Letter to the Editor: Thoughts on Bedford Redmen Logo
- Cecilia Baptiste | February 06, 2014
With the renewed discussion this week surrounding the debate to change the Bedford Road Redmen name and logo, I found it very interesting that the Saskatoon Public School Board (SPSD) felt that more consultation was needed. I would like to share, again, with you my own discussion with SPSD two years ago. You will note in my letter that I identify that this issue is not new and that the desire to address this has been a driving force for a number of years, if not decades. Subsequent to this letter I was invited to speak personally with the Superintendent at that time. This conversation led me to respond in a secondary letter, where I humbly offered new points to consider that would address each concern that Mr. MacDougall raised. No subsequent response was received after that point.
I find it prudent to share with you again my original letter, whereby I hope you find renewed interest in this topic, and finally work in partnership with the Saskatoon citizens that have increased our collective awareness on this topic. My hope is that you take the time to consider my viewpoint, and use this glimpse as a lens by which to discuss this issue with others. If you are part of the school board, please consider this when debating the action or inaction you intend to do. If you are media, please feel free to print this letter. It is not easy to be the voice of change, but it is necessary for a voice to continue to be raised until that desired positive change occurs.
I would like to remind you that in July 2013 Saskatoon was labeled an 'extremely bigoted community' by our own Joni Mitchell, a label that was shared via media on the international stage. I recall the outrage Saskatoon had at being labeled in that manner. People banded together to say, no, we do not accept that this is who we are, we are very open minded people. Yet, when this particular issue comes again to the forefront of our awareness, as it did this week, the backlash and negativity that has been shared, the defensive and close minded attitude and responses were phenomenal and very disheartening. I implore you to share my thoughts with others, as I have written below. I ask that you reflect on my words, and show the international community that we do not have to be known as 'bigoted,' we can be known for honoring one another's viewpoints and work to minimize any negativity that is felt by the Aboriginal community because of something as easy to fix as changing a high schools name and logo.
Best regards,
Cecilia Baptiste
Original letter, sent March 16, 2012
I had the opportunity to listen to renowned anti‐racist author and educator Tim Wise yesterday. Tim Wise paints a candid picture of racism that exists in society's systems and individual minds, whether overt or subconsciously. At the end of the empowering speech, one lady who spoke out during question period particularly stood out. She is Erica Lee, a graduate of Bedford Road, who has been advocating for the revision of the school teams' name from their current name "the Bedford Redmen." It appears that this name and associated logo have been in use since the school's inception. There has been debate about removing this name at the institution for many decades, but to no avail.
A clear point, however, is that the school's resistance to changing this name only fosters the belief that it wishes to "stay with tradition," whether or not that tradition is rooted in equity and fairness, and respect for another culture. Was this name, or its logo of an Indian face, chosen by an Aboriginal person? Or, were they chosen by the dominant white culture, which likely would have been in power, in the early inception of this high school?
After the talk last night, a group of us went for coffee to discuss our thoughts on the discussion. One of my friends noted that her brother, too, had tried to initiate this long needed change at Bedford Road when he was a student there several years ago. That is two people that I heard of in one night, who took issue with the term "Redmen" and had sought change. Two Aboriginal people, who's concerns were not listened to. How many more Aboriginal students have there been that have rolled their eyes at the terminology or the picture? How many more Aboriginal families have chosen not to put their children in that school because of this negative dehumanization? Has society not changed terminology in other cases to address systemic discriminatory "traditions" for other classes of society? I think of how there are no longer actresses, even though that was a long standing term. I think of adding accessible ramps to buildings, so that people with mobility issues can more easily be included. I think of the antibullying messages with respect to the gay community that are in today's society so abundant, that weren't "traditionally" there. What if the mascot at Bedford Road represented Pakistani, Mexican, African, or gay peoples? Would the case for change be heard more loudly? The message seems to be it is still okay to dehumanize Aboriginal peoples; it is still okay to characterize Aboriginal experience and humanity into a cartoon character that is clearly a negative stereotype.
When Erica Lee came to the mike last night and expressed her dismay at not seeing any progress on this issue, she received a loud round of applause from everyone in TCU Place. There were approximately one thousand people in attendance, people from Saskatoon, both Aboriginal, non‐Aboriginal, and of visible minority.
This is an issue that is not going to go away. I am guessing that while there are a few students and graduates that are brave enough to take a public stance on this, there are three or four times many more young people who do not say anything, but feel the same slight. Why is the public school board ignoring this issue?
One comment on the online Star Phoenix's coverage on this issue dated September 25, 2011, stated that the use of the "Redmen" logo was Bedford Road's method of honoring First Nation history. Is it really? Isn't there other another way this high school can honor the First Nation legacy and foster positivity between cultures? Isn't there another tradition that the high school can choose instead of this one? I propose that the school board promote a new tradition, a "tradition" of reevaluating past norms and revising them where necessary to be inclusive of all classes of society. To actively choose this progressive stance will be seen by society as a positive step towards addressing the concerns of all, and may in fact increase Aboriginal representation at this school. It would be applauded by people of minority, and it will set the example for all other school systems to be conscious of their actions and their inactions. This is the legacy we want to leave our children.
This issue is personal to me, as I have experience in my family of not feeling included in Saskatoon society and its institutions, be it academic, cultural, or professional corporations. I have lived nearly all my life in Saskatoon, and have seen the positive attributes of this city. I have also, more importantly, experienced the harsh negative realities of being Aboriginal in a predominantly white culture. It was incredibly common to be stopped at school by other classmates, and laughed at, taunted, told that I'm only a dirty Indian, told that I will never amount to anything. I would very often go home crying; I even told someone I wished I could be white, because life would be easier. When I would cry to my mom at that young impressionable age, she would tell me that I would need to get used to these negative situations. I had to be better than everyone in all aspects, because I would always be judged on the color of my skin, before I would be judged on any other merit. I was told, by my own very educated mother, that the best thing I could do was ignore the comments and move on. Let it go, as you would say.
Well, as I have grown and matured, I have come to realize that we each have to take a personal responsibility to stand up and say that enough is enough. We do not have to be passive, we do not have to accept that this mistreatment is a part of society, and we do not need to 'let it go.' Our world can be a better place, if we choose it to be.
Now, I have a daughter in grade eight. In this past year, I have really struggled with deciding where she should attend high school. We have raised her in Saskatoon, and she has been an active member of her class, a very outgoing young lady who makes friends very easily and admits that she has not had blatant racism or prejudice pointed at her in her years at school (unlike my experience twenty five years ago, where it was very common to be called a "dirty Indian"). Yet, it is this same girl, who has brought to my attention since September that she wants to go to a school where there are more Aboriginal people, where her culture is celebrated, and where she feels included.
When she continually brought this up, her father and I brushed it off, and told her we wanted her in a mainstream school, that it was important to continue to be in a learning environment where she was the minority, as that is how our society is, and she needs to know how to participate in this environment. Eventually, after months of bringing this up, one day she looked at me with big sad eyes, so upset that she wasn't being heard. I was taken aback. I looked at her, and asked, why? Why is this such an issue now? You know your culture. From a very young age we have taken you to roundances, feasts, we have taught you protocols, and to be proud of whom you are as an Aboriginal Treaty Six member of the Onion Lake First Nation. Why, now, do you want to be in a school of predominantly Aboriginal students and teachers as opposed to your current school of predominantly non‐Aboriginal students and teachers?
Her response was this, after she let go and had a good cry. She said, through tears, I am tired Mom. I am tired of having no one understand me. I am tired of explaining about aspects of my culture. I am tired of explaining what a Kokum and Moshum is referring to, when I have always known who is a Baba and Gido. I am tired of not having other kids like me to talk to and understand what I am talking about when I say Im going to a roundance. I want to see other people like me. I want to be just me, not me the Aboriginal girl. This is all coming from a girl that says she has never had any blatant racism said to her.
How did I forget? How did I forget how difficult it is to grow up in this city, and not see others that are like yourself? How did I not see the hidden pain that my daughter has been dealing with, in spite of her ability to blend in? The issues that I had as a young girl are still the issues that my daughter has, and her opinion and feelings matter. So, I took it upon myself to really evaluate the high school systems, and ensure that the choice of high school for my daughter was one that valued her culture and identity.
So I ask you, why are the concerns of my daughter and the concerns of other Aboriginal students and citizens of this fine city not being listened to? Why is it that an issue as simple to address as the sports teams' name and logo at Bedford Road is not addressed? How can the school board really convince me, and the thousands of others at the Tim Wise lecture, that it is really and truly trying to be part of the social change that includes everyone and values everyone? Why is this society not standing up and saying, maybe we can do things better?
Tim Wise reminded us all that we as human beings are inherently good, and we want to do the right thing. Sometimes, however, the right thing to do is not always the easy thing to do. I am calling on you to choose to do the right thing, and address this issue. Likewise, I sincerely hope that the other 1000 in attendance last night make their voices heard in this matter, and join us in the call for action. Maybe then we can really say we are each, individually, becoming a part of the solution, and not passively allowing the past injustices to continue.
Cecila Baptiste, CMA
Long Standing Saskatoon Citizen,
Member of the Little Pine First Nation, Treaty Six Territory