Fact checking logo debate

Wauwatosa is not the only school currently debating school logos. Today the Wausau Daily Herald tries to correct some of the misstatements found in letters to the editor in the debate over the Mosinee High School mascot and logo.

Many writers have bolstered their argument that Indians should be proud and honored by Mosinee's nickname by referring to "Chief Mosinee," whose portrait hangs in the city library and once graced the pages of the Mosinee phone book.

Fact is, Chief Mosinee never existed -- at least not as Mosinee residents might like to think. The portrait is that of a Minnesota Chippewa named Thomas E. Smith or Kah-be-nug-we-way, who was born near Grand Rapids and lived out his life in his home state.

It appears he first was associated with Mosinee years ago when the local paper mill adopted his image on a calendar that featured several Indian portraits.

Some have claimed there's no evidence that people are hurt when they're the victims of stereotyping. But that's not true, either.

Well-established research, published in peer-reviewed psychiatric and psychological journals, has documented the harm done to people who see themselves reflected only in caricatures and stereotypical images and words.

Finally, some have claimed that Munson and other activists want to remove all Indian references from society -- even city names based upon Indian words, such as Wausau. The claim is so absurd it hardly merits discussion.

You can find the rest here.