Editorial: The Stupidity of Censoring Our American Indian Heritage

Only 135 years ago - in 1890 - less than two average lifetimes - America had a wilderness frontier.  A frontier with wild animals, unsettled and often uncharted lands, and tribes of native American Indians.

American Indians are a central part of America's national history:  From John Smith and Pocahontas in Jamestown, to the Pilgrims and Squanto and the Wampanoag people in Plymouth.

From the Last of the Mohicans; the French and Indian Wars; Tecumsah and the Trail of Tears; to Geronimo and Sitting Bull, the history of America is the history of the American Indian's interactions with settlers from Europe, Africa and even Asia. Truly, the American story.

After over 300 years of cooperation and conflict in North America, the last US-Indian war - The Battle of Bear Valley - occurred in 1918 - just over 100 years ago.

That is why the actions of NY's Governor Kathy Hochul to censor - obliterate - all reference to American Indian names from schools, school teams and school mascots in New York is so intellectually shallow. 

Like a censor from Orwell's "1984" - erasing all reference and memory of real peoples who lived, struggled, raised families and died here. 

Some American Indian references might be insulting - and should be removed.

But the vast majority of "Chiefs" and "Braves" and "Warriors" and "Thunderbirds" - to the extent they reference an American Indian heritage do so more to honor American Indians - and our common national heritage - than disparage them.

Trying to censor those names out of existence seems like an act of cultural Philistinism - a barbaric urge to censor and obliterate.

Kathy Hochul embarrasses herself and New York when she sues school districts to obliterate names and words - many of which do not even have American Indian origins.

The "Chiefs" (a French word for leadership that long predates European settlement) - or the "Thunderbirds" (a mythical creature that transcends many cultures) - or the "Warriors" (an early Germanic word for "War") are ancient words in the English language, and refer to many things not related to American Indians.

Yet the "Chiefs" and "Warriors" and "Thunderbirds" must be banned, according to Governor Hochul.

Next time you see Gov. Kathy Hochul, please give her an American-English dictionary, with the etymology of all the words she is seeking to ban.

As Forrest Gump once said, "Stupid is as Stupid does...."