I am responding to Maximilian Thom’s Sept. 14 letter “Rethink ‘what’s in a name?,’ ” regarding the use of the Chieftain as the Columbia River High School mascot. As a class of 2009 alumna, I speak from firsthand experience and knowledge of the attitude of the school toward its mascot. The only portrayal of the Chieftain permitted is the official Chieftain head: the profile of a calm-faced, middle-aged man with Native American features wearing a short, feathered headdress in the school’s colors. Though many schools sanction live representations of their mascot to rally school spirit, CRHS does not permit any such display.
Students and faculty are not allowed to wear or carry Native American-styled costumes and props, especially on spirit days and at sporting events. Imitations of Native American chants and dances are likewise not permitted behaviors. The Chieftain is treated with great respect by the faculty and student body, and is valued as a symbol of school pride.
Ethnic and cultural sensitivity is a highly valuable consideration. But we should also consider the point at which the pursuit of political correctness becomes a drive to eliminate all public reference to every culture but the dominant one in a nation historically proud of its diversity.
Samantha Sanches
Ridgefield
