We’ve invited Ralph Turner, a McMurry alumnus and supporter of our sites, to discuss the McMurry Indians mascot situation. His post appears below.

I want to thank you for the opportunity to explain the McMurry issue of the mascot appeal. Let me summarize many of the points that I have posted in previous discussions about McMurry. These thoughts are mine, and do not necessarily reflect those of the University.

As many of you know, our founding President, Dr. James Winford Hunt, the son of a physician, was born on the Kaw Reservation in what is now the state of Oklahoma. That was his home for 6 years. Out of respect for the people of his childhood, he gave McMurry its nickname, and Dr Hunt inculcated that respect into the culture of the school. The Indian mascot and the educational opportunities provided by that mascot have served as a catalyst for evaluating diversity and inclusion as part of the core values of the institution.

In my opinion, the most significant event in understanding that culture is Tipi Village. (Ed. note, photo at right.) McMurry began the Homecoming tradition of Tipi Village in 1951 and was featured in Life magazine that year. Tipi Village involves the students from campus organizations, members of the freshman class, and the men’s and women’s social clubs erecting authentic replica tipis of the tribes of the Plains Indians and, on occasion, the dwellings of other Native American tribes. Authoritative sources on the tipis are consulted for accuracy, and these tipis are then judged by Native American experts. The value of each tipi may exceed $8,000 to $10,000 for leather ones. Student docents conduct the tours for the 3,000-5,000 elementary school children who come from as far as 85 miles away to see this example of living history.

For Tipi Village, my social club’s adopted tribe is the Oglala Sioux. We use authoritative texts, such as The Indian Tipi by Reginald and Gladys Laupin and Oglala Religion by William K Powers as source material. About twenty years ago, Don Little Bear, an Oglala Chief from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, bequeathed to our social club his Ceremonial Regalia for our use at Tipi Village. The Regalia, including an unborn calf suede vest, wampum and Eagle feather headdress, is as spectacular as it is priceless. We only exhibit it once a year, at Homecoming.

The sole statue on the University commons, entitled Spirit Wind, is a native American as he looks over the campus, an eagle sitting on his shoulder. Courses on Native American history, especially the Plains Indians, are taught by the History Department by a professor with Native American heritage. The McMurry history faculty has contributed to the Native American section in the local museum, Frontier Texas!

A significant percentage of the “Anglos” in this part of the US have fractions of Native American blood from the intermarrying that occurred on the frontier with the Southern agricultural tribes and with those tribes that were forcibly relocated to Indian Territory (Oklahoma). (I am 1/32nd Choctaw from my maternal side when they lived in Mississippi.) McMurry also has approximately 10% of its student body declaring itself Hispanic. The intermarrying between descendants from Spain and Native American tribes was prevalent in the American southwest. Likewise, it was not uncommon for slaves of African descent to escape into the adjacent southern Native American tribes where they could start new lives. The university has chosen to confront this diversity as a learning experience. This exposure to other cultures has brought new friendships and greater understand of the Native American Cultures.

McMurry has complied with the NCAA’s requests for self-examination on the Indian mascot name and has worked to rid itself of hostile and abusive connotations. The recent response by the NCAA to our appeal no longer mentions “hostile and abusive.” It refers to “creat[ing] an environment over which an institution may not have full control.” The closest thing to a hostile environment at a McMurry sporting event is due to poor officiating. In my opinion, the NCAA’s standard of a “controlled environment” relating to endeavors in higher education, whether illegal gambling, hazing, sexual assault, underaged drinking, etc., is daunting in ways too numerous to consider in this blog.

I anticipate that the University will appeal to exhaust all avenues on behalf of the McMurry community. Should McMurry’s appeal fail before the NCAA Executive Committee next month, then the University will need to struggle with the question of a new mascot, a question that may rend the university community asunder.