Expert Applauds Colleges’ Greater Sensitivity Toward American Indians - Higher Education

Expert Applauds Colleges’ Greater Sensitivity Toward American Indians - Higher Education: BERKELEY, Calif. — Although many pop culture representations still marginalize American Indians nowadays, the tide is steadily shifting among higher education institutions — and for the better, says a longtime educator and expert in indigenous topics.

Karen Biestman, associate dean and director of Stanford University’s Native American Cultural Center, applauds the growing tendency of colleges to do away with Indian mascots, for example.

“If you’re going to be inclusive of all students on campus, you cannot do so by commodifying someone’s name or heritage,” says Biestman, who has held teaching and administrative roles involving American Indians at Stanford and the University of California, Berkeley for 30 years, combined. “A chant or the use of someone’s name doesn’t honor that person or that group of people. It’s not an honor; it’s commodifying.”