UPDATE: Kudos to Marathon Pundit for the coverage.
Bradley University doesn’t like that the National Collegiate Athletic Association is telling them to drop the Braves nickname. It’s insensitive to Native Americans, don’t you know. Most Native Americans — who prefer to be called by their particular tribe’s name — don’t really give a crap, but that’s besides the point to liberals who like to tell minorities what exactly what they have the right to feel.
While Bradley officials, students and alumni are stewing over this blatant censorship by the NCAA, someone who is apparently connected to the college told me that I don’t have the right to comment on it.
Here’s what happened: Earlier this week, I spent about two hours creating a site on Cafe Press that was designed to accomplish two things:
1. Comment satirically on the situation between the NCAA and BU.
2. Make a few bucks for myself.
Essentially, I used created for sale T shirts and other products emblazoned with this image:
It’s Branchly Uppercut, a proposed new Bradley University mascot should the college decide to give in and adopt the nickname The Fighting Squirrels. On the back of each shirt are the words: “Nuttier than the NCAA.”
Please note that except for the letters B.U., there is nothing in this image this that is currently associated with Bradley University. Neither the image of a squirrel, nor the words “The Fightin’ Squirrel” or “Branchly Uppercut,” belong to Bradley. The letters “B.U.” are too common to be the copyright of one college. Ever hear of “Baylor University” or “Boston University?”
I got the image from Chase Ingersoll, who commissioned it from a Bradley student. The face is roughly based on his son, as this site demonstrates.
But all that work was wasted. I received this email from CafePress.com yesterday:
We recently learned that your CafePress.com account contains material which may not be in compliance with our policies. Specifically, designing, manufacturing, marketing and/or selling products that may infringe the rights of a third party, including, copyrights (e.g., an image of a television cartoon character), trademarks (e.g., the logo of a company), “rights in gross” (e.g., the exclusive right of the U.S. Olympic Committee to use the “Olympic Rings”), and rights of privacy and publicity (e.g., a photo of a celebrity) are prohibited.
Accordingly, we have set the content that we believe to be questionable to “pending status” which disables said content from being displayed in your shop or purchased by the public.
Of course, this doesn’t apply to the image I was using. I’m guessing CafePress policy is to yank any image on first complaint. It’s a no-muss, no-fuss policy that keeps them out of court and keeps costs down. Unfortunately, it depriving me and my customers of the ability to speak my mind.
The First Amendment protects satirical speech. It also protects commercial speech. And it also protects speech that’s a combination of the two. Since there are no legitimate copyright infringement issues involved, I believe I am being censored, probably because someone from Bradley University complained.
Ironic, isn’t it.
I’ve dashed off a letter to Cafe Press. I searched their site, and there’s no official way to protect their decisions. I expect some kind of legal challenge to be filed. At the every least, discovery will allow us to find out who finked on me.
Billy Dennis is a former reporter and editor at small daily and weekly newspapers in Illinois and Missouri. He comments on media, news and politics. He also owns and operates 
“Most Native Americans don’t really give a crap”
And your source for this profound wisdom is?
Bill,
Go to the library and pick up a copy of Dancing At Halftime since you don’t think Native Americans give a shit about this topic.
I get so sick of white males who think they are entitled to every thing in America.
Then go pick up Dee Brown’s Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee.
Those are just for starters. You know jack shit about NA’s and their culture.
You probably have no idea about the controversy over Mt Rushmore either.
If ANY of these professional sport teams or college teams gave a crap about honoring NA’s, then they would be paying some licensing fees or creating some sort of college fund, but no, it is nothing more than our white culture again exploiting another culture for its own selfish gain.
And get off your whiney First Amendment kick. Yes, we all have this right but we also have deeper rights when it comes to the fellow human beings and how they are treated.
Hey you two. Here is some backup:
http://www.nationalreview.com/daily/nr030802.shtml
NR cites an Sports Illustrated poll on this topic.
Oh, Bill, I posted something on my blog about this. Can I use the logo? I left it off, as I don’t want to get you in any hot water.
Not that I disagree with Mahkno and Scott where the nicknames of sports teams are concerned, but the biggest insult of all is “Native Americans.”
We’ve got to stop using that term. My many years of covering sports on Nevada Reservations makes me somewhat qualified to speak about what the tribes are and are not offended by. And believe me when I say this: They are offended by the term “Native American”.
Feel free to use it.
BJ: How dare you. Only white LIBERALS are allowed to speak for minorities. And if the minorities themselves don’t like it, what the hell to they kmpw? They’re MINORITIES. They’re only reason for existing is to give White people a reason to feel guilty.
Interesting read… 352 Native Americans spread over how many tribes? Different tribes may well have different opinions. What constitutes a ‘Native American’ anyways? No, I am not waxing that gosh darn all of us who are born here are native.. no. You see the governement defines Native American based on what tribes (under government guidance) and government mandates. For many tribes one must be descended from someone on the controversial ‘Dawes Rolls’ and or be no more than 2 or maybe 3 generations removed from a ‘pure blooded’ indian. Nevermind culture, language, traditions, it is ALL about RACE. There are millions of descendents of Native Americans in this country whom the government and probably most pollsters do not consider ‘Native Americans’. Lets not forget tribes that are no ‘officially’ recognized. These descendents have opinions too. It is doubtful that Peter Harris considered them.
For my part.. some mascots are more offensive than others. As someone who is ‘white’ with some Cherokee ancestry, I recognize the mascots for what they are; parodies. Should we be making parodies of people? I leave that with your conscience.
What is Bradley going to do if the kids decide they like Branchly Uppercut?
If the students boycott Bradley Brave apparel for Fightin’ Squirrel apparel, what is Bradley University going to do?
Let’s go nuts!
There are three adjectives that should describe the Bradley University athletic program, and not necesarily in the following order:
Competitive;
Entertaining;
Non-controversial.
Branchley Uppercut, the Fighting Squirrel fills that bill. He is entertaining and non-controversial. Now if the Braves, errrrr……Fighting Squirrels can just learn to shoot……….Bradley will have everthing it needs from an Athletic Department.
Here is the origin of the Anti-Brave mascot: http://www.nomorebradleybraves.b…s.blogspot.com/
LETS GO NUTS!!!
http://www.nomorebradleybraves.blogspot.com/
Mascots are not parodies. They can be but they don’t have to be. And as far as all of the indian related mascots that I know of none I would consider a parody. Now for the sake of discussion what about a team mascot like Notre Dame’s? Since they use the Fighting Irish shouldn’t the NCAA do something about that too?
Mahkno,
Hi yih yih yih! Hi yih yih yih! Hi yih yih yih! Hi yih yih yih! Hi yih yih yih! Hi yih yih yih! Hi yih yih yih! Hi yih yih yih! Hi yih yih yih! Hi yih yih yih! Hi yih yih yih!
Before you get too outraged, keep in mind that I am an American Injun, er, I mean Indian, er, I mean Native American, er, I mean “Indigeneous American.”
Spare me the white liberal guilt and spend more time studying for whatever class you’re taking.
Bill, I hope you don’t mind, but I used the logo, too. In fact, I’ll offer my services as an artist (I’m not great, but I ain’t half-bad) to help reproduce the logo, put it on transfer paper and iron the damn things on t shirts, myself. I’ll even kick in a few t shirts.
Sell ‘em direct and screw CafePress. On second thought, NAIL CafePress first… then sell ‘em direct.
Damn, but if this don’t piss me off.
By all means, Pammy!
It’s just the hypocricy of it all.
Then peta should step in and get rid of … the cubs, the bears, the seahawks,ect. Are we getting to politically correct ?
RonaldC,
Bravo *claps* now you can perform in the Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.
It has nothing to do with guilt, as I see it. It is about being respectful of other people and cultures, period. It is about values. Clearly this is something you (and many on the right these days) are lacking.
Bill,
And what does this have to with hypocrisy? I love how you avoid so many questions by throwing around labels and simplistic talking points.
I suggest you turn on CSPAN from time to time when people like Russell Means give speeches. Or like I said, pick up a book or two on this subject.
Oh, but I forgot, you are an all knowing journalist who has yet to admit a mistake.
And now we move on to Peta and animals. Jesus. That shows the point I’ve been trying to make about white America being completely ignorant about the issues facing NA’s. For example, many Americans don’t even know that in the 1970’s that NA’s were forbidden to perform the Ghost Dance ceremony by the Federal Government. Or the history behind the Paha Sapa controversy.
BJ Stone, As for NA being an offensive term, I guess you can find anyone to support one’s position, though when I see and hear people like Sherman Alexie, Russell Means, Vine DeLoria, I’ve yet to hear of disatisfaction with being called a Native American.
What it comes down to is that our white society that tried so hard to kill off these people, now celebrates and exploits the parts of their culture for our own selfish benefit. It’s not about honoring their culture. If that were true, then at least we would get the historical facts correct during these so-called honorable events.
Scott, I understand what you say, I really do. And you have every right to feel that way.
But there is a difference between “Redskins” as opposed to “Illini” or “Braves”, and I don’t think they can all be lumped together until you include every name that might be offensive, as other posters (1Democrat, for instance) have noted.
They do not all fall, to me, into the category of offensive. Brave could mean anyone, I mean, this IS supposed to be “the home of the brave”.
Warriors, Chiefs, Braves. To have a sports team named one of these things is just like Vikings, Scots, or Irish. It’s just a sports team nickname, nothing more.
Redskins? Yes, I totally agree that is offensive and disgusting…and ironically it’s not the name that being talked about for changing. And ironically, it’s the one supported by our elected representatives buying season tickets so they can root for their adopted city’s team.
As far as using tribal names, I cannot see the problem with it. BTW, I’m a Democrat. Again, I refer back to my seven years covering high school sports on reservations. Do you know what kids on reservations where for clothes? In Nevada, their favorite college team, bar none, was the Florida State Seminoles. Pro? Atlanta Braves. I saw that stuff ALL OVER the gyms.
Those kids and their parents had a problem with only one name: Redskins. I hung out and played softball as the only white guy on a team of Washoe tribe members. Those guys had only one name that bothered them: Redskins. Other names, they saw as a source of pride, and in many cases, people I spoke with said they were honored that some state schools still used the names like Illini, Chippewas, and Sioux. I wrote several columns and stories about it. The team I covered the most, because they were constantly making (and winning) the state basketball tournaments out there, was the Owyhee Braves. That’s right, a reservation team in a reservation town of 600, and their nickname was “Braves”.
I guess what I’m saying is that I’m sure there are members of every tribe that might say they have a problem with nicknames of sports teams, but I think they are in the vast minority. Most of them just didn’t see what the fuss was. That being said, I also believe in the minority having a voice in this country at all times, and they cannot be ignored. I just think some common sense needs to be applied here.
I personally am more concerned with college athletes being involved with rapes, assaults, brawls, steroid use, throwing games, and stealing my tax dollars used on scholarships to not go to class, than I am with what a school’s nickname or mascot is.
And most of my Washoe and Shoshone and Navaho and Piaute friends from Nevada would say the same thing. So until we get all that crap cleaned up, let’s not get so worked up over mascots and nicknames.
Oh, good grief. Why, oh, why can’t we bring back Sanford & Son, All In The Family and Blazzing Saddles? Life’s so much simpler when we can laugh with each other instead of coddling one other’s collective sensitivities.
And for goodness sake, Scott, we’re all swooning over your learnedness already. A little less intellectual name dropping would be mucho appreciated. I felt like I was reading C-SPAN.
Well, except for your line, “I get so sick of white males who think they are entitled to every thing in America.” That was a clear case of racial profiling…and yet more proof of why honky oppression is a moral offense to all of mankind. Save the melanin-challenged!
BJ,
You are blurring lines here. Certainly I can understand how individual tribes would like to be spoken as by name rather than the all inclusive term “Native Americans”.
Next, there is a huge difference between Native American people using THEIR culture in THEIR way, than that of white culture doing so.
And I agree whole heartedly there is a difference between the word “Redskin” versus that of “Chiefs”. As for “Warriors” I would even agree that that particular term is not exclusive of NA’s, but of any who battle.
But to further examine this issue, take any culture or race and flip flop stereotypical names and see what you get. Take what some races or cultures are known for and apply that to sport teams. For example, blacks in Africa throw spears, right? Is calling a team “The Spearchuckers” not offensive? My gosh, it’s only being done to honor their aim and prowess at throwing spears. Or how about Latin people and a team called “The Beaners”. They do cook with a lot of beans you know and we are just honoring their culinary skills.
Are you familiar with the concept of “false consciousness”? I am not saying it is my place to tell NA’s what to think or feel, but sometimes a people buy into things that are not in their true interest. Earlier I used the recent survey done in India that found many wives felt being beaten for not having dinner on the table on time was permissiable. To those of us in the US, such behavior is not accepted (to those who think correctly anyway).
And again, I disagree that many of these are just “sport team nicknames.” But I do agree there are many, many very important issues that deserve much more attention than this and the best way to do that is get rid of them. This is their culture, one we did our best to destroy and not ours to exploit any longer.
Why not just name them the “Bradley Frat Rats”?
Branchly Uppercut and Copyrights
Bill Dennis, aka Peoria Pundit, is using this logo to satirize the NCAA’s attempt to scrub all references to Native Americans from the Bradley University in Peoria. But it appears, though the logo has absolutely nothing in it that identifi…
You’re right, Bill. Scotty picked up a bad case of GCWGS somewhere.
A bad case of the Green County Water Garden Society (http://www.gcwgs.com/)? Buh? Vonster’s speaking in tongues again. Must be the stress of the Fitzmas season.
Guilty Conscience White Guy Syndrome. One must suspect it any time a white guy rides the racism curve in front of Cynthia McKinney or Pam Adams.
[...] This was the slogan I put on the back of the “Branchly Uppercut” shirts. I visited the my “image basket” at CafePress.com and found that this image was “pending” (and unavailable for use) along with the Fightin’ Squirrel graphic that belongs to Chase Ingersoll (which I am using with permission). The image was placed in “pending” status along with the squirrel. [...]
[looks around]
Hey! Where all de white wimmen at?
The Sports Illustrated survey is deeply flawed. Below is a list of Native American organizations that have issued statements about the use of Native American imagery in their sporting programs
Debbie Reese (Nambe Pueblo)
Assistant Professor
American Indian Studies
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
——————————————————–
Peoria Tribe of Oklahoma [formerly Kaskaskia, Peoria, Piankesaw and Wea Indians known by Europeans as Illinois/Illini]
National Congress of American Indians
National Indian Education Association
Society of Indian Psychologists of the Americas
American Indian Movement
Advocates for American Indian Children (California)
The Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians
American Indian Language and Culture Education Board
American Indian Mental Health Association (Minnesota)
American Indian Opportunities Industrialization Center of San Bernardino County
American Indian Student Services at the Ohio State University
Association on American Indian Affairs
BRIDGES – Building Roads Into Diverse Groups Empowering Students
Buncombe County Native American Intertribal Association (North Carolina)
Cincinnati Zapitista Coalition
Committee to End Cultural Genocide (St. Cloud State University)
Concerned American Indian Parents (Minnesota)
Council for Indigenous North Americans (University of Southern Maine)
Eagle and Condor Indigenous Peoples’ Alliance
Governor’s Interstate Indian Council
Fontana Native American Indian Center, Inc.
Greater Tulsa Area Indian Affairs Commission
Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council
HONOR – Honor Our Neighbors Origins and Rights
Illinois Native Bar Association
Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes
(Composed of the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Muskogee (Creek), Cherokee, and Seminole Nations)
Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Juaneño Band of Mission Indians
Kansas Association for Native American Education
Maryland Commission on Indian Affairs
Mascot Abuse San Francisco Bay Area
Medicine Wheel Intertribal Association (Louisiana)
Menominee Tribe of Indians (Wisconsin)
Minnesota Indian Education Association
Morning Star Institute
NAES College, Chicago (Native American Educational Services)
National Coalition on Racism in Sports and the Media
National Indian Education Association
Native American Caucus of the California Democratic Party
Native American House, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio
Native American International Caucus of the United Methodist Church, Inc
Native American Journalists Association
Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs
North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs
North Dakota Indian Education Association
North Dakota State University Student Senate
Ohio Center for Native American Affairs
Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin
San Bernardino/Riverside Counties Native American Community Council
Society of Indian Psychologists
Southern California Indian Center
St. Cloud State University – American Indian Center
Tennessee Chapter of the National Coalition for the Preservation of Indigenous Cultures
Tennessee Native Veterans Society
Unified Coalition for American Indian Concerns, Virginia
The United Indian Nations of Oklahoma
Virginia American Indian Cultural Resource Center
Wisconsin Indian Education Association
WIEA “Indian” Mascot and Logo Taskforce (Wisconsin)
Youth “Indian” Mascot and Logo Taskforce (Wisconsin)
Re the Sports Illustrated poll…
Who are the Native Americans they talked to?
Our UIUC campus lists over 100 Native American students. The majority of them, however, are not tribally enrolled or otherwise connected to their tribal nation. Their identity as Native American is significantly different in experience than someone whose life experience is immersed in Native ways of being as a citizen of a Native community. Many of them have spoken on our campus, saying they find nothing wrong with Chief Illiniwek. I do not question or denigrate their claim to Native heritage, but I do question the degree to which they can appreciate or understand this issue.
How informed were the people they talked to?
Prior to coming to UIUC in 1994, I was living on our reservation. I was teaching at an Indian school in Santa Fe. I was asked by the professor recruiting me if the mascot issue here would be a problem for me. I dismissed it then, saying it was unimportant and that mascots are not a problem. Within a few months of living in Champaign Urbana, I changed my mind. Conversations with people on and off campus revealed that most people’s knowledge of who Native people are is based on romantic and stereotypical images encountered from childhood through adulthood from books and movies to programs such as Y-Indian programs and scouting that provide the opportunity to dress and behave in ways they believe are Native. The emotion and strength with which people hold these images dear would, seemingly, make them welcome Native people in their midst, but I and others across the country have found otherwise. If we do not affirm their flawed ideas, they lose interest in us. They dismiss us as radical, or “PC.”
In 1974, students in kindergarten in St. Paul, Minnesota, were asked a series of questions designed to reveal their attitudes and information about Native Americans. The authors of the study, The League of Women Voters (1975/1999), reported that “as a group, the children saw Indian people as far removed from themselves in location and in time” (p. 4). Many of the children held an historic/traditional image of Indian people in terms of clothing, housing, and food and did not differentiate between Indian people in the present or past tense. The children viewed Indian people as warlike and hostile, and described an overgeneralized image of Indians, saying Indians wear feathers, hunt, and live in teepees or tents in the woods. More of the children described male Indians than female Indians.
Twenty-five years later, a similar study was conducted. In the report of his findings, Brophy (1999) states that kindergarten students characterized Indians “almost exclusively as warlike, dancing around campfires, hunting with bows and arrows, or attacking people with axes” (p. 40).
In both studies, researchers speculated that the kindergarten children’s views were influenced by “cartoon stereotypes of Indians picked up through exposure to television and other media” (Brophy, 1999, p. 40). Both studies also examined the attitudes and conceptions of children in the fifth grade, and in both studies, children developed empathy for Native Americans, and demonstrated more accurate information toward the end of their elementary school years. Brophy (1999) wrote that “Stereotypes of Indians as bad, mean, or warlike had virtually disappeared” and had been replaced by a “noble ecologist” (p. 41) stereotype in which students described Indians as “killing only what they needed, sharing food with other tribal members, and showing concern for one another and for the physical environment” (p. 41). The negative stereotype of the early years was replaced by a positive one in later elementary school years. Both stereotypes, however, situate the Native American as a figure of the past, not present tense.
Hey,
Where can I purchase the shirt and while you are at it…. you should make one for the U of I….
Cheers
Vonster,
Nope, no guilt here; I’m just sick and tired of white conservatives like yourself thinking you are entitled to every thing under the sun.
And as I’ve asked plenty of times before – just what have you ever sacrificed for this country? Or for that matter, contributed to NA’s?
Now, if I were to venture a mascot for you, it would be that of the drawing of a man with his head up is posterior end.
[...] It turns out that Bradley University had nothing to do with my Branchly Uppercut site being banned. My apologies. [...]
Scotty, no I’m not part of the entitlement community.
I still say that the Bradley Frat-Rats is a heckuva lot better than Braves… it applies much better, too.
[...] Picture credit: Peoria Pundit [...]