Governor Sisolak Nevada, Signs Assembly Bill to Prohibit use of American Indians as Mascots, End State’s Sundown Laws
Grappling With Systemic Racism and Racial Justice in the Law
Governor Steve Sisolak has signed Assembly Bill 88 which specifically prohibits using “a name, logo, mascot, song or other identifier associated with the Confederate States of America or a federally recognized Indian tribe,” unless a tribe has specifically granted a school permission to do so.
Along with this, the law will require schools with Native American/Tribal themed or stereotyped mascots to change their mascots/logos/songs/other identifiers.
The fight to stop using American Indians as mascots for sports teams is a long one and one that has been fought on local, state and national sports levels.
Some are wondering if this will apply to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas who “ recently, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas retired its “Hey Reb!” mascot, described by the school as “a cartoonish figure modeled after the western trailblazers of the 1800s” that Native American students and others had called for the school to retire.
The university removed a statue of the mascot from its campus amid last summer’s racial justice protests. In…
