October 28, 2019

[Via E-Mail only]

Dartmouth School Committee
Mr. John Nunes
Mr. Christopher Oliver
Ms. Kathleen Amaral
Dr. Carol Karafotis
Dr. Shannon Jenkins

Re: Dartmouth Public School ‘Indian’ logo/name; Wampanoag Tribe collaboration

Dear Members of the Dartmouth School Committee,

Please accept this correspondence as part of the public comment period regarding the issue of the
Dartmouth ‘Indian’ that is on the agenda for tonight’s Dartmouth School Committee meeting.
This letter may be read on the record at the meeting.

First, while I have known several of the members of this committee on an individual basis for
many years, I wish to introduce myself to the committee for the sole purpose of giving you
information on my background and experiences to provide additional context on the basis of my
letter and my view on this particular issue.

Born and raised on the south coast, I had the opportunity to attend Dartmouth Public Schools
from elementary school through high school. I am a graduate of Dartmouth High School’s class
of 2005. While participating in the school system, I had the honor of serving as Drum Major to
the Dartmouth High School Marching Band, representing our school system and town on a
variety of competitive stages across the country. I have also served in our local town
government, including in town meeting and on the finance committee. I love our town and many
of the traditions that have carried on within our school system.

With that being said, I am also a member of the federally recognized Wampanoag Tribe of Gay
Head (Aquinnah) base on Martha’s Vineyard, but representing Wampanoag Nation across the
SouthCoast, Cape and Islands for hundreds of years. Following high school, I had the
opportunity to work in the Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Self-
Governance. In this capacity, I had dealt with nearly one hundred federally recognized tribes
across the nation, including my Wampanoag Aquinnah tribe here in Massachusetts. I worked
very closely with tribal leaders on a variety of issues that face current-day tribal members, from
social services issues on reservations in the American west, to federal funding for infrastructure,
education, gaming and natural resources programs east of the Mississippi River. I learned
firsthand the very troubling history of federal government and native tribal relations that often
get glossed over in our history books. I saw firsthand how the devastating treatment of our native
populations affected the many of the current-day issues that tribal members across the nation
face, be it access to education, healthcare, transportation, or food.

A. Dartmouth ‘Indians’ Name and Logo

Years later, while attending law school in Virginia, I dedicated a portion of my final year
studying tribal law and the intersection between sovereign native nations and our federal
government. A large focus of this particular body of law was on trademark dispute challenges
between private entities such as professional sports teams and other corporations that
incorporated either native imagery in the form of logos or cartoons to native corporate names.
While the law in this area is still developing years later, what we have been able to decipher is
that the Courts have generally used a ‘disparaging factor’ test to determine whether or not the
private entity logos and names were appropriate. While this factor is not settled law, we can
apply the standard to the case at hand involving the Dartmouth Indians wordmark and logos.

The term ‘Indian,’ although riddled with historical inaccuracies, is the federal term used by the
U.S. Government as it relates to American Indian tribes and members. It is also the universal
term used by native tribes themselves across the nation. I am of the opinion that the Dartmouth
Indian name, when established, was not a disparaging term to the public at large or native tribal
members. Additionally, the current ‘Indian head’ logo used by Dartmouth Public Schools in
various forms of publication including for sports, was designed decades ago by a fellow tribal
member in a way that depicted the native Indian in a way that was historically accurate and
respectful of the traditions and history of our local history and the tribe’s history. The test, as set
forth by the courts, was whether the wordmark or image in question was of a disparaging nature
at the time it was established, not whether it would appear to be disparaging today. These two
major factors, the term Indian, being widely accepted by tribal nations across the United States,
along with the fact that the Dartmouth logo was designed by a member of the Wampanoag Tribe,
leads me to the conclusion that Dartmouth Public Schools should maintain the current ‘Indians’
name and maintain the current logo.

B. Public School and Tribal Relationship similar to FSU and the Seminoles

Finally, while the ‘Indians’ name and use of the likeliness of native imagery has been abused by
people over the years through caricatures or racial and ethnic exaggerations of native people, I
believe the best vehicle to better informing the public and properly educating our students would
be to embrace a similar style relationship that of Florida State University (FSU) and the
Seminole Tribe. While FSU utilized the Seminole likeness in their logo and other marketing,
both school officials and tribal leaders collaborated and formed a partnership that would allow
the school to maintain their Seminole identity while introducing various initiatives for tribal
members and students to collaborate on the history and traditions of the tribe outside of the
collegiate sports world. This partnership allowed the school to honor the history and tradition of
their institution and embrace and promote the Seminole Tribe’s history in a mutually respectful
manner.

Here in Dartmouth, wouldn’t it be wonderful if such a partnership could form between the
Dartmouth Public School system and the local Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah)?

Yesterday morning, prior to writing this correspondence, I had a very productive phone
conversation with my tribal chairperson, Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, also a Dartmouth High
School alumna who is cc:d on this correspondence. Following the conversation, I am of the
opinion that such a relationship like FSU and the Seminoles could flourish in Dartmouth between
the public schools and the local Wampanoag tribe.

Not only would opening up official lines of communication between the tribe and the school
department be beneficial for Dartmouth students, but it would serve as a great example of
collaboration and the ability to strike a balance in dealing with such volatile political topics in
today’s hyper-extreme political climate. I am hopeful, that if the Dartmouth Public School
Department is open to engaging in such discussions with the tribe, students in Dartmouth will be
able to continue to experience the tradition of what it means to be a ‘Dartmouth Indian’ while
honoring the local tribal history of our region. Such a partnership could set an excellent example
across the Commonwealth of how a municipality and a tribal government could collaborate in a
productive fashion to improve native relations and better foster communications between tribal
communities and the public school systems.

Such a partnership could take form in many ways that could enrich the bonds between the
schools and the local history. One example could be an annual one or two hour school assembly
in the high school gymnasium where local Wampanoag tribal representatives visit with students
to highlight the history, culture, language, food and music of the people who inhabited this land
for hundreds of years. Embracing the true history of the Dartmouth Indian identity is a win-win
for the school department, our students, and the tribe.

As such, after speaking with several folks in town who are interested in preserving the
Dartmouth Indian identity, as well as speaking with my tribal chairperson, I am of the belief that
a smart and strategic partnership between the Dartmouth Public Schools and the Wampanoag
Tribe of Gay Head would be a productive and first-of-its-kind relationship that could set a great
example for other municipalities across the Commonwealth that grapple with the tough issues
associated with Native American imagery that potentially cross the line into disparagement. For
the record, I do not believe the town of Dartmouth’s current usage of the term Indians or its logo
comes even close to the disparagement standard as discussed above.

I am hopeful that such an arrangement or concept could be taken under advisement by this board
while we engage in productive conversation around such a sensitive subject. I have it on good
authority that my tribe is willing to engage in productive conversations that could lead to
enhancing local history in a respectful way while honoring the traditions of the Dartmouth Public
School system and its team identity.

C. Conclusion

As such, I strongly encourage that no action be taken by this Board at this time with regards to
eliminating the Dartmouth ‘Indian’ but to instead embrace the local history, open up lines of
communication with the local tribe and form a lasting partnership based on collaboration and
balance.

Best Regards,

Jacob J. Ventura, Esq.

Dartmouth High School Class of 2005
Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) member

cc: Chairwoman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais [Via E-Mail only]

Superintenent Bonny Gifford [Via E-Mail only]
Asst. Superintendent Michelle Roy [Via E-Mail only]
Asst. Superintendent Jim Kiely [Via E-Mail only]
Christopher Pereira [Via E-Mail only]