At the end of August, the off-campus bookstore, with no affiliation with Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, OK sold t-shirts with a "Redmen" logo on them. NSU had changed their mascot nearly ten years ago from the Redmen to the Riverhawks. Many students were upset at the university for selling the so-called offensive t-shirt.
When the NSU bookstore's Facebook page posted the t-shirts, many students quickly took offense. Some left comments saying that it was racist and there was no need for the old logo to be sold again. The bookstore released a statement saying that they had requests from alumni who wanted to buy Redmen t-shirts. They even shipped five of the controversial shirts to alumni living out of state.
However, the t-shirt did have a lot of support. They sold out in just a couple of hours of going on the shelves. Alumni who graduated proudly as Redmen were happy to see the old logo was back.
“I hated the name change,” said Dyan Riley, NSU alumna. “I am proud to be a Redman. Tradition means a lot to me… I come from a family whose heritage is Cherokee. In the early days, they kept their Indian heritage a secret because of the shame. Now we live in a time we can be proud.”
NSU officially switched to the Riverhawks in 2007. The National Collegiate Athletic Association requested that they change their name to something else that did not reference Native Americans in 2006. They were even threatened to be left off of game schedules if they did not change their name.
Is Redmen really a racist term?
"I don't think it is. It's only offensive or racist if you perceive it that way." Caleb Perrin, a current sophomore said. "There was a study that showed Native Americans referred to themselves as 'redmen.'So why is it any different if we use that term? It's not like we are using it to discriminate against them."
There are many who would disagree with Perrin's statement, though. There have been many schools that have decided to change their name due to offensive terms. This fall, students of Southside High School of Fort Smith, AR started the semester as Southside Mavericks, rather than the old name, Rebels. The school came under fire because the mascot was a plantation owner. Fellow graduates weren't happy about the change. There were shirts made in protest of it that had the Rebels logo on the back the words "Always a rebel" displayed. The school had been debating whether or not to change in name for quite some time before officially becoming the Mavericks.
Over the years, the Washington Redskins have had many protests concerning their name. In 2013, the protests really heated up, but no change was made to their mascot.
