Amy Love

Opinions Editor 

aml7458@.psu.edu

On March 18, Disney World hosted a marching band showcase. This was featured at Magic Kingdom and many schools were invited to perform. One of these schools invited to perform was Port Neches-Grove High School, located in Port Neches, Texas. 

Port Neches-Grove High School, or PNG, had their drill team invited to perform. First off, the drill team calls themselves the “Indianettes.”They also usually wear headdresses as part of their uniform, however Disney requested for the team to not wear it during their show. In their performance, they chanted their school’s fight song, which consisted of “Scalp ‘em, Indians.” Their dance routine consisted of doing the stereotypical, and also culturally offensive,“war cry.” 

With no surprise, the school is facing major backlash on a national level for their racist depictions of the Indigenous culture. Disney is facing the same backlash for allowing this performance to happen. 

According to Buzzfeed News, Jacquee Wahler, a Disney spokesperson, said “The live performance in our park did not reflect our core values, and we regret it took place. It was not consistent with the audition tape the school provided and we have immediately put measures in place so this is not repeated.” 

As mentioned earlier, Disney saw their uniforms and asked them to remove the headdress. That was an indication of the type of school they were. Not only that, a small amount of research would tell someone all they needed to know about the school. It was not going to be a surprise that this would be their performance. Disney should have seen this coming.

As stated by Tara Houska, the Minnesota’s tribal attorney, “Disney knew that this team is calling itself the Indianettes. They refer to their football stadium as ‘The Reservation.’ They have ‘The Pow Wow’ news. The yearbook is called ‘The War Whoop.’ These guys have doubled down through the years on behavior that has been largely condemned as racist because it is. 

This is not secret information, it’s fairly obvious what this school stands for. According to 12newsnow, PNG Assistant Superintendent said that this school has performed at Disney several times without issue. 

The chances of this being the first performance similar to this is slim, so Disney knew what was happening and is facing the consequences of it. 

PNG needs to be held even more accountable. Unfortunately, I have visited this school. I remember going into their gym and staring at their giant wall that had their fight song painted on it. Over and over again, the phrase “Scalp em’, Indians” was written on the floor. I thought it was unbelievable at that time, and that was five years ago. 

According to their school website, the mascot was chosen in the 1920s and the drill team was formed in 1951.

There are individuals who live in the area who do not find this unbelievable and, in fact, support PNG, stating that “it’s meant to be a respectful tribute and a way to honor Native American communities.” 

A school’s alumni said “that this was a way to show pride for the area’s Indigenous pride and culture.” He then continued on to state that cancel culture needs to stop and to “quit trying to cancel everybody for something you don’t think is right.” 

There is no debate on whether or not this is wrong or right, there is a known answer. It is not right for what their school chooses to show as their school pride. There is no “thinking” for this, it is wrong and the poor excuses of justification for still having an “Indian” as a mascot are weak. There is no way to justify it, this is a grasp at straws.

For years, the Chief of the Cherokee Nation has asked the school to change their name. Clearly I am missing something here: how is this respect when the school is asked to change? 

Yonausdi, who requested to only be referred to by his first name, graduated from PNG and is of Cherokee heritage. He said, “They say they’re all about honoring Indigenous people. In order to honor Indigenous people, you need to not speak over them.”

Chief Hoskin, the Chief of the Cherokee Nation, stated that he has sent multiple letters to PNGISD, Port Neches Groves Independent School District,  encouraging the school to change their mascot. PNGISD has practically dismissed them. He has stated “that the use of Native American mascots in schools perpetuates incorrect stereotypes about indigenous peoples, such as the notion of cruelty.” 

In 1979, PNG received a certificate from the Cherokee Nation that was an “ambassador of Goodwill.” In July of 2020, the current Chief revoked those permissions. 

It has been clearly stated that the mascot must be changed. There is no doubt that the Indigenous community does not want to be represented this way. The decisions of the Cherokee people need to be acted upon and respected. After everything this country has done to this community, there should be no arguments in defense of the fact that PNG actions are respectful or taking pride. It is doing the opposite of any claims that are being made in justification. It is not just the mascot that is disrespectful, the entire school is a disrespect to the Indigenous community and is becoming more shameful the longer they represent themselves this way.

The community of Port Neches who support keeping this mascot are so far in denial of what they are doing. These individuals justify their school’s mascot by saying that “it is an honor,” despite the Indigenous community expressing that this was a mockery on multiple occasions.

PNG needed to be called out a long time ago to change their name. There should not be any fight in keeping it, there should be an awareness that this is not right. 

This has to be the last time PNG is scrutinized over their mascot. Their mascot must change, as it should have happened the first time it was asked of them.