I have felt the weight of not knowing my culture since I was in kindergarten. My Native American grandparents felt an even heavier burden at that age, when they were kidnapped from their homes, forced to cut their hair, and stripped of their language. Today, I take language and cultural classes to reconnect to what was stolen from me and my family. 

Native children in classrooms are being faced by another opposition to our culture: Native American Mascots. It has been said by the American Psychological Association that these mascots force our children to distance themselves from our culture and have worsened belief in self achievement. 

This petition recognizes that high school Native mascots do not accurately represent the richness and diversity within Native cultures and they pose a daily attack on Native children that are in their proximity. Join us as we condemn these racist mascots, and declare our Native children People, Not Mascots.