The California Senate voted August 16 in favor of a bill that will ban the use of the word "Redskins" in California public schools. This vote marks the furthest that the bill has come to passing during its three-year existence. In 2002, the bill was rejected on the grounds that it did not exempt American Indian schools that use Indian mascots. The bill was rewritten, and as it stands now, only applies to the term "Redskins." If the legislation comes to law, it will affect five secondary schools.
Natalie Sites, a Cheyenne River Lakota woman who works for the Alliance Against Racial Mascots, told Indian Country Today that the group has pushed hard for this bill, and is happy with the Senate vote. Opposition to the bill came largely from Republicans who were concerned about the issue of local control. The bill will now go to the state assembly where it is expected to be approved and forwarded to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose stance on the vote is unclear.
