California goes to war against Indians

California has solved all of its other problems, of course, so now it has gone to war against high school mascots. In 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 3074, a law that prevents schools from using any “derogatory Native American term” in their names. Not content with the ban on “Redskins,” which Newsom’s predecessor Jerry Brown signed into law in 2015, the new law banned the terms “Apaches, Big Reds, Braves, Chiefs, Chieftains, Chippewa, Comanches, Indians, Savages, Squaw, and Tribe.”There are only two exceptions: Public schools that are run by Native American tribes are allowed to use these names; and schools that obtain the “written consent from a local federally recognized tribe to use a derogatory Native American term for the school or an athletic team name, mascot, or nickname.”The law doesn’t say what should happen if Native American tribes disagree over whether a name is “derogatory.”Marysville High School in Yuba City is trying to save the name of its long-time mascot the “Indians” from the effects of the law by asking a Native American tribe — any tribe, really — to give it the OK.The irony is that the term “Indian” has come back into vogue in recent years.Some indigenous Americans feel that “Native American” is too sterile, and actually prefer “Indian.” That is one of the reasons that the federal agency that deals with indigenous peoples, the US Bureau of Indian Affairs, has not changed its name — not even in the “woke” Obama and Biden administrations.Many would agree that “Redskins” is outdated, but banning “Chiefs” seems like a bit of a stretch, especially when there is a dominant NFL football team that plays under that name — including in California.Should California do what FIFA has done to stadium names during the World Cup, and cover up the visiting team’s name and logo when Patrick Mahomes & Co.

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