot. Calling the board's actions "tyrannical," Zoffel said the policy was "pushed down the throats of students."

Cerqui said the school board has the authority to change a school's mascot, and that West Seattle High's constitution should be amended to reflect the board's actions.

Over the past 25 years, West Seattle High students have voted three times to retain the Indian nickname. But the issue has continued to be a contentious one, pitting those who feel the name should be retained for its historic relevance against others who see it as an offensive holdover.

In his ruling, Doerty said the court isn't in a legal position to second-guess the district's policy.

"School boards, like mayors or governors or judges or other decision-makers, are not chosen to be representative delegates, even though they're elected," he said.

Doerty said though the district's policy was "inartfully drafted," it bans words and symbols, not people, and therefore doesn't contradict the 14th Amendment.

"Nobody has a fundamental right to have their ethnic group or their tribe . . . be a mascot or a nickname," he said.

Following the ruling, Native American students embraced jubilantly.

"I'm extremely happy," said Kateri Joe, 16, president of the West Seattle Native American Club. "The policy was a righteous one. I'm glad (Doerty) saw that the majority is not always right. We do have feelings, and they were hurt with the attempt to make us a mascot."

Mariana Harvey, 16, also a member of the club, said it's difficult to live in a society in which racism is pervasive.

"You can find it anywhere -- the stereotypes, the caricatures of native people," she said.

"A school shouldn't be a place to promote that."

P-I reporter Deborah Bach can be reached at 206-448-8197 or deborahbach@seattlepi.com

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