Republican legislators in Wisconsin
introduced a bill Thursday that would make it harder to strip public
schools of race-based nicknames and allow schools already ordered to
drop such monikers to keep them.
The proposal stems from a Milwaukee-area school district's refusal to
follow a state order to drop its "Indians" name. It comes amid a
rekindling of the national debate over race-based nicknames, including a
push to get the Washington Redskins to change names.
The bill, which one Native American official described as racist,
would require anyone seeking to change a school nickname to get enough
petition signatures from district residents to equal or exceed one-tenth
of the number of district students. The complainant would then have to
prove that the name promotes discrimination, student harassment or
stereotyping. The state Department of Administration would make the
final call on whether the district would have to drop the name.
The bill also would erase all existing name-change orders from the
state Department of Public Instruction, including its order to the
Mukwonago Area School District to drop its "Indians" nickname.
The proposal would dramatically change Wisconsin law, which currently
allows a single person to file a complaint, places the burden of proof
on a district to show the nickname isn't discriminatory and allows the
Department of Public Instruction to order name changes.
"This legislation is a good step in recognizing that a single
individual should not be able to dictate their will over a whole
community and in the process deprive an entire group of people their
right to due process," said state Rep. Dave Craig, R-Big Bend. "As a
resident of the Mukwonago School District, I hope my colleagues will
join us in reversing the wrongs that we have imposed on many of our
state's school districts by passing this legislation without delay."
DPI Superintendent Tony Evers said it wouldn't be proper to transfer
name-change orders to the Department of Administration, which is
controlled by the governor. He said no one would be able to meet the
minimum signature requirement, allowing race-based mascots to remain in
place forever.
Barbara Munson, an Oneida Indian who chairs the Wisconsin Indian
Education Association's Indian Mascot and Logo Task Force, called the
measure racist.
"That's terrible. That's anti-educational. It's racist," she said.
"For 21 years I've avoided that term. But it's almost impossible to ...
describe this particular action in any other way."
The state has ordered three school districts -- Mukwonago,
Osseo-Fairchild and Berlin -- to change their names since Democrats put
the current law in place in 2010.
Osseo-Fairchild complied, changing its nickname from the "Chieftains"
to "The Thunder." Berlin has until July 2014 to drop its "Indians"
nickname.
Mukwonago officials have openly defied the order to drop "Indians,"
arguing that the district has used it for more than 80 years and that
changing it would cost district taxpayers as much as $100,000. The DPI
has given the district until Oct. 8 to comply or to risk daily fines.
Mukwonago Superintendent Shawn McNulty said he supports the bill, but
he wants a more permanent solution, such as securing a tribe's
permission to use "Indians."
"There's a strong tradition. `Mukwonago' itself means place of the bear in (the) Potawatomi (language)," he said.
The bill's prospects look good. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos,
R-Burlington, called it reasonable in a joint press release with Craig
on Thursday. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said in
statement that the measure could get a floor vote this fall. A spokesman
for Gov. Scott Walker said only that the governor would evaluate the
measure if it gets to his desk.
The Oneida Nation in upstate New York launched a national campaign
last month pressing the Redskins to change their nickname. North
Dakota's Higher Education Board decided last year to drop the University
of North Dakota's "Fighting Sioux" nickname rather than face NCAA
sanctions.