Big Bro' - Friend to Native Americans

From today's Native American Times:

The principal of a Kentucky high school involved in a racially tinged flap says he hopes that the incident will lead to further education and understanding.

The incident happened when a Native American student at the school became offended during a pep rally that featured students dressed as American Indians in an apparent attempt to taunt a rival school with a team called “The Indians.”

“Then other people came out screaming and hollering and pretended to beat them up,” Sara Berry, a 16-year-old member of the Choctaw Nation told the Bowling Green Daily News. “I was crying and wanted to go straight to the administration right then. I was hurt and angry.”

Principal Gary Fields has now invited Berry to help design a program to educate students about Native American issues.

“It doesn’t matter what the reason is-if a student comes into my office and if they are offended we want to make them feel safe and have a voice. I don’t want her to feel we are unresponsive of her needs,” Fields told the Native American Times.

The Kentucky town of Bowling Green may not seem like a major melting pot, but Fields said the city has a refuge center and the school has subsequently seen an influx of students from Bosnia and Liberia to add to the already large African American and Hispanic student body.

“Diversity is alive and well in our hallways,” Fields said.