Debbie Reese, Thursday, Oct. 24

I'm a Pueblo Indian woman, born and raised on the Nambe Pueblo Indian Reservation in northern New Mexico. Prior to moving to Urbana for graduate study, I was told about the controversy over UIUC's Chief Illiniwek. I responded by stating that I am not an activist, and this controversy would not be a problem for me.

I was wrong. Once I got here, odd things began to happen. In class, I self-identified myself as Pueblo Indian. The response was always "what do you think about the mascot?" With greater frequency, I began to receive invitations to dance for various groups on and off campus. My reply to those invitations was that I dance only at home (Nambe Pueblo), and I'd go on to explain that our dance is not for entertainment, but a form of prayer. Invariably, the caller would then ask if I would come tell stories. I'd reply that I am not a storyteller, but that I'd be glad to come talk about my pueblo. These invitations seemed to me like excellent opportunities to provide education about Native people as we are today. They seemed like opportunities to counter stereotypical notions of Native people as romantic, exotic, or extinct. Without fail, however, the invitation was withdrawn. The message was clear. If I would not dance, or would not storytell, then I wasn't useful to the caller. Maybe I wasn't a "real" Indian in their eyes.

So, in the nine years I've lived, studied, and worked in Urbana Champaign, I've spent a lot of time writing and talking about the need to see stereotypes for what they are----barriers to understanding who Native people are in today's world.

I often get the question: "Aren't there more important issues to worry about? What about alcoholism and poverty on reservations?" One way that I believe people move out of poverty is by education. The UI is a terrific place to study. Many of our departments are ranked very high. It seems logical (to me) that Native people on reservations can and should be able to come to top institutions like UI to gain the education that will pull them out of poverty. But if they come here and their identity as Native is dismissed or attacked (verbally, subtly, physically), then their ability to focus on their studies is diminished, when it should be optimized.

Chief Illiniwek then becomes an obstacle to a Native student's goal of earning a degree at UI.

I know that there are some who do not care about Native people and our struggles, and they (perhaps) don't see the stereotypes or Chief as a problem that effects them in any way. I'd like to ask those individuals if they care that children are learning incorrect information? We would never allow children to be told that 2 + 2 = 5. Many of us would find it immoral to let such teaching go on. Yet, stereotypes feed children inaccurate information and function as a barrier to their understanding of who Native people are. Is it ok for them to go on learning incorrect information? I think it isn't. I think we must respect their growing minds, by pointing out stereotypes and working to give them better material, in their books, media, etc.

Many people talk about learning that Columbus didn't discover America --- not as children in school, but as high school students or adults in college. They report feeling betrayed by their teachers and parents. Why did those who care about them let them go on with this wrong information?

In closing, stereotypes are harmful to all children. And we, the adults charged with caring for and teaching children, should---in good conscience---be active in pointing them out.

If you are a parent or teacher or librarian, seeking children's books that do not stereotype Native Americans, I've put together a list of books. It is available at http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander/ChildrenLit/nalist.html. (link fixed 4/05)

Sincerely, Debbie Reese