A group of Indian activists working to end the practice visited the college for a heavily attended public forum on the topic. The forum was hosted by the Division of Humanities at Tusculum.

The panel of activists from western North Carolina as well as Greene County answered questions from the audience, which included a number of students and faculty members as well as community members. The question -and-answer session followed the showing of a short film that explored perceptions of Indians and how those perceptions are formed.

Bruce Two Eagles, an activist who has been working to end use of Indian-related school and sports mascots in the Asheville, N.C., area, said he is often asked why he actively opposes the use of the Indian names, "which some consider a trivial matter."

"If we have equality for my race, we have to start with respect," Two Eagles said. "If you respect me as a human being, then you will respect for my culture and religion."

Regarding use of an Indian mascot by a school in Michigan which had permission to do so by an Indian tribe, Two Eagles said that school is an Indian school, and it has decided to change the mascot. "In other schools, we do not have a say in the use of our religion in the tea mascots," he said.

He asked the audience to consider the hypothetical situation of being Catholic and attending a football game when "a guy dressed as the Pope came out doing cartwheels, rolling around, and sprinkling holy water on the crowd. You would be offended." He said that is the same way many Indians feel when what are religious images to them are used in similar fashion.

The use of Indian names for mascots is "very derogatory to Indian children who attend a school," said Don Merzlak, whose children now attend Mosheim Elementary School, one of three in Greene County that have Indian mascots. The Merzlaks and other local individuals of similar viewpoints are working with the school system to have those mascots changed.

Merzlak said it has been confusing to his children to learn about their Indian heritage at home, then go to school to see Indian-related images used in a different manner.

David Voyles, a teacher in an Asheville high school that has an Indian mascot, said, "What is tragic is to see an American Indian in a school that has an Indian mascot embrace that mascot to be cool, even though that mascot does not represent the true heritage of the Indians," he said. Voyles is a member of North Carolina Educators for the Elimination of Racist Mascots.

The panelists agreed that education is important in helping people to understand the issue from their point of view. To help students learn the culture and religious practices of Indians, teachers must first be educated about Voyles said.

Education must also begin in the home, Two Eagles said. Children learn stereotypes of Indians as savages from cartoons and movies, often before they enter school, and the team mascots can reinforce those stereotypes, he said.

A free-standing educational exhibit is also on display at the Niswonger Commons in relation with the forum with information about the use of Indian-related mascots. The exhibit, which contrasts actual banners from sporting events to historical documents, was created by three teachers in Asheville, N.C., in response to their concern about the use of an Indian-related mascot at their school and others.