A Lawsuit Challenges the Constitutionality of a Colorado Law Banning Native American Imagery in Public Schools
Alawsuit filed this week in U.S. District Court challenges the constitutionality of a new Colorado law requiring public schools to get rid of Native American mascots, logos and imagery by next summer or face massive fines.
In its opening salvo, the lawsuit suggests that a law that similarly forbade the use of the name or image of a Black American such as Martin Luther King for a school would not be considered.
“Erasing Native American names and images from the public square and from public discussion echoes a maneuver that plaintiffs have previously seen used by the eradicators of Native American heritage,” the lawsuit says. “Colorado repeats the same mistake in its paternalistic assumption that it must protect Native Americans by erasing cultural references to them and to their heritage.”
