COMMUNITY VOICES

When Rio first moved to the neighboring town of Berlin and got a job at the school district, they felt welcome — at least at first. That changed quickly the day they heard a varsity football game for the Berlin Indians being announced over the intercom. “It felt like a slap in the face,” Rio recalls. “The Mascoutin Tribe of Berlin was wiped out by colonists in the early 1800s. I learned that from reading an old Berlin Journal newspaper. Berlin High School didn’t even have a mascot until the 20th century. Any story claiming the Mascoutins gave their blessing for the school to be called the ‘Berlin Indians’ is just that — a story.”

Rio asks us to think critically about these narratives, especially given the long history of unjust negotiations between the U.S. government and Native tribes. “Those of us with Native ancestry carry the truth in our very DNA. The threats made against our people were real. The message was clear: ‘Everything belongs to us now. Do what we say or die.” What happened next is something Rio will never forget. Using their 30-minute meal break on a Friday night, they stood alone in front of the Berlin community, holding a sign that read: "We are people, not mascots."

“I chanted that phrase as people walked by me, and I was repeatedly told to ‘shut up’ because they were trying to watch the football game,” Rio shares. “That was the moment I saw just how much racial equality means nothing to some in our community.” The backlash wasn’t just verbal. Students jeered. Adults shot angry, dismissive glares. Some uttered words Rio says they wouldn't dare repeat on school grounds. “It was hatred. Plain and simple. Just for saying that Native Americans deserve respect.”

Rio’s protest brought to light an uncomfortable truth: while white students proudly call themselves “Indians” in the context of school spirit, many don’t extend that same respect to real Native people standing in front of them. “That contrast said everything. And it told me — and everyone in attendance — that this school district has a problem,” said Rio. Rio knows they are not the first person to speak out about the mascot issue. And they’re sure they won’t be the last. “If I give up, someone else will take my place. Because when something is wrong, people eventually find it in themselves to make it right,” she shared.

Rio closed with a powerful quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “We shall overcome, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Rio's story is a reminder to us all to start where we are, use what we have, and remember that standing up for justice is always the right thing to do— even when you may stand alone.