What follows is a list of universities, colleges, community
colleges, and "junior" colleges in the U.S. and Canada that have
names that are or might be derived from stereotypes of Native
Americans. The source for this list is the 1993-94 National
Directory of College Athletics, which might be slightly out of
date--some well-known schools are already planning to change their
names and there might be smaller schools that are also doing so
but aren't getting the same publicity. Also, a couple people
have sent me notes with updates--if I recall correctly, Miami
of Ohio has made some (very slight) modifications in its name,
and St. John's U. is scheduled to change its name. I have those
notes and will double-check them with this information. But for
now, here is a preliminary list of schools, organized
alphabetically by team name, with a couple other less certain
categories further below:
Apaches, Cochise Co. C.C., Douglas, AZ
Apaches, Illinois Valley C.C., Oglesby, IL
Apaches, Southwestern C.C., Chula Vista, CA
Apaches, Tyler J.C., Tyler, TX
Aztecs, San Diego St. U.
Aztecs, Pima C.C., Tucson, AZ
Blackhawks, Southeastern C.C., West Burlington, IA
Braves, Alcorn St. U., Lorman, MS
Braves, Bradley U., Peoria, IL
Braves, Chowan Coll., Murfreesboro, NC
Braves, Husson Coll., Bangor, ME
Braves, Ottawa U., Ottawa, KS
Braves, Pembroke St. U., Pembroke, NC
Braves, Quinnipiac Coll., Hamden, CT
Braves, West Georgia Coll., Carrolton, GA
Braves, Seneca Coll., North York, ON
Braves, Black Hawk Coll., Moline, IL
Braves, Goldey Beacom Coll., Wilmington, DE
Chieftans, Seattle U.
Chippewas, Central Michigan U., Mt. Pleasant
Choctaws, Mississippi Coll, Clinton
Fighting Illini, U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Fighting Sioux, U. of North Dakota, Grand Forks
Indians, Adams St. Coll., Alamosa, CO
Indians, Arkansas St. U., State University
Indians, Bryant Coll., Smithfield, RI
Indians, Catawba Coll., Salisbury, NC
Indians, Cumberland Coll., Williamsburg, K
Indians, Indiana U. of Pennsylviana, Indiana, PA
Indians, McMurray U., Abilene, TX
Indians, Midwestern State U., Wichita Falls, TX
Indians, Newberry Coll., Newberry, SC
Indians, Northeast Louisiana U., Monroe
Indians, Southeast Missouri St. U., Cape Girardeau
Indians, U. of Southern Colorado, Pueblo
Indians, Arkansas St. U.-Beebe
Indians, Chipola J.C., Marianna, FL
Indians, Itawamba J.C., Fulton, MS
Indians, Lake Michigan Coll., Benton Harbor, MI
Indians, Martin Methodist Coll., Pulaski, TN
Indians, McCook C.C., McCook, NE
Indians, Muscatine C.C., Muscatine, IA
Indians, Paducah C.C., Paducah, KY
Indians, San Bernardino Valley C.C., San Bernardino, CA
Indians, U. of South Carolina-Salkehatchie, Allendale, SC
Indians, Yakima Valley Coll., Yakima, WA
Moccasins, Florida Southern Coll., Lakeland
Moccasins, U. of Tennessee-Chattanooga
Mohawks, North Adams St. Coll., North Adams, MA
Nanooks, U of Alaska-Fairbanks
Pequots, Mitchell Coll., New London, CT
Raiders, Seminole C.C., Sanford, FL
Redmen, Carthage Coll., Kenosha, WI
Redmen, Northeastern Oklahoma St. U., Tahlequah
Redmen, U. of Rio Grande, Rio Grande, OH
Redmen, Ripon Coll., Ripon, WI
Redmen, St. John's U., Jamaica, NY (scheduled to change next year)
Redmen, McGill U., Montreal
Redmen, Sauk Valley C.C., Dixon, IL
Redskins, Miami U. of Ohio, Oxford, OH
Redskins, Southern Nazarene U., Bethany, OK
Savages, Southeastern Oklahoma St. U., Durant
Seminoles, Florida State U., Tallahassee
Thunderbirds, Southern Utah U., Cedar City
Thunderbirds, U. of British Columbia, Vancouver
Thunderbirds, Cloud Co. C.C., Concordia, KS
Thunderbirds, Highline Coll., Des Moines, WA
Thunderbirds, Merritt Coll., Oakland, CA
Thunderbirds, Mesa, C.C., Mesa, AZ
Thunderbirds, New Mexico J.C., Hobbs, NM
Tetons, U. of North Dakota-Williston
Tomahawks, Tunxis J.C., Farmington, CT
Tribe, Huron Coll., Huron, S.D.
Tribe, Coll. of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA
Utes, U. of Utah, Salt Lake City
Warriors, Blackhawk Coll., Kewanee, IL
Warriors, Indian Hills C.C., Ottumwa, IA
Possible/Probable N.A. Stereotypes
Some of these team names are almost certainly derived from
stereotypes of Native Americans, while others are probably not (I
suspect many of the Christian colleges are not, for example). In
many instances the schools with names like "Warriors" and "Raiders"
have school colors that include red, so there's a good chance, I
would think, that their names are or were once based on N.A.
stereotypes.
In a few cases, I think the schools listed are Native community
colleges, but didn't know for sure--if anyone can tell me one way
or the other, please do so; otherwise, I can look this up easily,
as well. In a couple cases I just wasn't sure what the name
meant, or how it was depicted, but there was a remote possibility
that it's a N.A. stereotype: are the Napa Valley C.C. "Super
chiefs" depicted as Indians somehow, or perhaps as gas station
attendants? :-)
In all cases, we should check things out before we do anything
else.
Amaruks, S.I.A.S.T.-Kelsey, Saskatoon, Sask. (Inuit school?)
Chiefs, U. of Massachusetts-Lowell
Chiefs, Morningside Coll., Sioux City, IA
Chiefs, North Central Bible Coll., Minneapolis
Chiefs, Oklahoma City U., OK
Chiefs, Springfield Coll., Springfield, MA
Chiefs, Chemeketa C.C., Salem, OR
Chiefs, Cosumnes River Coll., Sacramento, CA
Chiefs, Dyersburg St. C.C., Dyersburg, TN
Chiefs, Maugatuck Valley Comm./Tech. Coll., Watterbury, CT
Chiefs, Quinsigamond C.C., Worcester, MA
Chiefs, Schenectady Co. C.C., Schenectady, NY
Chiefs, Waubonsee Coll., Sugar Grove, IL
Chieftans, Stonehill Coll.
Marauders, Central St. U., Wilberforce, OH
Marauders, U. of Mary, Bismarck, ND
Marauders, Millersville U., Millersville, PA
Marauders, McMaster U., Hamilton, ON
Marauders, Antelope Valley Coll., Lancaster, CA
Marauders, Minneapolis C.C.
Marauders, Moraine Valley C.C., Palos Heights, IL
Marauders, U. Wisconsin-Marshfield
Moundbuilders, Southwestern Coll., Winfield, KS
Ooks, Northern Alberta Inst. of Tech., Edmonton, AB (Inuit school?)
Raiders, Fort Lewis Coll., Durango, CO
Raiders, Milwaukee School of Engineering
Raiders, Mount Union Coll., Alliance, OH
Raiders, Rivier Coll., Nashua, NH
Raiders, Roberts Wesleyan Coll., Rochester, NY
Raiders, Rutgers University-Newark, NJ
Raiders, Shippensburg U., Shippensburg, PA
Raiders, Southern Oregon St., Ashland, OR
Raiders, Wright St. U., Dayton, OH
Raiders, Northern Coll. of Applied Arts Tech., South Porcupine, ON
Raiders, Blanton J.C., Asheville, NC
Raiders, Brainerd C.C., Brainerd, MN
Raiders, Central C.C., Platte, NE
Raiders, Fulton-Montgomery C.C., Johnstown, NY
Raiders, Grand Rapids C.C., Grand Rapids, MI
Raiders, Moorpark Coll., Moorpark, CA
Raiders, Oakland C.C., Union Lake, MI
Raiders, Oakton C.C., Des Plaines, IL
Raiders, Okaloosa-Walton C.C., Niceville, FL
Raiders, Pierce Coll., Tacoma, WA
Raiders, Roane St. C.C., Harriman, TN
Raiders, Rose St. Coll., Midwest City, OK
Raiders, Three Rivers C.C., Poplar Bluff, MO
Red Devils, Dickinson Coll., Carlisle, PA
Red Devils, Eureka Coll., Eureka, IL
Red Devils, Allen Co. C.C., Iola, KS
Red Devils, Baltimore City C.C.
Red Devils, Lower Columbia Coll., Longview, WA
Reddies, Henderson St. U., Arkadelphia, AR
Red Flash, St. Francis Coll. of Pennsylvania, Loretto, PA
Redmen, Royal Military Coll., Kingston, ON
Red Raiders, Colgate U., Hamilton, NY
Red Raiders, Northwestern Coll., Orange City, IA
Red Raiders, Texas Tech U., Lubbock, TX
Sea Warriors, Hawaii Pacific U., Honolulu
Scouts, Penn Valley C.C., Kansas City, MO
Sunbirds, Fresno Pacific Coll., Fresno, CA
Sun Chiefs, Faulkner St. C.C., Bay Minette, AL
Superchiefs, Napa Valley C.C., Napa, CA
Wahoos, U. of Virginia, Charlottesville--listed as second name, after
"Cavaliers"
Warhawks, U. Wisconsin-Whitewater
Warhawks, Jefferson Davis J.C., Brewton, AL
Warriors, Baptist Christian Coll., Shreveport, LA
Warriors, California State-Stanislaus, Turlock, CA
Warriors, Calvary Bible Coll., Kansas City, MO
Warriors, Central Wesleyan Coll., Central, SC
Warriors, Daemen Coll., Amherst, NY
Warriors, East Stroudsburg U., East Stroudsburg, PA
Warriors, Eastern Connecticut St. U., Willimantic
Warriors, Hartwick Coll., Oneonta, NY
Warriors, Hendrix Coll., Conway, AR
Warriors, Indiana Inst. of Tech., Fort Wayne
Warriors, Keuka Coll., Keuka Park, NY
Warriors, Lewis-Clark St. Coll., Lewiston, ID
Warriors, Lycoming Coll., Williamsport, PA
Warriors, Marquette U., Milwaukee, WI
Warriors, Merrimack Coll., North Andover, MA
Warriors, Miami Christian Coll., Miami, FL
Warriors, Midland Lutheran Coll., Fremont, NE
Warriors, Sterling Coll., Sterling, KS
Warriors, United Wesleyan Coll., Allentown, PA
Warriors, Webber Coll., Babson Park, FL
Warriors, Western Baptist Coll., Salem, OR
Warriors, Westmont Coll., Santa Barbara, CA
Warriors, Winona St. U., Winona, MN
Warriors, Wisconsin Lutheran Coll., Milwaukee
Warriors, Erindale Coll. (U. of Toronto), Missisauga, ON
Warriors, U. of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON
Warriors, Bacone J.C., Muskogee, OK
Warriors, Dull Knife Memorial Coll., Lame Deer, MT (Native American?)
Warriors, East Central C.C., Decatur, MS
Warriors, El Camino Coll., Torrance, CA
Warriors, ITT Technical Inst., Dayton, OH
Warriors, Massasoit C.C., Brockton, MA
Warriors, Miami U.-Middleton, OH
Warriors, Michigan Christian Coll., Rochester, MI
Warriors, Middle Georgia Coll., Cochran, GA
Warriors, Navajo C.C., Tsaile, AZ (Native American?)
Warriors, Rend Lake J.C., Ina, IL
Warriors, St. Louis-Meramec C.C., St. Louis, MO
Warriors, Wabash Valley Coll., Forest City, IA
Warriors, Walla Walla C.C., Walla Walla, WA
Warriors, Willmar C.C., Willmar, MN
Other
Iron Horse Express, Howard C.C., Columbia, MD:
It would be interesting to know how this school uses its name,
since the connotations of "Iron Horse" are so closely related to
the struggle of Native Americans to keep their rights to the land
in the face of oncoming development by railroads
Let me know if you see errors here, or if you can add other informa-
tion. Thanks!
Jim Postema
postema@cobber.cord.edu