{"id":95766,"date":"2023-05-12T21:11:35","date_gmt":"2023-05-13T01:11:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/?p=95766"},"modified":"2023-05-12T21:11:35","modified_gmt":"2023-05-13T01:11:35","slug":"letter-context-is-king","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2023\/05\/12\/letter-context-is-king\/","title":{"rendered":"Letter: Context is King"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear Editor,<\/p>\n

While I\u2019ve long been opposed to racial stereotypes being adopted by other cultures mainly for use at school sporting events, distinctions are to be made between brazenly offensive examples like the former Washington Redskins\u2019 mascot and the desire to identify with a piece of fine art rooted in the history of one\u2019s town.<\/p>\n

To me the replica of the sculpture \u201cAppeal to the Great Spirit\u201d exemplified the spirituality of the Native American people. I saw beauty and reverence in it. Its placement in the OFA lobby was special because the original resides outside the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Other replicas have been prominently displayed; at one time, one was even in the Oval Office. <\/p>\n

Like many in our community, I saw the \u201cAppeal to the Great Spirit\u201d that serves as a logo of sorts for the school as separate from the issue of mascots. Its association with and use within our school was respectful. <\/i>Now that I\u2019ve learned more, I\u2019ve changed my mind.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until this week (after serving the district as a teacher for over 50 years) that I learned that \u201cAppeal\u201d exists in the context of a series. It is the fourth and final installment of sculptures titled \u201cThe Epic of the Indian.\u201d In other words, the story of the Indian. The sculptures are \u201cA Signal of Peace\u201d or \u201cThe Welcome\u201d (1890); \u201cThe Medicine Man\u201d or The Warning (1899); \u201cProtest of the Sioux\u201d or \u201cThe Defiance\u201d (1904); and \u201cAppeal to the Great Spirit (1908).\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Context<\/a>

\u201cAppeal to the Great Spirit\u201d, in the OFA lobby. Photo provided by Joan Davis.<\/p><\/div>\n

Now, looking at the statue I see the prominent rib cage, an indication of lack of food. And I realize the fourth sculpture is the image of a Native American when all that he had owned and valued had been taken away from him. Previously I never asked myself what he was appealing to the Great Spirit for<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Even before the New York State Board of Regents decided to ban the use of indigenous culture as mascots, controversy surrounded this sculpture. In 2019 the Museum of Fine Arts started a discussion of the sculpture including Native Americans. Placards placed around the sculpture conveyed a variety of opinions.<\/p>\n

One said, \u201cI see a proud and defiant man ready to fight for his people and culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another said, \u201cI hate it and usually use the back entrance to avoid it. It tells me the museum isn\u2019t for Native people like me, but for white people and their false impressions of reality.\u201d <\/p>\n

A third said, \u201cI see a perfect illustration of intent vs. impact: a well-meaning sculptor setting out to honor Native Americans has nonetheless perpetuated stereotypes about what Native Americans \u2018look like\u2019 and notions of them as \u2018vanishing.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n

None of this is anything I thought of. Welcome, warning, protest and finally, a plea after enduring horrific loss. I ask why any school district would want to be identified by an image that brings to mind what European colonizers did to the indigenous people of this land? To perpetuate the idea that indigenous people no longer exist? And that all they are is a defeated people? Are these the messages we wish to perpetuate as a community? <\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think so. <\/p>\n

Sincerely,<\/p>\n

Joan Davis<\/p>\n

Owego, N.Y.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear Editor, While I\u2019ve long been opposed to racial stereotypes being adopted by other cultures mainly for use at school sporting events, distinctions are to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":95767,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-letters"],"yoast_head":"\nLetter: Context is King - Owego Pennysaver Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2023\/05\/12\/letter-context-is-king\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Letter: Context is King - Owego Pennysaver Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dear Editor, While I\u2019ve long been opposed to racial stereotypes being adopted by other cultures mainly for use at school sporting events, distinctions are to...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2023\/05\/12\/letter-context-is-king\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Owego Pennysaver Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/The-Owego-Pennysaver-49179420591\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-05-13T01:11:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2023\/05\/Letter_Editor3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"psadvert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"psadvert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2023\/05\/12\/letter-context-is-king\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2023\/05\/12\/letter-context-is-king\/\",\"name\":\"Letter: Context is King - Owego Pennysaver Press\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2023\/05\/12\/letter-context-is-king\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2023\/05\/12\/letter-context-is-king\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2023\/05\/Letter_Editor3.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-05-13T01:11:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/e03684194434956dfb61f5ffcbc19492\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2023\/05\/12\/letter-context-is-king\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2023\/05\/12\/letter-context-is-king\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2023\/05\/12\/letter-context-is-king\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2023\/05\/Letter_Editor3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2023\/05\/Letter_Editor3.jpg\",\"width\":480,\"height\":640,\"caption\":\"\u201cAppeal to the Great Spirit\u201d, in the OFA lobby. 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