HEATHER NAUERT (CO-HOST): Public schools in Colorado are now being urged to remove all Native American mascots and other symbols from their campuses unless they are specifically sanctioned by a federally recognized tribe. Our national correspondent William La Jeunesse is live for us in our Los Angeles bureau with that story. William, hello. So what led to this controversy?
WILLIAM LA JEUNESSE: So last year Colorado lawmakers proposed giving Native Americans power to ban high school mascots they deemed offensive, and those who didn't comply would be fined $25,000 a month. So the governor thought that was a little extreme, so he created a commission to come up with a compromise. Yesterday they did. Any school that uses an American Indian mascot, image, or name should change it, unless a school gets a federally recognized tribe's approval.
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LA JEUNESSE: So 30 schools in Colorado use Indian names or mascot, including the Lamar High Savages and Eaton Reds, whose mascot is a caricature of an Indian wearing a loincloth. The community favors keeping the logo, although one student in Lamar sided with critics, saying, quote, “Native Americans were persecuted for so many years ... for us to have the nerve to continue to have the mascot just hurts the soul.” Others consider this political correctness on steroids. Nationwide, there are 3,000 sports teams that reference Native Americans, 90 percent are high schools. The Warriors, Indians, Raiders, Braves, Chiefs, and 121 teams named the Redskins. So unlike Oregon, which banned Native American mascots, Colorado is a recommendation, not a mandate. Now the NCAA, Heather, took a similar approach a few years ago. Some schools changed their names from Indians to Wolves and Warhawks, others didn't. The Seminoles or the Utes. Now, in most cases, when you look into this, it’s not the name that Native Americans find offensive, it's how the mascot is depicted. But I will say there's a huge difference between average Native Americans, some on the reservation, some in the cities, versus the activists, who in most cases don't seem to ever be happy. Back to you.
NAUERT: William, I'm so glad you brought up that point. Some family members of mine living in Montana, they are members of a tribe up there, and they say this is ridiculous. We want none of it. And that's just for the advocates, as you mention.
