The NCAA policy on Native American mascots does not require member institutions to change their names or mascots. The actual policy precludes member schools with Native American nicknames, mascots, or imagery from hosting NCAA championships. These schools are still eligible to participate in championships, but the policy restricts them from wearing uniforms or other paraphernalia that depict nicknames or images while competing in NCAA championship events.
Background:
This is not a new issue; efforts have been ongoing for 30 years with varying levels of success. In 2001, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights issued a statement calling for an end to the use of Native American images and team names by non-native schools. In the ensuing years, many other organizations, including the American Psychological Association, supported this effort through a variety of statements and resolutions. Many member institutions voluntarily changed their Native American nicknames/mascots/imagery long before the policy was enacted. Other member institutions have policies stating they will not voluntarily schedule competitions against teams with Native American nicknames/mascots/imagery.
A human dignity issue, racial stereotyping dehumanizes and results in a perpetuation of institutional racism and negative treatment. With this in mind, after four years of careful review, the NCAA Executive Committee enacted a policy that aligns the organization’s core principles of cultural diversity, civility, respect and nondiscrimination with the practice of creating a non-hostile and educational environment for its championships.
Early in the implementation phase, the NCAA granted exceptions for those institutions that carried specific tribal names and received formal support for the use of those names and associated imagery from the tribe. The decision to grant exceptions is based on the endorsement of the “namesake” tribe and is grounded in respect for the authority of a federally recognized Native American tribe to ultimately make decisions on those issues directly impacting the tribe. The decision to honor namesake tribe authority must be respected. To ignore the opinions of tribes who own those names would be an even greater injustice.
Updated 3/6/08
National Collegiate Athletic Association
