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From: FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER
Date: 02 May 2005
Time: 08:41:35 -0400
Remote Name: 68.221.238.192
UNCP report says logo has support By Venita Jenkins Staff writer PEMBROKE -- A report approved Thursday by the UNCP board of trustees may end the debate about whether the school’s use of an American Indian logo and its nickname are demeaning to the Indian community. The NCAA asked the school in January to provide additional information about the university’s position on its use of an American Indian logo, mascot and nickname. It also wanted the University of North Carolina at Pembroke to conduct a self-evaluation. The report approved Thursday includes community feedback about the logo, which depicts an Indian with a hawk on his shoulder, and the “Braves’’ nickname. It also describes educational programs and initiatives about American Indian history and culture that are offered at the university. “The NCAA will not receive a packet from any other university that is as comprehensive as ours,’’ Chancellor Allen Meadors said. “We opened this up so that everyone could have a voice.’’ The university must submit the report to the National Collegiate Athletic Association by Sunday. The community supports the university’s nickname, mascot and logo, said Zoe Locklear, interim dean of the School of Education. Locklear, who is Lumbee, served as chairman of the self-evaluation committee. The university received resolutions of support from the Lumbee Tribal Council, the Pembroke Town Council and the Pembroke Chamber of Commerce. It also received positive feedback from community surveys, she said. “It is evident that the UNCP community is clearly stating that this university has the irrefutable right to use the name ‘Braves’ and to exhibit the brave and hawk logo,’’ she said. “We believe that institutions without clear and legitimate Indian origins do not have such a right.’’ Alumnus Bryan Chavis collected 2,000 names on a petition to keep the logo and nickname. The petition will be submitted as part of the report. “I felt that the change to the logo or the term ‘Braves’ would be an affront to the Native Americans who sacrificed so much to establish the university,’’ Chavis wrote to NCAA officials. “...The symbols are truly a representation and a constant reminder of the rich Native American heritage and culture of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.’’ The university was established as the Croatan Normal School in 1887 to educate Indians. The Lumbee community supports the use of the logo and nickname. The university’s board of trustees has reaffirmed its support. American Indians make up more than 20 percent of the university’s enrollment. Controversial mascots In 2002, UNCP was among 31 schools identified by an NCAA committee as having mascots or logos that could be considered controversial. The school had to submit a response to the NCAA’s Minority Opportunities and Interest Committee in January 2003 explaining why it continued to use the logo and nickname. The university’s mascot was an Indian until 1991. Several Lumbees, including former Chancellor Joseph Oxendine, were upset about how the mascot depicted Indians. Oxendine banned the use of the Indian mascot, and the school adopted the red-tailed hawk in 1992. The school has used the “Braves’’’ nickname since the 1940s. The current athletic logo, which was designed by an American Indian, was created to honor and express respect for the American Indian heritage of the university. The termination of the use of the logo, mascot and nickname would be perceived as disrespectful, the university’s report states. “Nowhere did we hear comments about changing the logo,’’ Locklear told the trustees. Meadors has submitted a letter asking that the university’s name be removed from the list. University officials should receive a response from the NCAA in August, he said.