Editor’s note: This is the last in a series of three columns in which George Benge describes his experiences as a Native American journalist attending the games of three football teams that have American Indian mascots or names. Previously, he wrote about watching Chief Illiniwek at the University of Illinois and about attending a Washington Redskins home game.

Few settings are as idyllic for a football game as Erwin High School’s Dr. John G. Kerr Stadium, nestled in a tranquil valley of the Blue Ridge Mountains, just outside this scenic and enlightened city sometimes described as the Paris of the South. But a closer inspection of the Erwin High campus reveals the dark presence of a cultural lesion that belies the outward tranquility of the school’s postcard-quality mountain setting. Standing prominently on the school’s elevated front lawn is a two-story high statue of a generic American Indian male that is intended to embody the name of Erwin’s sports teams, the Warriors. A three-feathered headband crowns black hair tied on two sides. He’s wearing pants, moccasins and a waist bag. His left hand holds a tomahawk-like weapon and his right hand is raised in the stereotyped “how” gesture.

I’ve been asked if any statue can truly honor Native American culture. Yes. If the statue is commissioned by real Native Americans to honor a tribally specific Native-American hero or to respectfully and accurately commemorate a significant Native American event, moment or tradition. Crazy Horse Memorial, a tribute to the legendary Oglala Sioux chief being sculpted on a mountain in the Black Hills of South Dakota, is an example of a culturally appropriate work honoring an authentic Native American icon. The key words are real Native Americans, tribally specific, respect, accuracy and tradition. The Erwin High “Warrior” has none of the above.

A bigger question is how such a demeaning monolith can even exist at a public school – or at any facility paid for by taxpayer money. And just how destructive is Erwin’s faux Indian statue to the self-esteem of any Native-American schoolchildren who must walk past a monument that so crudely demeans their racial and cultural identity?

Some progress was made in 1999, when, spurred by the threat of a U.S. Justice Department investigation, the Buncombe County School Board ordered Erwin to stop using the epithet “Squaws” to identify its female athletic teams. Sadly, the school board also decreed that both the statue and the name Warriors were just fine and would remain.

At Erwin’s recent home game against Tuscola High, Robert Jones, an African American and 1979 Erwin grad whose son Quintin is on the football team, said the school’s Warriors culture is not a problem for him. “Some people may be offended by it, but I don’t see any harm. It doesn’t offend me,” said Jones. “I really haven’t given it a second thought.” Allie Moulds, 15, a sophomore at Erwin, likes the name Warriors and the statue. “It represents our school good,” Moulds said. “It shows we have strength. It fits our school and our school spirit.”

But Johnny Rogers, a 1985 Erwin graduate and a former member of the football team, said he would not be upset “if they changed the name Warriors. . I can see why they wouldn’t want a Native American on somebody’s T-shirt. I don’t wear it for that reason. I wear it because I’m a fan of the team.” Rogers said the statue is not a big deal for him either. “It’s been here for over 25 years,” Rogers said. “I know it’s there, but I don’t pay it a second mind.” Inside the stadium, “Warriors” appears on the scoreboard, on an assortment of signs and in small print on Erwin players’ jerseys. But overt Native-American symbols are hard to find. The souvenir stand, a cesspool of offensive Native-American symbols and names at some stadiums, has been sanitized at Erwin. Clothing for sale displays only the words “Erwin” or the initial “E” – no “Warriors” or cheesy symbols. Similarly, varsity jackets, cheerleaders’ uniforms and apparel worn by fans mostly just say “Erwin.” And a giant “E” – more than 10 yards wide – is painted at midfield. “They used to permit students to wear headdresses and war paint,” Erwin Principal Eddie Burchfiel told me. “We don’t do that anymore. We’ve tried to be sensitive to that.”

Still, Burchfiel said he is aware of no plans to remove the statue.

Stan Alleyne, director of communication for Buncombe County Schools, confirms this. “There has been no talk, plans or discussion to remove the statue . or to change the name Warriors,” Alleyne told me. This means the shameful specter of a colossal Native-American lawn jockey will continue to cast a dark, racist shadow over the natural splendor of the Blue Ridge for years, perhaps decades, to come.

What a profoundly depressing prospect.

George Benge is a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. He welcomes e-mail at [email protected]