Viral TikTok prompts Indiana school to review use of Native American ritual at games

When Sarah Holba went to see a basketball game at Anderson High School in Indiana, she felt something was wrong as soon as the pregame ceremony began.

“It started out with the mascot wearing a headdress, and that was an immediate red flag for me,” Holba told McClatchy News.

Holba recorded a TikTok of the ceremony, which involves a performance of a Native American ritual by students dressed in stereotypical Native American costumes. The students can be seen passing what appears to be a pipe back and forth and dancing in a traditional style.

The video later garnered more than half a million views on TikTok and sparked a discussion about cultural appropriation. Anderson Community Schools recently announced that it will review the use of the performance at games.

“It was definitely bizarre,” Holba said of the performance. “It kind of makes you feel a little sick to your stomach.”

The performance makes a “mockery of a sacred pipe ceremony,” Rachel Thunder, a Plains Cree Native American and director of the American Indian Movement The True People of Indiana and Kentucky told McClathcy News. “That is something that is very sacred and protected to our people.”

Anderson High School, which uses an image of a Native American as its mascot, has been performing the ritual at games for more than 70 years, Brad Meadows, spokesman for Anderson Community schools, wrote in an email. The school, and Anderson, the town where it is located, are both named for Chief Anderson of the Delaware tribe, according to the Madison County Historical Society. Anderson is about 40 miles northeast of Indianapolis.

“Our intent has always been to honor Chief Anderson and our rich Native American history in the City of Anderson,” the statement says. “While people in our community generally understand and support the Indian name and tradition, in our efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, it is important that we broaden the conversation and hear different perspectives and opinions.”

During a school board meeting on April 12, Anderson Community Schools Superintendent Joseph Cronk said that the school system had permission from the Delaware Tribe to use the mascot and perform the ritual at games. He said the intention was always to honor the school’s history.

“Maybe that was ignorant,” he said . “Maybe we don’t know what we’re honoring. Maybe we’re not honoring at all... “Everything we do in Anderson is honoring our Native American legacy here, and maybe in the lens of 2022 that needs to change.”

Jeremy Johnson, assistant chief of the Delaware Tribe, wrote on Facebook that he had been in touch with Cronk and that the tribe would work with the school during the review process.

“The Tribe maintains that Indian/Native American/American Indian imagery is not appropriate to use as school mascots and will not stray from this stance as we move forward in these discussions,” Johnson wrote.

Thunder said the use of Native American mascots and imagery has a detrimental impact on the mental health of Native American children and sends a bad message to all students.

“It negatively impacts the identity of our people, especially our youth,” she said. “And it also teaches children, non-native children, that it’s acceptable to participate in culturally abusive behavior.’”

A study published by the American Psychological Association in 2010 found that exposure to Native American mascots and other stereotypical images led to depression and a lack of self-esteem among American Indian students.

Some states and sports teams around the country are taking steps to change their Native American mascots.

For example, the Washington Football Team unveiled its new name — the Washington Commanders — in February after doing away with its old name - the Washington Redskins - in 2020 because of its racist significance, according to NPR.

But more than 1,000 high schools in the United States had Native American mascots in 2020, according to FiveThirtyEight.

Thunder said she hopes that her organization can influence the state of Indiana to pass a law banning the use of Native American mascots statewide.

“We’re not going to stop until we see this shift and this change happen,” she said.

This story was originally published April 18, 2022 at 6:56 PM with the headline "Viral TikTok prompts Indiana school to review use of Native American ritual at games."