POWER PLAY: JACKSON INDIANS: CHANGE THE NAME

It has always seemed rather ironic that in a city named after President Andrew Jackson, the local high school sports collective is known as the Indians.

As students of history know, the association between the seventh president of the United States and tribes indigenous to North America was not a positive one by any means.

When not busy fighting the British, Jackson spent his military career killing Indians. As president he supported the forced relocation of tribes to lands west of the Mississippi River.

With blatant contempt for the American legal system, he ignored a U.S. Supreme Court ruling which upheld the right of the Cherokee tribe to maintain a distinct, semi-independent political entity within the state of Georgia. After the decision, written by Chief Justice John Marshall, Jackson was purported to have said: "He has made his decision; now let him enforce it."

The military eventually "escorted" more than 15,000 Cherokees from their homes and onto the Trial of Tears, a forced march to Oklahoma which many did not survive.

One of my college professors, a member of the Cherokee Nation, said that to this day many Cherokees view Jackson in the same light that those of Jewish ancestry view Adolf Hitler.

While an atrocity, the Trail of Tears eventually yielded a benefit, albeit a superficial one.

The severe suffering and hardships endured by the Cherokees inspired the name for the wonderful state park north of Cape Girardeau. If it weren't for Jackson, we might have been stuck with a far less Romantic-sounding name such as Wonderful State Park North of Cape Girardeau State Park.

In an enjoyable letter to the editor printed in this paper last week, Allen Gathman of Pocahontas pointed out that the phrase written on Jackson's new water tower -- "Jackson: Home of the Indians" -- is incorrect, since the 1990 U.S. Census lists only nine people out of Jackson's population of over 9,000 as American Indians. Caucasians, he said, comprise 98.4 percent of Jackson's population, leading him to suggest that the signage be changed to "Jackson: Home of the White Folks."

Although Indian-related sobriquets for sports teams are commonly lambasted, except for a couple of liberal colleges which have adopted less "offensive" mascots, little change has resulted.

Most people don't view it as a problem. Indians, of course, consider the subject differently, even taking exception to being called Indians.

It is true that the term incorrectly applied to the inhabitants of the Americas when originally coined by a somewhat confused Italian who thought he was in India. However, after over half a millennia of widespread usage, like it or not, the mistake has evolved into an acceptable reference to describe indigenous New World tribes.

And forget Native Americans; it will never catch on. Everyone born in the country is a native American, even annoying Irish-descended columnists.

Majority tyranny perhaps, but you can't force the majority into sensitivity when they don't feel they're being insensitive.

Jackson High, Southeast Missouri State University and other schools with Indian-related mascots shouldn't feel compelled to adopt more politically correct representatives.

Jackson's case, however, is special.

Considering the adversarial relationship which existed between Andrew Jackson and the Indians, the name should be changed.

Not the name of the school mascot, that is, but the name of the town.

When everything is placed in historical perspective, coupling Jackson and the Indians is like teaming Bud Abbott with Bela Lugosi instead of Lou Costello. The two just don't work well together.

There are a number of early 19th Century American presidents who are much less controversial than Old Hickory. John Tyler (El Presidente No. 10), Millard Fillmore (No. 13) or Franklin Pierce (No. 14) -- some of this country's most mediocre and inoffensive presidents -- could prove more Indian-compatible selections.

And if the city is unwilling to choose a different name, perhaps it would choose the silhouette of a different famous Jackson to put on the billboard going into town. Baseball great Reggie Jackson, singer Janet Jackson or actress Kate Jackson of "Charlie's Angels" fame are possibilities.

At the very least, it would create a more swinging image for the town than a long-dead Indian fighter.

Marc Powers is a member of the Southeast Missourian news staff.