Tell the MA Senate Ways & Means Committee: Amend and Pass the Native American Mascots Bill!
The Joint Committee on Education voted the mascot bill favorably out of its committee to the Senate Ways and Means Committee. This is a step forward in removing Native American mascots in Massachusetts; however, the Joint Committee weakened the bill by amending the text.
Instead of clearly prohibiting the use of Native American mascots in the Commonwealth, the amended bill now provides that “no public school uses an athletic team name, mascot, or logo which denigrates any racial, ethnic, gender, or religious group.”
This new language severely weakens the bill by:
Letters have been issued by the Chappaquiddick Tribe of the Wampanoag Nation, Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe/Nation, and Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe to call for a prohibition on all Native American sport team mascots, logos, and nicknames in Massachusetts public schools:
- Chappaquiddick Mascot Letter
- Herring Pond Mascot Letter
- Mashpee Mascot Letter
- Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag Mascot Letter
Finally, the Joint Committee also removed paragraph 5 of the original bill, which recognized that Native Tribal Nations with their own sports teams should have the ability to choose their own mascots without limitation, as part of their right to self-determination.