'Retire the Redmen' Effort Picks Up Momentum

EAST ISLIP, NY — A petition to change East Islip's mascot name started last month by several East Islip High School alumni has picked up momentum, garnering 7,000 signatures. The effort has also received support from organizations like The National Congress of American Indians and elected officials like State Sen. Pete Harckham.

Theresa Parker is a graduate of East Islip High who launched the petition. She told Patch she and her fellow organizers will attend Thursday's Board of Education meeting to present their concerns. Parker says there are more than 500 alumni involved in the campaign.

Meanwhile, another petition was started by recent East Islip High graduate Tyler O'Neill to keep the Redmen mascot. The "Save the Redmen" effort has gathered about 286 signatures as of Wednesday.

"We are not racist, prejudice, or anything else," O'Neill wrote. "We want to honor the Redmen name, like it was intended to do. Stop trying to divide the community over something that honors natives."

Patch polled readers June 5 to see who supported the name change. A total of 54 percent of the more than 2,600 respondents favored the name change and 46 percent were against it.

Parker said she started her petition about a month ago.

"We have ... gained letters of support from community stakeholders, had an interview with News 12, joined forces with local organizations, gained support from many local indigenous peoples on a local and national level, and the National Congress of American Indians even emailed many members of the board and district to educate them and urge them to change the mascot," she said.

The National Congress of American Indians wrote a letter of support:

"NCAI is the oldest, largest, and most representative national organization representing tribal nations and peoples. It has been leading Indian Country’s consensus-driven movement to eradicate offensive Native 'themed' mascots from sports and popular culture for the past fifty years. As a resolution passed by NCAI’s membership in 2005 explains, the use of Native American sports mascots, logos, or symbols perpetuates stereotypes of American Indians that are very harmful.

"The 'warrior savage' myth has plagued this country’s relationships with the Indian people, as it reinforces the racist view that Indians are uncivilized and uneducated and it has been used to justify policies of forced assimilation and destruction of Indian culture."

Parker added the group has also been writing to state senators and Gov. Andrew Cuomo to encourage them to co-sponsor a bill that Harckham is writing to end race-based athletic identities and mascots in New York.