detonate.net - 'Fightin' Whites' spoof raises $100,000

DENVER - What started out as an attempt to shame a local high school into dropping a mascot name viewed as racist has raised at least $100,000 for scholarships for Indian college students.

The effort began last winter when a group of Indian students at the University of Northern Colorado asked officials at nearby Eaton High School to change the school's mascot from "Fighting Reds" because the name was offensive.

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DENVER - What started out as an attempt to shame a local high school into dropping a mascot name viewed as racist has raised at least $100,000 for scholarships for Indian college students.

The effort began last winter when a group of Indian students at the University of Northern Colorado asked officials at nearby Eaton High School to change the school's mascot from "Fighting Reds" because the name was offensive.

When the school refused, members of the UNC intramural basketball team, made up of Indians and whites, decided to get even.

They named themselves the "Fightin' Whites" and began wearing T-shirts bearing the name. After getting national media attention they began selling the shirts, which also bear the slogan "Everythang's going to be all white," from their Web site.

More than 15,000 shirts and hats have been sold, raising at least $100,000.

"It's actually kind of an amazing thing that happened there in Colorado. Not only did they raise the level of debate but they also turned it around and raised money for Native American scholarships," said Charlene Teters, vice president of the American Indian Movement's National Coalition on Race in Sports and Media.

"There have been posters before that made fun of teams, but nothing has been this successful," said Teters, a member of the Spokane Nation.

She estimates that about 3,000 professional and amateur team names are offensive.

"You have to understand that these names and symbols have a history in the same way 'boy' has a history with African Americans. That is the connection people don't get. First you take a people and commit genocide against them, then you turn them into a stereotype," she said.

Jeff VanIwarden, a team member who helped manage the T-shirt campaign, said the amount of money available for scholarships will depend on whether an application for tax exempt status is accepted.

A $10,000 endowment has already been set up for one scholarship at UNC starting next year.

The money collected could have been used to help campaign against the use of Indian names as mascots, but most of the team members felt more would be gained by helping Indian students, he said.

VanIwarden said he wasn't worried that the T-shirts might "be a form of white pride."

"We can't regulate who does or does not buy them. We do have their money," he said.

On the Web:

Fightin' Whites: http://www.fightingwhites.org

American Indian Movement: http://www.aimovement.org/