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NATIVE AMERICAN ISSUES IN THE CHURCH
As we approach the general conference for The United Methodist Church, the Native American International Caucus will be presenting various issues as they relate to our church. First and foremost for the caucus is the issue of "Chief Wahoo."
Chief Wahoo is the mascot and copyrighted caricature of the Cleveland Indians Professional Baseball team.
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The Cleveland Native American community has been fighting this issue for over three decades now. This issue became an official concern of The United Methodist Church when a resolution was passed at the 1996 General Conference, entitled "Concerning Demeaning Names to Native Americans." In 1998 the East Ohio Annual Conference tried to pass a resolution denouncing "Chief Wahoo," but was rebuffed by many "Chief Wahoo" fans, who were also United Methodist. In 1999 the annual conference met again at Lakeside, Ohio, and this time passed a resolution calling for. This is not an isolated issue. All across America, communities are re-examining their sports teams, both professional and scholastic. Names such as "Redskins" and "Squaws" have been removed. Read about the "Redskins" issue a Boston-area community has had regarding that racist name by linking below. Another link is available for you to read the Billings Gazette where the state passed House bill 412 renaming "Squaw Gulch" to "Wakina Sky Gulch." These are just two examples that are recent (this year of 2000).
Boston Globe story: "Mascot debate divides school communities"
Billings Gazette story: "Committee recommends changing Squaw Gulch to Wakina Sky Gulch."
The Native American International Caucus has presented a resolution to the general conference asking that the church be pro-active in helping the Cleveland community as well as the ownership of the Cleveland Indians understand the harm that racial stereotypical mascots perpetuate. We ask for dialogue and education between all parties. This resolution will be presented during the first week of conference, May 2-8, 2000 at the Convention Center in Cleveland, Ohio.