American Indian Mascot Under Fire in No. Carolina

by Jim Brown and Jody Brown
March 14, 2005

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(AgapePress) - The University of North Carolina-Pembroke is fighting a request from the National Collegiate Athletic Association to dump its "Braves" nickname and logo.

The NCAA has identified 31 institutions that have so-called "racially insensitive" American Indian imagery associated with their athletic teams -- whether it be a mascot, nickname, or logo. One of those schools on the list is UNC-Pembroke, which was founded in 1887 exclusively for American Indians, and existed that way for 67 years. Today, about one-fifth (more than 1,000 students) of the school's enrollment is American Indian, mostly from the Lumbee Tribe that surrounds Pembroke. And five American Indians currently serve on UNCP's board of trustees.

UNCP's mascot is a red-tailed hawk, and its nickname is "the Braves." The athletic logo incorporates both hawk and Brave images. Community support for the nickname appears strong. According to the school, a student-led petition supporting the nickname has gathered more than 2,000 signatures -- both on campus and off. The petition states that "to change the logo or term 'Brave' would be an affront to the Native Americans who sacrificed so much to establish this University."

Athletic director Dan Kenney is advising a committee that is preparing a response to the NCAA. Kenney says the NCAA needs to eliminate its "one-size-must-fit-all" mentality.

"During that first 67 years, the American Indians who were here referred to themselves as 'braves,'" he explains, "so for our institution to discontinue that [historic] link would really be offensive because it would be taking away a vital part of our heritage and culture."

The athletic director questions the rationale behind the NCAA's request. "When you're founded exclusively for American Indians and existed that way for 67 years, to have to continue to keep going through this exercise -- I think that you could probably put that in the political correctness category," he states.

Kenney says so far, Pembroke's request to be taken off the list of 31 has fallen on deaf ears. The university plans to file a response by the first of April.