Wisconsin Indian Education Association

“Indian” logos, mascots, and nicknames create and maintain stereotypes of Indian people. These cultural abuses are readily supported by many of society’s institutions creating a nation-wide form of institutional racism against Native Americans. Since 1998, The Wisconsin Indian Education Association has been working in Wisconsin to educate the public and lobby local governments to get rid of Indian mascots in public schools. To date twenty-one Wisconsin school districts have become leaders in the fight to end institutional racism by banning Indian mascots in their schools. Since 2000, Headwaters Foundation for Justice has supported the work of the Wisconsin Indian Education Association by providing funding for expanded advocacy and outreach throughout Wisconsin. In 2009, The Fund of the Sacred Circle granted the WI Indian Education Association $10,000 to focus their efforts around holding conferences with school administrators, members of the community and students to educate them about the negative effects of stereotyping through mascots and logos.