The Indian’s Departure: The Removal of the Indian Mascot at Stanford University

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract: The rise and fall of the Stanford Indian is a story that extends far beyond its 42-year tenure as the University mascot. Officially adopted in 1930, the Indian symbol was embedded in campus culture and could be found everywhere from jerseys to notebooks to bumper stickers. By the early 1950s, the Indian mascot was brought to life by a Yurok Indian named Timm Williams, who performed alleged cultural dances in full regalia at Stanford athletic events. Prince Lightfoot, as Williams’ character came to be known, was officially dropped as the school mascot along with the emblem in 1972, when the 55 Native Americans of the Stanford American Indian Organization (SAIO) petitioned to have the symbol and Prince Lightfoot removed. Though no longer present in day-to-day campus culture, the legacy of Prince Lightfoot lingers close to the surface.

Type of resource	text
Date created	December 12, 2011

Author	Pompa, Tessa

Subject	Native Americans
Subject	Native college students
Subject	Mascots
Subject	Stanford University
Subject	Athletics
Subject	Native American imagery
Subject	College students > Political activity
Genre	Thesis

Related item	Title Finding aid
Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/pr854ct8183

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License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC-SA).

Preferred Citation: Pompa, Tessa. (2011). The Indian’s Departure: The Removal of the Indian Mascot at Stanford University. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/pr854ct8183

Stanford University, Program in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, Honors Theses

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