With the 400th anniversary of the landing of the Pilgrims looming, native American activists and members of the Legislature met outside the state capitol on July 16 to announce that three bills have come out of committee in the Senate to go on in the legislative process. If they become law there will be changes in how Indigenous people and their heritage are treated in the Commonwealth.

It would also mean one local high school would be compelled to change the symbol of its athletic teams.

Agawam Mayor William Sapelli told Reminder Publishing the controversy over the logo change was “nonsense.”

He added, “People are quick to judge other people for a number of reasons nowadays.”

Proposed laws

The three bills are Resolve Providing for the Creation of a Special Commission Relative to the Seal and Motto of the Commonwealth (S.1877/H.2776); An Act to Ban the Use of Native American Mascots by Public Schools in the Commonwealth (S.247 / H.443); and An Act to Protect Native American Heritage (S.1811/H.2948)

The first bill would require “a special commission is hereby established (1) for the purpose of investigating the features of the official seal and motto of the Commonwealth including those which potentially have been unwittingly harmful to or misunderstood by the citizens of the Commonwealth and (2) for the purpose of examining the seal and motto of the Commonwealth to ensure that they faithfully reflect and embody the historic and contemporary commitments of the Commonwealth to peace, justice, liberty and equality and to spreading the opportunities and advantages of education.

“The Commission shall make recommendations regarding a revised or new design of the seal of the Commonwealth and a revised or new motto of the Commonwealth ... and shall propose and design an educational program on the history and meaning of the seal and motto.”

The second bill would require  “The board of elementary and secondary education shall promulgate regulations to ensure that no public school uses an athletic team name, logo, or mascot which names, refers to, represents, or is associated with Native Americans, including aspects of Native American cultures and specific Native American tribes. The board shall establish a date by which any school in violation of said regulations shall choose a new team name, logo, or mascot.”

The third bill reads “The penalties and requirements of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act in accordance with 25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq. shall be enforced if an agency, organization, entity, or department receiving funds of any kind from the Commonwealth or any local government therein; or a trust, unincorporated association, nonprofit corporation organized under Chapter 180 of the Massachusetts General laws or public charity duly registered with the Office of the Attorney General moves to deacquisition any Native American funerary objects, human remains, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony.”

Mahtowin Munro from United American Indians of New England and the Massachusetts Indigenous Legislative Agenda, said in a statement, “Four hundred years after the arrival of the Pilgrims from Europe, all too many Indigenous concerns remain unaddressed. Any authentic efforts to address racial injustice need to include and respect the voices of Indigenous people and ensure that Native American concerns are addressed. Supporting this legislation should be a bipartisan effort to begin to redress longstanding grievances. The current session of the Massachusetts legislature has a historic opportunity to begin to listen to Indigenous voices statewide and take first steps toward repairing relationships with Native Americans by passing this meaningful legislation.”

At the State House event, state Sen. Joanne Comerford who represents the Hampshire, Franklin, Worcester District, said, “This is an incredibly, incredibly important day.”     

Comerford is the lead sponsor of the bill involving school mascots. She said it has taken a long time to move this bill through the Legislature and she thanked Senate president Karen Spilka for her support.

Comerford added there would be “a tidal wave of justice coming crashing across the Commonwealth” with the passage and approval of these bills.

State Sen. Jason Lewis of the Fifth Middlesex District said there are 40 high schools in the state with athletic nicknames referencing Native Americans.

“It is our responsibility to tell our history truthfully,” Lewis said.

A symbol of respect

Sapelli noted that Agawam was a Native American community and that the logo pays homage to that history. He said that Agawam is proud of its heritage.

“You don’t name your town after something you don’t respect and revere,” Sapelli asserted.

Sapelli said he has never had complaints about the logo from any Native American groups, but in fact, has been told some find it complimentary.

The logo features a Native American man in profile with an eagle feather headdress stylized into the word “Agawam.”

Sapelli said that it was a respectful depiction, as opposed to that of the professional baseball team, the Cleveland Indians, “Chief Wahoo” mascot, who the mayor described as an “offensive caricature.”

When it comes to the name of the team, “The Brownies,” Sapelli said there was confusion about its origins and that people misinterpreted it as disrespectful and a reference to skin color.

“I don’t know why people would think that. There’s no connotation to any group of individuals, whether Native American or Black or whatever,” Sapelli said.

He added that racist references to Native American skin color have often been “red,” as in the professional football team, the Washington Redskins, and the former name for the University of Massachusetts team, “The Redmen,” now known as the Minutemen.

Two petitions

There is a movement already online to change the name of the Agawam Brownies, which uses the face of a Native American as its image.

The person who created the petition at Change.org wrote, “I personally do not care what the mascot is changed to so long as it is not offensive to any race or culture. I think a black bear would be a great mascot as there are many native to the area here, but that is simply an idea.

“This petition seeks these changes:
1) For AHS to change its mascot.
2) For AHS to stop using native culture as a theme.
3) For AHS to remove any & all racist paintings of Native Americans used on their property.

“Please join me in standing up for our Indigenous brothers and sisters and calling for Agawam High School to change its mascot. The school is creating a hostile environment towards Indigenous people and other minorities in continuing this tradition. People of color are not costumes to be worn, nor are they mascots for our schools and sports teams. They are people, and they deserve to be treated as such. It is truly sad that it has taken this long for someone to even make a petition about this issue – it is 2020.”

Aadam Krause started a petition on Change.org that calls for keeping the nickname and logo.

He wrote in part, “It is of a grave matter to threaten our legacy in Agawam. I am saddened at this deliberate misuse of the word ‘racist’ in regards to the Agawam High School and Agawam school system mascot that has been part of the Agawam tradition for many, many years. Beyond just our schools, it is the symbol for our whole town, incorporated into our seal.

“The image of the Algonquin native has been an inspiration to all of us, and has never been used in any sort of disrespectful behavior towards our Native American brothers and sisters. So too was a great painting of a warrior, ‘The Angry Indian,’ already removed from our own locker rooms. We are warriors and we stand as one.

“Our emblem and mascot is a reminder of who was here before us, and keeps our fighting spirit going until the end! We will not surrender our history to a bunch of offended little snowflakes, who know not what they are saying when they try to take our mascot away! At that, I mean no harm to those people, as they have much to learn before they can make an educated decision rather than just follow the crowd.

“It is out of great respect to our native sisters and brothers that we hold high our town’s heritage for the world to see, and to show them that they will always be remembered and honored!

“It is a well known axiom throughout the world, that they who erase their history are doomed to repeat it. And although here in our great town, we have only good stories to tell, evil starts small. First they may only take our Native American mascot away. But as we see, statues across the nation are being struck down by the thousands. And some schools have removed history classes from all curriculums. And sooner than it seems, our next generation may know not of what has been in the past, and is doomed to repeat it.”

At the time of writing this story both petitions had about the same number of supporters.