At the end of March, Illinois high school Maine West featured a ‘passing of the warbonnet’ type ceremony with one student giving the next a pale blue faux Plains style headdress. #NativeTwitter was quick on it and very soon after, some of the high school’s Twitter accounts either blocked Native and ally accounts or went private. An interesting maneuver for a public high school.
The Maine West High tradition of the “passing of the headdress” involves “gliding” across the gym floor barefoot. @mwwarriors #WarriorNation #207Now pic.twitter.com/f3M5HcfLf6
— Brett A. Chapman (@brettachapman) March 31, 2018
For pointing out that this practice is offensive, @MWActivities is now private and a high school twitter blocked me rather than have an open discussion. I worry what @Maine_West teaches the next generation. Besides that it’s okay to disrespect Native Americans. pic.twitter.com/To6ebivuNp
— Ali Watson (@aliwatson117) March 30, 2018
They teach religious bigotry, specifically the misuse of sacred objects from spiritual traditions they clearly know nothing about & probably don’t even know the correct names of much less revere, which has been shown to erode respect for all religious traditions in general
— ✨Walalaflower✨ (@saveelati) March 31, 2018
Maine West insinuated that the Cherokee Nation had given their blessing. Not to be thrown under the bus, the Cherokee Nation responded via Twitter pretty swiftly.
We have not given any such permission. That would never be our place to do so. 🙏🏼
— CherokeeNation (@CherokeeNation) March 30, 2018
We have no idea what letter they may be referring to. 🤷🏽♂️ pic.twitter.com/TTmqA4beaX
— CherokeeNation (@CherokeeNation) March 30, 2018
Quick shout out to the person running the Cherokee Nation Twitter!
The outpouring of voices in social media prompted a number of stories from the Chicago Tribune (If you need the aggravation of viewing the ‘passing of the headdress’, the video is in the Chicago Tribune piece):
School officials once believed Maine West’s American Indian mascot had the blessing of the Cherokee Nation. They disagreed.
“I can’t believe any official of this nation would have blessed that depiction.” https://t.co/MuTrt5FOYJ pic.twitter.com/OTiOvH2ik8
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) April 6, 2018
The Daily Herald
Here’s our story: https://t.co/dS2aIHj1Jy
— Daily Herald (@dailyherald) April 6, 2018
The Des Plaines Patch
Cherokee Endorsement Of Maine West Warrior Mascot Questioned https://t.co/B5zeeugc3p
— Des Plaines Patch (@DesPlainesPatch) April 6, 2018
and a spot on the local WGN network.
Interestingly, in the WGN piece, the school said in a statement, “Maine West and Maine Township High School District 207 represent an extremely diverse community, and we take pride in our cultural diversity. We realize and understand that the conversation and perception of Native American mascots has shifted and evolved in recent years. It is neither Maine West’s intent nor wish to offend, and we want to ensure that our practices do not detract…” Which sounds more like a deflection rather than a serious look at evaluating their mascot choices. Will they do the right thing and retire this horrible mascot? Time will tell. We will update when more info becomes available!