The debate over Indian mascots: does the NCAA's ban on Indian mascots and nicknames go too far, or not far enough? Fans--and tribes--are divided.

• Author: Powell, Robert Andrew
• Position: SOCIETY - National Collegiate Athletic Association

When Chief Osceola, Florida State University's Indian mascot, rides onto the field on horseback before football games and plants a flaming spear at the 50-yard line, the team's fans erupt with cheers. For many of them, the Chief (actually a student in face paint and costume) represents the honor, courage, and bravado they want the team's players to emulate.

But many Native Americans see something else entirely: a negative stereotype and an insult to their most prized traditions.

This summer, the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association), which governs college sports, banned Florida State and 17 other universities from using what it deemed "hostile and abusive" Indian mascots, logos, and nicknames during postseason play. The ban came after years of complaints from Native American groups.

SEMINOLE SUPPORT

"When children grow up playing cowboys and Indians, in schools that have very little on the real history of native people and all the contributions they've made, it really victimizes Native Americans and all children," says Vernon Bellecourt, president of the National Coalition on Racism in Sports and the Media. "It distorts and trivializes a living people's culture and impacts negatively on Native American self-esteem."

But in the case of Florida State, which successfully petitioned the NCAA to drop it from the list of banned mascots, the issue is far from clear-cut. The team's "Seminole" nickname, in use since 1947, and the Chief Osceola mascot, have long been supported by the local Seminole tribe. In fact, the tribe helped the university create its mascot costume, approving the face paint, flaming spear, and the Appaloosa horse, none of which have any connection to Seminole history.

"That the NCAA would now label our close bond with the Seminole people as culturally 'hostile and abusive' is both outrageous and insulting," said Florida State's president in a statement after the policy was first announced.

Florida State appealed the ban, announced in August, and less than a month later, the NCAA agreed to remove the school from the list.

The Seminoles are descended from Creek Indians who lived along rivers in Georgia and Alabama. In the 1800s, the federal government forced hundreds of Indians south into Florida. Thousands more were forced to march to Oklahoma along what became known as the Trail of Tears. Continued conflict with the federal government pushed the surviving Seminole farther down the Florida peninsula, into the...