“Bellefonte has historically been a leader in racial equality. The school district was one of the first in the United States to have integrated schools, as early as 1886-1887, 69 years before The U.S. Supreme Court made it a law. Governor Andrew Gregg Curtain rallied support for President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. Our local community helped slaves from the South make their way to freedom in the North via the underground railroad.1
However, our school has fallen behind in recent decades. In 1936, Bellefonte changed its mascot to the “Red Raider,” now considered a racial slur. An overwhelming body of scientific evidence documents the harmful effects of Native American mascots.2
We created a petition on June 10, 2020, to change the Bellefonte “Red Raider” to something anti-racist, anti-biased, and inclusive. Though the voice of Native Americans may not be the majority voice in Bellefonte, their voices and scientific evidence of harm caused by the use of Native American mascots should not be ignored any longer. Bellefonte can be a leader once again. Several other schools in Pennsylvania have similar petitions circulating to remove racist mascots. Several states have also introduced bills to eliminate the use of harmful mascots in sports.34 Our mascot should reflect our community. Racism, prejudice, and a “Red Raider” does not. This website provides an overview of the National Congress of American Indians’ history in fighting for justice across the U.S. for Native persons, a brief history of Bellefonte’s leadership in racial justice, a history of the unjust mascot in Bellefonte, supporting cases from other schools and testimonials from various Native Americans located both locally and nationally.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, “In education, it is illegal to discriminate against someone based on race, color… national origin, ancestry…”5 In this case, discrimination against the people of the American Indian community who have found the term “Red” an offensive racial reference to skin color, and “Raider,” a derogatory description of ancestry is evident. This makes the district susceptible to an anti-discrimination lawsuit on two points; color and ancestry. The Department of Education states, “The victim may not be one individual, but a whole group who is negatively affected by a policy or procedure. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe, a tribe with direct ties to our community, issued a public statement in 2016 to address this very issue. “The Rosebud Sioux Tribe stands in opposition to any and all racist, derogatory mascots and their likeness.” The “Red Raider” mascot is clear discrimination. In addition, a large body of scientific study supports that mascots like the “Red Raider” cause significant emotional and psychological harm, drug-abuse, suicidal ideation, and other physical suffering to Native Americans. The “Red Raider” mascot causes harm and risks a lawsuit.
- https://www.lockhaven.com/news/local-news/2016/05/scholar-talks-about-bellefonte-s-underground-railroad-connections/ [↩]
- Friedman, 2013; See https://www.changethemascot.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/DrFriedmanReport.pdf [↩]
- https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/27/us/illinois-native-american-mascots-ban-trnd/index.html?fbclid=IwAR2s7Mnz6fQgxCQW60Kn2WYYFdq-_NhB4kUC625SbWQLWa61TFWsBXl9DEo [↩]
- https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/us/native-american-sports-logos.html [↩]
- Department of Education; See https://www.phrc.pa.gov/File-A-Complaint/Types-of-Complaints/Pages/Education.aspx [↩]