LOS ANGELES—California lawmak-ers have proposed a bill prohibiting all public K-12 schools in the state from using derogatory terms for school or athletic team names, mascots, or nicknames.
Authored by Democratic Assemblymem-bers Pilar Schiavo and James Ramos, the Native American Mascot Ban (AB 3074) specifically prohibits all public schools, except for schools operated by an Indian tribe or a tribal organization or a school that has received written consent from a local federally recognized tribe, from using any derogatory Native American term for school or athletic team names, mascots, or nicknames. If passed, it would revise the California Racial Mascots Act, as specified, beginning July 1, 2026.
“AB 3074 will help create a safe space in schools—to make certain groups schools experience better, for they will no longer have to deal with bullying, mockery, or isolation due to a mascot,” said Assemblywoman Schiavo, during a June 12 State Senate hearing.
As a student-athlete, she said she knows how much pride and team spirit come from mascots. Yet, for far too long, some mascots have instead been a source of shame and cultural appropriation, she added.
“Several studies have shown that these Na-tive American mascots have detrimental effects on Indigenous peoples from the individual and community level. In 1968, the National Con-gress of American Indians began campaigns to address stereotypes of Native American people in pop culture, media, and sports,” she stated.
Danielle Cirelli, recently elected chairper-son of the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake, said during the hearing many non-tribal people might not understand the impacts that a name or mascot can have on a group of people who have been historically and consistently threat-ened, forgotten, and mistreated, but all of it leads to generational trauma, especially for Na-tive and Indigenous youth. California is home to 109 federally recognized tribes, and has the greatest number of Indigenous/Native people, she noted.
Existing law establishes the California Racial Mascots Act and prohibits, beginning January 1, 2017, all public schools from us-ing the term “Redskins for school or athletic team names, mascots, or nicknames.”
It also, in part, permits a public school to use uniforms or other materials bearing the term “Redskins” as a school or athletic team name, mascot, or nickname that were purchased before that time, under certain conditions.
The new bill defines “derogatory Native American term” to include, but is not limited to, Apaches, Big Reds, Braves, Chiefs, Chief-tains, Chippewa, Comanches, Indians, Savages, Squaw, and Tribe.
“I am absolutely very happy about this deci-sion. It’s been a long time coming,” stated Black and Indigenous activist YoNasDa LoneWolf. From activist, humanitarian and comedian the late Dick Gregory; to American Indian Move-ment Chiefs Ernie Longwalker, Dennis Banks, Russell Means; and even her late mother, Wau-neta Lonewolf, among many others fought on a national level to ban racial mascots, YoNasDa LoneWolf pointed out.
“Even my former organization Indigenous Peoples Movement, we worked tirelessly to amplify voices like Not Your Mascot to have Washington take off the R- Skins. So, to see that the State of California took a hard stance on this means we are being heard as Indigenous people.
Now if only other states can also follow. It’s sad that in 2024 we are still having this conversation about if a mascot is racist or not,” Ms. LoneWolf told The Final Call.
The bill has support from the American Civil Liberties Union California Action, the Cahuilla Band Indians, the California Federation of Teachers, the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, the Tule River Tribe and more.
On a national level, public backlash has forced name changes of some professional football teams, such as Washington, D.C. (Commanders) and major league baseball teams like the Cleveland, Ohio (Guardians). Still, in the NFL there are the Kansas City Chiefs and in Major League Baseball, the Atlanta Braves; and in college sports, some schools still go by names such as the Florida Seminoles.
Student Minister Abel Muhammad, the representative to the Latin American community for the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam, said the bill is a step in the right direction as a show of respect for the Original people who Europeans found in the Western Hemisphere when they first arrived.
“This is not justice. … It does not undo the centuries of mistreatment, slander and outright lies that have led to the near genocide of the Native people that were in this hemisphere,” he said.
“The Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Honorable Minister Farrakhan have taught us that history is above all subjects, best qualified to reward our research, and if we look at the history and the treatment in history from Europeans of the Native people that they found in what is today called the Caribbean, Mesoamerica, South America and North America, we can see that they did not have respect for us, show respect for us, although they took whatever knowledge and resources we would offer,” continued Student Min. Abel Muhammad.
But it is not justice, he said. “And our people should not be satisfied with such a step, though positive in its symbolism, yet where is the substance?
What are the programs and funding that will go into the communities of the Native people who have been ill-affected by these mascots and symbols that degenerate the Native people and mischaracterized them as silly or foolish and trivialized them and really erase their humanity?” he questioned.
Steps to repair the harm caused go beyond removing symbols, and while this first step is applauded, it in no way satisfies the move toward justice, not until there are actions and the admittance and atonement for what was done to the Original people, he concluded.
