Inappropriateness of "savages" as a school emblem?

[Mike Cleven]

>
>Dear Superintendent Keickbush,
>
>A propos of news coverage which has come to my attention, may I offer a
>very brief comment about the use of "savages" as a school emblem?
>
>The term is bound to offend English-speaking indigenous people and their
>(also anglophone) allies.  It would also bruise the sensibilities of
>speakers of French, the language from which the word came to English.

Actually AFAIK the word - in its French form, "sauvage" - is unfortunately
still rather common in French, and while definitely pejorative in context it
is not (AFAIK) generally used that way (Yanni?); certainly it _can_ be, but
so can "anglais" (esp. in Canada).  The P.C. term in Canadian French is
"autochthones" (from Gr., roughly meaning 'indigenous') but I don't know if
that's much in use beyond the circles of the politically enlightened and the
media (the latter being where I'm most familiar with it from).  "Sauvage" in
French is not quite the same as "savage" in English, however, and can simply
mean "wild" or "primitive" rather than the heavier pejorative sense common
in English.
>
>But as a linguist, I might be able to offer a novel idea:  A small
>change of the name to "Siwashes" could be defensible.  That word is the
>Chinook Jargon term for "Indians", and derives historically from the
>French word ('sauvage').  As Chinook Jargon is, or was, the Northwest's
>unique intercultural language used among natives and mostly white
>outsiders, "Siwash" has acquired no pejorative meanings of which I'm aware
>among its speakers.

????  Tony was quite particular about the distinction between Sai-wash (the
typical Boston prononciation) and Saw-wash (the Sawash prononciation), the
former being considered derogatory, the latter acceptable.  Perhaps this is
because of the milder French context of "sauvage" vs. English "savage",
although I don't think most old-time anglophone speakers who used Siwash (in
the Boston prononciation) had any idea that it was from French, whether or
not they were using it pejoratively or not.

  Indeed, the term "Siwash illahee" as I might
>transcribe it, meaning literally "Indian land", is used to this day by the
>people of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community in western
>Oregon.

So long as the prononciation is clarified.
>
>I suspect, however, that your school's choice of a mascot image may be an
>additional problem.  If it contains a visual portrayal of a stereotyped
>"red man", then you folks may need to think very hard about choosing a
>replacement for it.  The portrait of Sacajawea on the new US $1 coin might
>be an inspiring example.

Maybe "Crazy Horses" as a team identifier?  "Black Elks"?  Might get all
those linebackers reading up on real warriors; and we'd get a mystical
quarterback or two (like there aren't some already).




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