ALERT

Dear Taskforce Members and Supporters,

This Press Release was sent to the media today on taskforce letterhead:
For Release On:
July 31, 2014
Discrimination Celebration in Berlin
For several weeks an ad for a celebration sponsored by the Save the
Berlin Mascot Committee has appeared in the Berlin Journal. (Berlin Indian
Meet & Greet). In an attempt to educate the community and counter the
idea of celebrating the continuation of racial discrimination, the WIEA
Indian Mascot and Logo Taskforce is placing an educational ad in the
Oshkosh Northwestern on Thursday July 31, Saturday August 2 and
Wednesday August 6. (Berlin Ad). This use of the Berlin team name and
logo by a non-school sanctioned entity and outside of the school
environs is in direct contradiction to the stated intent of the Berlin Area
School District Board expressed in January, when the board decided to
create a review committee and to thoroughly examine the race-based
Indian mascot, team name and logo issue and its Wisconsin American
Indian curriculum before making any decision about whether to retain or
continue on the path to retire its Berlin Indians symbolism. Several
members of the Wisconsin Indian Education Association Indian Mascot
and Logo Taskforce attended that meeting and o!ered the board support
and assistance.
The use of race-based Indian stereotypes as team names and logos by
our public schools is a core issue in public education dealing with pupil
discrimination and should not be trivialized. Indian mascots are a form of
racial bullying that harms native children and teaches all school children
to tolerate racial stereotypes. The Save the Berlin Mascot Committee
event highlighting a political candidate as a featured speaker with the
Berlin High School logo juxtaposed has the appearance of using the
school logo in a political ad. Since the Save the Berlin Mascot Committee
is a non-school sponsored group this political use of the Berlin School
Logo is very disturbing. No school district can guarantee that another
district will use its mascot kindly in competitions, the Berlin School Board
cannot control the use of its logo within the town itself.
Wisconsin Indian educators and our allies will do all we can to assist the
good people in the Berlin community in better understanding the impact
of the school districts stereotypical Indian logo on students residing
within the community and elsewhere in the state of Wisconsin

Barbara E. Munson(Oneida)
Here are some Action Ideas:
1. Participate in the dialogue in newspapers and social media. Look for editorial
page articles and opinion letters to respond to in the Oshkosh Northwestern and
other newspapers throughout the state.
2. Write letters and op.ed. pieces. We will need a variety of writers and perhaps
over an extended period of time.
3. Call the City Inn, Lance Schultz Mgr. (920)361-4769 and ask why he is hosting
a meeting that is a discrimination celebration.
4. Contact the Berlin Area School District board and administration,
Superintendent Bob Eidahl (920)361-2004. Ask if the event is endorsed by the
school district since it is being advertised using the District!s logo and team
name. If no, will the District so state in the record. Where and how will that look?
Message individual School Board Members at (920)361-2004 : Mark Finger, Sue
Haase, Linda Reetz, Catherine Kujawa, Tricia Polakowski, Ken Doro, Beth
Malchetske, Todd DeRuyter, Lori Kray, and Paul Werch.
5. Ask Representative Joan Ballweg, 41st Assembly District
rep.ballweg@legis.wi.gov (608)266-8077 why she is participating in a celebration
of racial discrimination. Ask if her event is endorsed by the Berlin Area School
District? Ask her to reconsider this campaign event.
6. Contact the Berlin Veterans Foundation (920)229-5856 and ask if they
endorse this event celebrating racial discrimination as their phone number is
attached to the Save the Berlin Mascot Committee ad.
7. Contact the head of the Save the Berlin Mascot Committee, Barbara Resop
(920)290-3152 and ask her why she is organizing this discrimination celebration.
We will share all of the above with Eradicating Offensive Native Mascotry,
EONM.org for disbursal to their contacts across the nation. So get ready to
participate in a twitter storm. You can nd them on facebook at EONMassoc
We will share all the above with the ACLU of Wisconsin.
We are planning an Education Sharing for the press and public at the Berlin High
School at 6PM on Wednesday August 13 (at the same time as the Meet and
Greet) and for 45 minutes before the BASD School Board Meeting at 7PM that
evening. The press will be invited. Bring educational materials and ideas to
share. Speakers and supporters will go to the library to sign up at 6:45. We hope
to have a strong presence encouraging our speakers at the meeting. If you plan
to speak remember to sign in for public commentary before the meeting. There
will be a reminder and details for the Education Sharing meeting sent out on
Monday August 11. Please E-mail your intent to Barb@Munson.net as soon as
you can.

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be represenLed by Lhe characLerlsLlcs deslred for school sporLs Leams. 1he harm LhaL Lhls causes ls easlly seen by many,
whlle oLhers sLruggle Lo see LhaL Lhe lssue goes far beyond vlews of offenslveness and pollLlcal correcLness.
ln 2014, lL ls asLoundlng Lo Lhlnk LhaL groups ln school dlsLrlcLs wanLlng Lo hang on Lo Lhese sLereoLypes Lhlnk LhaL Lhey
are honoring a proud legacy without recognlzlng LhaL Lhey are also planLlng Lhe seeds of lnsLlLuLlonallzed raclsm.
1he planned August 13 Berlin Indian Meet & Greet sponsored by the Save the Berlin Indian Committee represenLs a
huge step backwards for education and the communitys undersLandlng of whaL honor ls really all abouL. 1hls evenL, ln
noL recognlzlng LhaL Lhe elecLed leaders of all 11 Wlsconsln Lrlbes have unanlmously and conslsLenLly asked schools Lo
stop using Indian logos and nicknames represenLs a shameful level of lgnorance. 1hls evenL also does noL recognlze LhaL
ALL Lhe valldaLed emplrlcal research shows ALL sLudenLs are harmed by whaL ls belng celebraLed. 1hls ls Lhe very deflnlLlon
of anLl-educaLlonal.
We know LhaL Lhere are many people of good wlll ln 8erlln who are sLruggllng Lo beLLer undersLand Lhe confllcL of ldeas
behlnd Lhe use of race-based "lndlan sLereoLypes ln school envlronmenLs. Many Llmes ln Lhe pasL, as wlLh Lhe !anuary
school board meeLlng ln 8erlln, Lhe Wlsconsln lndlan LducaLlon AssoclaLlon has offered Lo asslsL Lhe 8erlln Area School
ulsLrlcL ln helplng Lhe communlLy Lo beLLer undersLand Lhls complex lssue. 1helr conLlnued lack of acLlon Lo Lake advanLage
of Lhese offers ls one of Lhe reasons why Lhe klnd of evenL planned for AugusL 13 has been organlzed.
1he one Lhlng we know for sure ln Lhe currenL soclal cllmaLe ls LhaL Lhe mosL vlLal lssue for everyone Lo undersLand lnvolves
!"#$"%& for oLhers. '"#$"%& sLarLs wlLh belng wllllng Lo sLep aslde from well-lnLended, buL harmful percepLlons and see
things from anothers point of view, especially when that point of view involves the very people that are the focus of the
honoring. The more each of us recognizes this, the sooner we will be able to stop all harmful race-based sLereoLyplng.
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