Two petitions emerge on Harrison High School name, one to rename it, another to keep it the same

[Muda69]

https://www.jconline.com/story/news/2020/07/13/two-petitions-emerge-harrison-high-school-name-one-rename-it-another-keep-same/5426831002/

Quote

Dueling petitions have emerged in recent days over the name of Tippecanoe School Corp's William Henry Harrison High School.

One petition is calling for the renaming of Harrison and its mascot, the Raiders, while the other is asking to keep the name and mascot the same.

The idea to change Harrison’s name had been floating around Rachel Gray’s mind from a young age, the 2000 graduate of the school said, as she grew up reading about the Harrison's role in the Battle of Tippecanoe and his treatment of Native Americans. After her graduating class canceled their 20-year reunion due to coronavirus, Gray said she threw out the idea to her classmates on an alumni Facebook page to gauge interest.

“This is something I’ve felt for more than 20 years,” Gray said. “If we can’t gather and organize in person, we can do something else that matters.”

Harrison, the ninth president of the United States, led a military force as the then-governor of the Indiana Territory in 1811 against Tecumseh’s Confederacy in the Battle of Tippecanoe near modern-day Battle Ground.

The high school, established in 1967 a few miles from the Tippecanoe Battlefield in northern Tippecanoe County, was named for Harrison. Its first academic year was 1970-71.

The petition was also timely, Gray said, considering the recent announcement Monday morning that Washington’s NFL franchise will drop its team name and logo which featured a word many Native Americans consider to be a racial slur.

“In the wake of continued reports of police brutality, nationwide protests and removal of Confederate monuments, many people are doing the important work of evaluating how we as a society tacitly support white supremacy,” the petition reads.

A petition to change Harrison’s name had also occurred to Brock Bahler right before Gray’s post.

“I gradated in 2000, and I never learned about William Henry Harrison, even though I went to a school named for him,” Bahler, who teaches religion at the University of Pittsburgh, said.

Gray and Bahler collaborated with several other alumni for signatures. The bottom of their petition, "Rename W.H. Harrison High School; Remove 'The Raider' mascot in Greater Lafayette, IN," features over 100 signatures, in addition to the nearly 1,100 who had signed as of Monday.

Gray said her goal is to reach 2,500 signatures and run the petition through the first week of August before presenting it to the TSC school board.

In opposition to Gray’s call to change the school’s name, another petition started over the weekend, "Keep the William Henry Harrison Highschool's name and mascot the same."

The petition, listed to have been started by Christopher Carter, writes that “trying to erase history solves nothing, and helps no one. It will only help make it easier to repeat our past mistakes.”

The Journal & Courier was not immediately able to reach Carter for comment.

As of Monday, this petition to save the Harrison name had surpassed Gray’s in signatures, reaching over 3,900 with a goal of 5,000.

“As much as our history is ugly, erasing it doesn’t change it and we will be doomed to repeat it,” one signee wrote. “Changing the name of Harrison High School would be a sad mistake. When we erase history good or bad, we are doomed to repeat it.”

Bahler said he was “a bit surprised” by the counter-peition, but expected some pushback or opposition.

“Change is really hard, and for various reasons people have warm feelings and nostalgia associated with the school,” Bahler said. “People like tradition and are uncomfortable with change.”

TSC officials were aware of the petitions, Sue Scott, the district's communications coordinator, said. She said administrators would share the results with the TSC School Board of Trustees when they receive them.

TSC has also taken steps to support students and staff on diversity and inclusion, recently hiring Sadie Harper-Scott, the local NAACP chapter president as the district’s new coordinator for diversity and inclusion.

Here we go.  As I said in another forum looks for schools with "Rebel" as the mascot to possibly be next in line.

 

[oldunclemark]

 

 Harrison was an early president but the controversy surrounds him leading the military against Native Americans before the was president.?

I dont get the controversy. He was the 9th president of the USA...and he was governor of the Indiana Territory. 

He was fighting FOR the USA..  I would honor him. 

This revisionist push cant come to Indiana.   We're by definition 'the land of the Indians" 

What about Chief Elkhart or Chief Wawasee? Indiana Princess Mishawaka.?

What about General Anthony Wayne (for whom Fort Wayne is named)?  What about John Newton, a soldier in the revolutionary war, for when Newton County (South and North Newton high schools) is named.? I'm sure they led battles where many died. 

 

Speaking for myself, I dont want to look into the background of everyone whose name adorns and school, town or county to find something that could be considered wrong in the modern day.

I like the fact that Indiana honors both generals and Native Americans.

[Muda69]

11 hours ago, oldunclemark said:

 Harrison was an early president but the controversy surrounds him leading the military against Native Americans before the was president.?

I dont get the controversy. He was the 9th president of the USA...and he was governor of the Indiana Territory. 

He was fighting FOR the USA..  I would honor him. 

This revisionist push cant come to Indiana.   We're by definition 'the land of the Indians" 

What about Chief Elkhart or Chief Wawasee? Indiana Princess Mishawaka.?

What about General Anthony Wayne (for whom Fort Wayne is named)?  What about John Newton, a soldier in the revolutionary war, for when Newton County (South and North Newton high schools) is named.? I'm sure they led battles where many died.

Speaking for myself, I dont want to look into the background of everyone whose name adorns and school, town or county to find something that could be considered wrong in the modern day.

I like the fact that Indiana honors both generals and Native Americans.

What about Frances Slocum, aka Maconaquah??  Methinks the earlier generation who directed the consolidation that created my dear alma mater may have engaged in some despicable cultural appropriation.  Shouldn't the name be changed to something more geographically appropriate like South Miami?

[Staxawax]

7 hours ago, Muda69 said:

What about Frances Slocum, aka Maconaquah??  Methinks the earlier generation who directed the consolidation that created my dear alma mater may have engaged in some despicable cultural appropriation.  Shouldn't the name be changed to something more geographically appropriate like South Miami?

Wasn't Miami an Indian Tribe?

[Muda69]

47 minutes ago, Staxawax said:

Wasn't Miami an Indian Tribe?

Good point.  And yes, and it still is:  http://www.miamiindians.org/

And logically shouldn't the appropriation of the word "Indian" in the state name "Indiana" be considered as well?

 

 

[Muda69]

Letter: Unite around truth about Harrison, rename our high school

https://www.jconline.com/story/news/opinion/letters/2020/07/13/letter-unite-around-truth-harrison-rename-our-high-school/5432367002/

Quote

My hometown of Greater Lafayette, Indiana, resides on stolen land. A land that to this day should be filled with Kickapoo, Peoria, Potawatomi, Shawnee and Miami peoples. On this ground, 200 years ago, the great leader Tecumseh and his spiritual brother Tenskatawa (The Prophet) courageously tried to unite all tribes to protect their culture, their livelihood and their people from complete eradication by White colonialists. At its peak in 1810, Prophetstown was home to more than 3,000 Indigenous people, making it the largest Native community ever assembled in the Great Lakes territories.

At The Battle of Tippecanoe in August 1811, General William H. Harrison, who would go on to become governor of the Indiana Territory and the shortest-serving U.S. president, launched numerous destructive missions against Native villages. His "raiders" torched homes and destroyed crops to starve out and push out these originating peoples. Harrison’s grotesque views — that Natives were bloodthirsty savages who deserved no mercy — are well documented.

Now in 2020, instead of my Class of 2000 gathering in person for a reunion, a large group of alumni from 1974-2006 (and growing), retired faculty, local community members and national stakeholders in racial justice are planning to petition the Tippecanoe School Corp. to rename William H. Harrison High School and remove the Raider imagery and mascot.

Beyond his war atrocities, Harrison was an outspoken white supremacist who publicly supported the South’s reliance on enslaving Black people. Today’s resurging movement to remove monuments — vague, incomplete reminders of the past — is not just happening in the former Confederacy. The legacy of white settler colonialism from coast to coast, which led to the mass genocide of millions of Indigenous people and Black people, is being faced with a much more honest, enlightened telling of "history."

  This unifying effort to make the school, the community and the nation inclusive is not about removing the lessons from history. Harrison is the one who was focused on removal. Removal of Natives from their land. Removal of their right to life and removal of their dignity. What we are calling for is reconciliation and restoration. And we deeply hope you will join us, by signing the petition at www.change.org/RenameHarrisonHighSchool.

But logically wouldn't true "reconciliation and restoration" mean the vacating of this "stolen land" by the ancestors of these "raiders" and giving it back to the ancestors of the Kickapoo, Peoria, Potawatomi, Shawnee and Miami peoples.?

Isn't anything short of that truly just lip service, designed to make some people "feel better"?

 

[wabashalwaysfights]

I find myself wondering who, what, or why schools, towns, streets, etc. should actually derive their names from?

[Muda69]

36 minutes ago, wabashalwaysfights said:

I find myself wondering who, what, or why schools, towns, streets, etc. should actually derive their names from?

It should just be something logical and efficient.

States would be renamed to the number that they entered the union.  So Indiana would be renamed to "State 16".

Now the county level.  We could just number the counties like our BMV currently does on license plates.   So Clinton county would be renamed to "County 12",  Miami county to "County 52",  and so forth.

Then each town, village, burg, etc. would be lettered.  In County 12 Frankfort would be renamed to "City A",  Michigantown to "Town B", Rossville to "Town C" and so forth.

School buildings within those areas would be named with a combination.  So Frankfort High School would be "School A-1".  FMS would be "School A-2".   Clinton Central High school would be "School B-1", the elementary school "School B-2".

Street names could be easy. North-South streets would be letters, East-West streets numbers.

So an address in the former Frankfort, Indiana would be:

Mr. Muda69

123  D Street

City A, County 12, State 16, 46041

 

Edited July 16, 2020 by Muda69

[Bobref]

11 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

It should just be something logical and efficient.

States would be renamed to the number that they entered the union.  So Indiana would be renamed to "State 16".

Now the county level.  We could just number the counties like our BMV currently does on license plates.   So Clinton county would be renamed to "County 12",  Miami county to "County 52",  and so forth.

Then each town, village, burg, etc. would be lettered.  In County 12 Frankfort would be renamed to "City A",  Michigantown to "Town B", Rossville to "Town C" and so forth.

School buildings within those areas would be named with a combination.  So Frankfort High School would be "School A-1".  FMS would be "School A-2".   Clinton Central High school would be "School B-1", the elementary school "School B-2".

Street names could be easy. North-South streets would be letters, East-West streets numbers.

So an address in the former Frankfort, Indiana would be:

Mr. Muda69

123  D Street

City A, County 12, State 16, 46041

 

I love the use of reductio ad absurdum to illustrate how ridiculous the “cancel culture” has become.

12 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

It should just be something logical and efficient.

States would be renamed to the number that they entered the union.  So Indiana would be renamed to "State 16".

Now the county level.  We could just number the counties like our BMV currently does on license plates.   So Clinton county would be renamed to "County 12",  Miami county to "County 52",  and so forth.

Then each town, village, burg, etc. would be lettered.  In County 12 Frankfort would be renamed to "City A",  Michigantown to "Town B", Rossville to "Town C" and so forth.

School buildings within those areas would be named with a combination.  So Frankfort High School would be "School A-1".  FMS would be "School A-2".   Clinton Central High school would be "School B-1", the elementary school "School B-2".

Street names could be easy. North-South streets would be letters, East-West streets numbers.

So an address in the former Frankfort, Indiana would be:

Mr. Muda69

123  D Street

City A, County 12, State 16, 46041

 

I love the use of reductio ad absurdum to illustrate how ridiculous the “cancel culture” has become.

[Lysander]

1 hour ago, Muda69 said:

It should just be something logical and efficient.

States would be renamed to the number that they entered the union.  So Indiana would be renamed to "State 16".

Now the county level.  We could just number the counties like our BMV currently does on license plates.   So Clinton county would be renamed to "County 12",  Miami county to "County 52",  and so forth.

Then each town, village, burg, etc. would be lettered.  In County 12 Frankfort would be renamed to "City A",  Michigantown to "Town B", Rossville to "Town C" and so forth.

School buildings within those areas would be named with a combination.  So Frankfort High School would be "School A-1".  FMS would be "School A-2".   Clinton Central High school would be "School B-1", the elementary school "School B-2".

Street names could be easy. North-South streets would be letters, East-West streets numbers.

So an address in the former Frankfort, Indiana would be:

Mr. Muda69

123  D Street

City A, County 12, State 16, 46041

 

Nice job sir.....and to imagine I once thought you were humorless....

[Staxawax]

So, honest question.  Was the term "Native American" given to the ones who were here originally by the PC people or is this the name they prefer.  Are they adamantly opposed to the term "Indian"? 

[Staxawax]

From the Oxford English Dictionary:

Usage

The term American Indian has been steadily replaced in the US, especially in official contexts, by Native American, which became prominent in the 1970s. The latter is preferred by some as being a more accurate and respectful description (the word Indian recalling Columbus' assumption that, on reaching America, he had reached the east coast of India), as well as avoiding the stereotype of cowboys and Indians in the stories of the Wild West. However, American Indian is still widespread in general use even in the US, partly because it is not normally regarded as offensive by American Indians themselves. Nevertheless, since the category American Indian is very broad, it is preferable where possible to name the specific people, such as Apache, Comanche, or Sioux.

[MarshallCounty]

5 hours ago, Muda69 said:

It should just be something logical and efficient.

States would be renamed to the number that they entered the union.  So Indiana would be renamed to "State 16".

Now the county level.  We could just number the counties like our BMV currently does on license plates.   So Clinton county would be renamed to "County 12",  Miami county to "County 52",  and so forth.

Then each town, village, burg, etc. would be lettered.  In County 12 Frankfort would be renamed to "City A",  Michigantown to "Town B", Rossville to "Town C" and so forth.

School buildings within those areas would be named with a combination.  So Frankfort High School would be "School A-1".  FMS would be "School A-2".   Clinton Central High school would be "School B-1", the elementary school "School B-2".

Street names could be easy. North-South streets would be letters, East-West streets numbers.

So an address in the former Frankfort, Indiana would be:

Mr. Muda69

123  D Street

City A, County 12, State 16, 46041

 

Ripley County were I live would be County 69. Hahahaha. I’m still immature.

[oldunclemark]

Is the term 'Hoosier' offensive?

   To me it just means 'being from Indiana' 

If anyone suggests (apparently a few have) that its derogatory, I would say its not derogatory to me.....and I'm one of the ones 'Hoosiers' refers to and I believe it is meant with home-state pride.

 

Is if fair that a minority of the 'subjects of a nickname' can inspire the change of that nickname..

..over the wishes of the majority of the subjects of that same nickname.?

[kingtut]

On 7/15/2020 at 4:01 PM, Muda69 said:

Good point.  And yes, and it still is:  http://www.miamiindians.org/

And logically shouldn't the appropriation of the word "Indian" in the state name "Indiana" be considered as well?

 

 

And, of course, Indianapolis. 

[Muda69]

44 minutes ago, kingtut said:

And, of course, Indianapolis. 

Yes, of course.  And if we aren't going with the logical method of just using letter and/or numbers to rename city then I submit Indianapolis be renamed to once it's common nickname,  Naptown.

 

[Bobref]

32 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

Yes, of course.  And if we aren't going with the logical method of just using letter and/or numbers to rename city then I submit Indianapolis be renamed to once it's common nickname,  Naptown.

 

Back in the old days, we used to call it “India-no-place.”

[BDGiant93]

Just switch the name to Benjamin Harrison. Problem solved.

[gahoosierfan]

All the tribes that lived in the Lafayette area had at one point attacked and slaughtered the tribes that were there before them. Warfare was endemic among Native American Tribes. So we should remove all tribal names from all places right?

[Bobref]

While we’re at it, I have a problem with the name “Steelers,” and the heritage for which it stands. It is well documented that, in its early days, the steel industry in this country shamefully exploited the working class, often comprised of racial and ethnic minorities. From deplorable working conditions enforced by strike-breaking thugs, to establishment of company towns, where the employer controlled virtually every aspect of the workers’ lives, the Carnegies and the US Steels were as oppressive to their work force as any plantation slave owner. Why do we glorify them in Pittsburgh? Shameful!

[oldunclemark]

On 8/14/2020 at 2:34 PM, Bobref said:

While we’re at it, I have a problem with the name “Steelers,” and the heritage for which it stands. It is well documented that, in its early days, the steel industry in this country shamefully exploited the working class, often comprised of racial and ethnic minorities. From deplorable working conditions enforced by strike-breaking thugs, to establishment of company towns, where the employer controlled virtually every aspect of the workers’ lives, the Carnegies and the US Steels were as oppressive to their work force as any plantation slave owner. Why do we glorify them in Pittsburgh? Shameful!

Oh, Lord no.  Please dont make this argument, B.    Early steel mills (before unions) may have been oppressive. But they were nothing like slavery.

Slaves were never paid and they were captives.. They were beaten, castrated, mutilated and hung. Slave women were raped on call.  Children were beaten if they tried to learn.  

Early mills and wage-sucking 'company stores' were severly unfair but all industry exploits the working class to some extent.....//I think Steelers is a proud but flawed heritage..We can argue that.

But slaves were human farm animals.

 I dont like it when (and I know you are not doing this) minority college athletes compare themselves to modern day slaves..  It indicates they know little about slavery.

 

[Bobref]

9 minutes ago, oldunclemark said:

Oh, Lord no.  Please dont make this argument, B.    Early steel mills (before unions) may have been oppressive. But they were nothing like slavery.

Slaves were never paid and they were captives.. They were beaten, castrated, mutilated and hung. Slave women were raped on call.  Children were beaten if they tried to learn.  

Early mills and wage-sucking 'company stores' were severly unfair but all industry exploits the working class to some extent.....//I think Steelers is a proud but flawed heritage..We can argue that.

But slaves were human farm animals.

 I dont like it when (and I know you are not doing this) minority college athletes compare themselves to modern day slaves..  It indicates they know little about slavery.

 

Sigh ... it was an attempt at humor.

[wabashalwaysfights]

21 minutes ago, Bobref said:

Sigh ... it was an attempt at humor.

Yet another example of our current culture's inability to perceive the subtleties of language...

[oldunclemark]

4 hours ago, Bobref said:

Sigh ... it was an attempt at humor.

Sorry, B. I totally missed it..  Had no clue.

Didn't see your slyness in the written word..

Sorry.

Edited August 16, 2020 by oldunclemark

[Bobref]

1 hour ago, oldunclemark said:

Sorry, B. I totally missed it..  Had no clue.

Didn't see your slyness in the written word..

Sorry.

👍