KELSEYVILLE– And so it begins. The school announces basic rules of conduct. Each speaker may come to the podium one time, speech should be limited to five minutes. The crowd of more than 350 are advised not to speak out while a person is addressing the board. Content should be limited to the subject matter.
While most of the 30-plus speakers were direct and brief, others disregarded the simple direction, railing on for upward of 20 minutes about glory days, occupations and allegations of abuses, which seemingly strayed from the concept of the name of a mascot.
“This issue is dividing our community, and the irony is they are probably saying the same thing.” Toni Rave said as she motioned to the other side of the room.
She was right.
Marr Olsen made sweatshirts that he said were “selling like hotcakes.” His family including his mother, June (Gunn) Hughes a 1944 graduate of Kelseyville High, father Gene Hughes and daughter Skyler Olsen donned the attire. Printed on the back of the shirt, “Always An Indian.”
Even though Olsen and Rave took opposing stands on the issue his words mirrored hers.
“This issue is dividing our community,” Olsen said.
In an emotional ping-pong match, one speaker after another voiced the meaning of the mascot as it applied to them.
Parents were accused of not letting the issue die. In an overall sense there was an abundance of discussion dedicated to how the mascot represents democracy, respect, land, rights and racism. While a teacher Meredith Lehman implored the crowd to focus on test scores and education, her plea was drowned out by stories of John Kelsey and advocates who wanted their Alma Mater preserved as it was in the past.
The name change issue is not a new one. Stanford University addressed this in 1972.
“I voted for the new name in 1976, it was exciting at the time.” Denise Rushing, supervisor of district 3 said. “The alumni were more passionate about the loss than the student body was.”
According to American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978, Title 42, “On and after August 11, 1978, it shall be the policy of the United States to protect and preserve for American Indians their inherent right of freedom to believe, express, and exercise the traditional religions of the American Indian, Eskimo, Aleut, and Native Hawaiians, including but not limited to access to sites, use and possession of sacred objects, and the freedom to worship through ceremonials and traditional rites. Native people were not allowed to participate in their ceremonies, dances or wear their feathers which were (and are) considered sacred until 1978, when the American Indian Religious Freedom Act was passed by Congress. Mascots, and the use of feathers, war paint, and symbols came into popularity in the 1930s. This was almost 50 years before Indians were entitled to use the same objects that were being used by non-native people who were pretending to be them.”
The issue was before government for some 30 years with resolution.
Tom Nixon told a story of the high school he attended in Florida. A school named Nathan Bedford Forrest High School, a school named after the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Nixon urged his neighbors to “do the right thing.” He said the message he wanted to pass along was that things change and all members of the community needed to be included.
Kelseyville resident Vic McManus stood at the podium and defended his position of pride about the Indian mascot, saying the mascot was not defamatory in the eyes of the population seeking to return it.
The public discussion allowed the residents of Kelseyville a voice. Jim Brown of the Elem Colony approached the podium with a sense of humor that was well-received, breaking down some walls between the opposing sides.
“Jim Brown had some wonderful insight,” Sylvia Schnabl said, she added that “we can”t control people”s minds.”
In the Tuesday article about this meeting, a quote was attributed to Arnold Cleveland who was not speaking at the podium, the quote referred to a conversation that Mike Adams spoke of having with Arnold Cleveland.
The Kelseyville School Board held-over any decision until a meeting on March 28.
This is to give all interested parties ample opportunity to attend and respond. The board members are interested in digesting all of the information from the Tuesday meeting.
Though many public schools, as well as collegiate sporting teams have changed names as a result of outcries for sensitivity, it is unclear whether any have changed the name and consequently returned to the former name, a situation that may well shine a larger light on the actions of the Kelseyville school board.
Mandy Feder can be reached at mfeder@record-bee.com.
