senior resemblance to me to this picture or to this young man vincent to this picture we're telling white there is no resemblance at all i keep telling these young people that these big sports teams have lost something in my culture when my spirituality when my tradition that i attempt to practice is taken into sport entertainment it offends me to reduce the victims of genocide to stereotypes symbol our mascot is immoral and it is  kind and it is now on or the decision to ban native american nicknames was easily the most polarizing decision i've ever made when native americans say we don't like it we think it denigrates our religion and all culture please stop why shouldn't they stop we're asking where is the honor we've asked you here today to participate and there's a very important forum and we want to thank all of you a very hear it seems that you have to put another race or religion in place of the indian for people to understand this issue let me give you a quick example i was talking to a public official in bloomington and he was very unhappy with me because i was working on this issue i knew he was catholic and i didn't know what at the time but i did pull up clyde belcourt i said what if this team was named the catholics what if they dragged a crucifix around the stadium what if they had cheerleaders dressed like the virgin mary and they were wafting incense into the stands and i didn't and i said you know we're using sacred symbols of american indian people and you know what it was like a light bulb went on he understood immediately but back to the point i find it interesting that you have to do that kind of juxtaposition before people understand how indian people feel about this by distorting sacred symbols we caught at the very soul of a people we can do better in our country we can focus on the vision of a proud and dignified people a people with rich traditions and we can honor that vision by respecting its symbols we can respect the old we can as a nation and as a country respect the symbols because we know what bastardizing them daws to children and the vision of themselves when children have symbols that make them proud and them dignity and know that they can live lives with odder than that's what they do and when the symbols undercut that hope and that vision and that strength in children that is a cruel thing to do it is the wrong thing to do and that's why we have this conference the olympics any time there's change we need to feel less threatened we feel the repercussions of a university that's threatened we're dress the mascot issue in the last month i've been fingered i've been spit upon i've been called a pathetic loser simply because i presented change to people and the only words i chose to use was in my culture with my spirituality when my tradition that i attempt to practice is taken into sport entertainment it offends me what in that comment deserves to be spit upon to be fingered to be called a pathetic loser or to be called nigger the world is changing we live in strange times how do we address the change we need to develop young leadership that's responsible young leadership that's all and young leadership that is given an infrastructure to implement what i call intelligent and adaptive programs of change i want to share with you very quickly a way in which i think we can and we are addressing change i want to give you one example of how it helped me nine hundred ninety two barcelona spain and i want to give this example because five minutes before the ten thousand meter run i was given four and a half minutes of worldwide for each one billion people saw this program on billy the talk about the twenty million dollars i helped raise for charities worldwide that year that i'm introduced the ten thousand meter race is run scar from morocco beats chile mo the young nineteen year old kenyan one o'clock in the morning my wife daughter and i would sit down for dinner on the indian guy wallen vernon we've never had a name perceptions we've never had a name the indian guy that's still the greatest race in the history of the games another man said no hundred sixty four that was the greatest upset this was the greatest race and they debate another man said i want to whatever happened to that indian guy now my daughter billie joe she said daddy i think they're talking about you and i go they continued yeah nine hundred sixty four that's that's still the greatest race yeah i agree the greatest race the greatest upset whatever happened to that indian guy as my daughter billie joe started as a daddy tell them who you are another us media spoke and said i'll tell you what happened that indian guy he's like all the rest of them like all indian people in america he might want to race but when it comes to life they're quitters he's alcoholic he's drug addict it that's the way they all are my daughter who's never seen alcohol crossed my lips she knows i've never taken drugs she said daddy say something then i couldn't speak then she stroked my shoulder she said daddy you're my hero please say but whom i spoke i address the issue the media said billy will become the biggest advocates for the youth of america primarily the native american youth they disappeared my daughter no longer the bodybuilder but if she's older mothers womb struck me again kissed me on the cheek just kept stroking my shoulder saying daddy i knew you would have the wings of  america is a country that no longer talks to one another america entertains each other and they entertain with mascots my dad said look deeper and if you look deeper you're going to find the truth you can find dignity you can find character you can find a positive desire a passion that will empower you empower humankind all those other things i described would destroy you look deeper son find the passion find the positive desire we need to look inside of each other we need to help one another find positive desires for the betterment of humankind imagery is something ned all of us have of each other but we need to build respectful images we don't need b indians on a cleveland indian mascot we don't need names like washington redskins anymore we have to move forward into the next millennium with the idea of respect for all people not only in america but throughout the world is leadership simply checking with everyone in your constituency and finding out what they want to do what is ok with them and then simply leading in that direction or is it to find in one's own intellect a true path and then lead others who may not be so inclined in that direction well i think he he fits the bill of leadership in that second category which i believe is the true nature of leadership legend like to introduce to you the senior vice president and editor of the minneapolis star tribune and the president of the american society of newspaper editors one of our communities leaders the clincher in the decision making process was an odd discovery that during the twins atlanta world series in one thousand nine hundred ninety one our page one writer howard sinker wrote every page one story on that series without ever mentioning the word braves and no one noticed editors at the star tribune didn't notice readers didn't notice the native american community to notice that discovery convinced me obviously wrongly the move to ban these nicknames just wouldn't be that big a deal in truth there was another huge issue at play i didn't talk about it much then and i'm still a bit reluctant to talk about it now though in recent years i have come out of the closet so to speak this decision came right about the time i was starting to try to understand how my religious and spiritual live mesh with my work life earlier in one thousand nine hundred three i had had a major appear fanie with a workplace consultant in which i came to the conclusion i could no longer separate my spiritual life from my work life a key part of that spiritual inquiry was an increased focus on the concept of the second great commandment in the christian tradition the first gr commandment is love god the second great commandment is love your neighbor as you love yourself i understood well the concept of the second great commandment but what did it really mean for a newspaper whose publication makes people sad mad and glad every day it seemed to me that it clearly meant that i ought to deeply consider that if these nicknames were offending a certain an important part of my audience then i needed to get rid of those names it seemed like a basic humane gesture to my fellow man putting together these remarks has allowed me to contemplate and reconsider a decision i've attempted to cast aside because it hurt so much the ridicule did hurt the complete lack of followers did hurt the fact that the will of so many native americans has so callously been ignored has hurt in my thirty years in this business i've had a lot of hurts and i've had a lot of successes today's reflection leaves me convinced that it least on january twenty fifth one thousand nine hundred ninety four tim mcguire did the right thing that's one for the success going to the university of illinois a big ten university was a dream come true was the first generation to go and this to the two other folks that were recruited along with me norman akers and marcus ammerman and myself all first generation native people to go to get an advanced degree it was a dream come true that very quickly turned into a nightmare because the university used as it political identity an indian mascot and who would think to ask that question was you're looking for a university who with think that that's an important question to ask because universities should be an environment all people's background and religion is respected and what we found was anything but honor and respect when we got to that campus we walked around and of course like any people we look for our community we look for people who are like us and we're walking around this big ten university with greek pillars and it's ivy league buildings and we asked the questions where the other native students on this campus is their native studies program is there a native faculty member is there a native center that helps counsel and retain native students the answer to those questions was no we soon realized that we were the native community on this campus of thirty six thousand students who used as their athletic identity and indian mascot and of course the other thing that happens on a campus on any campus is that the first few weeks that you're there they're introducing you to all of the school traditions so you learn the fight song you might learn the colors you might learn all of the traditions that go with becoming part of a university community and of course because they have this indian identity as they're at you know athletic identity all of their activities their songs had some kind of variation of indian themes and because there was no native community to challenge the stereotypes there were so prevalent within the community it was it was very hard we saw some very awful things that we've seen of course across the country and i show you some examples but on this campus some of the sororities and fraternities would have indian caricature is on their posters to advertise whatever event was happening there was buc n squad dances there was a sorority that had the misaligned i squat contest and of course a squall is the most derogatory term you could refer to a native woman it's race neutral term is whore and it's actually much more crass and offensive than that but it's very specifically directed at native people when you use the word squaw there was a bar that a fallen down neon sign of an indian person falling down over and over again it was called home with the drinking a line that had this caricature of this dumb indian big belly big nose but teeth crooked feather crosses and his eyes falling down over and over again and so being in this environment became incredibly harmful and hurtful to us especially when you're three students on a campus of thirty six thousand students what do you possibly do we did not feel welcome and we did not feel safe in this environment are universities and schools oh all their students a safe environment without the distraction without the additional burden of bigotry to many of the proponents of these symbols will agree and feel perfectly comfortable telling everyone that this is what we think of as indian they will even tell us with these caricature is that it's honorable to our face and i tell them don't insult my intelligence by telling me these honor our people my family is honorable th people in this room are honorable these hottentot that have nothing to do with who we are as indian people as indigenous people and it everything to do with playing indian it has everything to do with stereotypes and we shouldn't confuse this stereotypes do you human period for those people who don't understand we ask of you today to get these things out of our way not just out of the way of native people but non native people remove these races shackles and load stones that we  ask for removing them get them out of our way we did not devise these things get them out of the way and we will show you who we are you say we have been here for we've been here time and time again every opportunity to speak to a group where here because it's very hard for us to be heard in this country because we are tokens in our own homeland and it's very hard for us to be heard but we have many people on the frontlines out there we have been here and we will continue to come back over why is it so difficult for americans to understand the depth of the offense of this of american indian mascots and the use of names such as redskins and braves it is difficult because many americans do not know much at all about american indian culture many people have grown up seeing trivializing images of indigenous culture and view them as common and harmless entertainment out of that ignorance comes a lack of understanding of the importance of this issue many schools and organization refuse to change because they do not view the issue as offensive or important they haven't asked algea for their mascot or team name community members alumni and board directors connect the image with the good ole days of their college experience there is nothing wrong with that mr alger and wanting to remember good times but american indian symbols should not have been used in the first place it is time to find other symbols and have good times with them change is long overdue and change is possible the solution is to bring awareness and understanding to the use of american indian names logos and mascots as identities for sports teams and to gain commitment from the members of the media to discontinue this activity the american indian forum on racism in sports and media will provide an opportunity for decision makers in the media across minnesota and we hope throughout the country to gain awareness and understanding of this issue and bring about the commitment of the media to end the use of american indian mascots logos and names