Delegates act on sports logos, Native American land rights

CLEVELAND (UMNS) – Delegates to the United Methodist Church’s General Conference took three actions related to Native American concerns about sports logos and land rights during their May 2-12 meeting.

The 992 lay and clergy delegates from the United States, Africa, Europe and the Philippines called for dialogue with the management of the Cleveland Indians baseball team regarding the "Chief Wahoo" logo. Many Native Americans feel the logo is demeaning.

Several of the 13 Native American delegates at General Conference were expected to join with other Native Americans in protesting use of the logo during the Cleveland team’s May 11 home game.

"Our society has almost gone numb to the many ways we have of degrading Native Americans. ‘Chief Wahoo’ is only one," said the May 11 issue of Urban Times, a newsletter published by the NCJ Urban Network and the National Urban Strategy Council.

The Native American General Conference delegates also asked that future sessions of the General Conference not be held in cities where professional sports teams use ethnic caricatures as mascots. The request was referred to the commission responsible for choosing the city where the conference meets every four years. The 2004 session is scheduled for Pittsburgh.

The delegates also referred to the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries a request that Native American lands be returned to the Indian nations that occupy them.

The United Methodist Church has historically held tribal lands for mission purposes. Some of those lands are no longer used for mission purposes, and the church apparently has no intention of continuing to use them to develop missions, according to the petition.

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-- Robert Lear