In this post, I share a paper I completed in my EdD program in Educational Leadership for Social Justice for my Social Foundations of Education course. The assignment asked us to examine a historical incident in higher education and analyze how it affected students, institutions, and surrounding communities. I chose to explore the history of the so-called Dartmouth “Indian” symbol and the student activism that led to its removal in the 1970s. My paper looks at how the imagery developed, why Indigenous students challenged it, and how the controversy continues to shape Dartmouth’s relationship with Native and Indigenous communities today.
Introduction
Educational institutions that have existed for centuries often inherit traditions from earlier eras, and those traditions do not always evolve at the same pace as the values the institution claims to uphold in the modern day. Dartmouth College is one example. For much of its history, the school relied on a recurring caricature of a “Native” man that appeared in student publications, athletic materials, and campus events. Although Dartmouth never officially adopted this image as a mascot, it became a familiar symbol on campus and was commonly treated as one. The history of Dartmouth’s use of this so-called Dartmouth “Indian” symbol shows how traditions that persist in long-established institutions can come into conflict with the values those institutions claim to uphold.
Dartmouth was founded in 1769 under a charter that described its purpose as educating both “English Youth and also of the Indian Tribes” of the region (Calloway, 2010). However, despite this stated mission, Dartmouth graduated only about twenty Native students between its founding and 1970 (Dartmouth Library, 2022). In the absence of Indigenous representation on campus, non-Native students created and circulated stereotyped depictions of Indigenous peoples that became deeply rooted in campus culture (Calloway, 2010). The college renewed its commitment to Indigenous education in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and Indigenous students challenged these images as inaccurate, harmful, and inconsistent with Dartmouth’s stated values (Dartmouth College Library, n.d.-b).
History of the Dartmouth “Indian” Symbol
Although Dartmouth never officially adopted a formal Native-themed mascot, a recurring caricature of a Native man became a widely used symbol across student publications, athletic materials, and campus traditions. Over time, this unofficial image functioned as the college’s mascot in practice, even though it was never formally endorsed by Dartmouth. According to the “Beginning of the Mascot” digital exhibit, non-Native students introduced fabricated Indigenous imagery into campus traditions during the late nineteenth century. The exhibit includes a student song from 1879 that featured the “Wah-Hoo-Wah” cheer, which the exhibit identifies as an early instance of an invented chant loosely framed as Indigenous and adopted as a school spirit expression (Dartmouth College Library, n.d.-a).
Over the early twentieth century, the college’s student newspapers, athletic programs, and yearbooks included drawings of pseudo-Indigenous figures wearing Plains-style headdresses, buckskin clothing, and other culturally inaccurate portrayals that did not reflect the Native nations of the Northeast (Dartmouth College Library, n.d.-a). These examples were not unique to Dartmouth. King et al. (2002) point out that many Native-themed mascots used in schools and universities were created by non-Native people at times when Indigenous communities had little say in how they were portrayed. These mascots often reflected romanticized or nostalgic images rather than the realities of living Indigenous nations, which is why so many of them were inaccurate or stereotyped.
Dartmouth’s relationship with Indigenous communities began to change in the late 1960s. In response to the civil rights movements of the time and renewed attention to its original mission, the college created the Native American Program in 1970 and started actively recruiting Indigenous students (Native American Program, n.d.). When Indigenous students arrived on campus in greater numbers, they found a community where non-Native caricatures of their cultures were still present in chants, merchandise, and student events (Calloway, 2010). Indigenous students spoke up about these images shortly after coming to Dartmouth. According to the “Mascot’s Removal” exhibit, a 1971 statement from Native students explained that the so-called Dartmouth “Indian” symbol was culturally inaccurate and disrespectful, and that its continued use worked against the college’s newly stated commitment to Indigenous education (Dartmouth College Library, n.d.-b).
Controversy and Impact
According to the “Mascot’s Removal” exhibit, the college began quietly phasing out the symbol from official materials in 1972 (Dartmouth College Library, n.d.-b). Two years later, in 1974, the Board of Trustees released a statement saying that the imagery did not align with Dartmouth’s mission or with its renewed commitment to Indigenous students (Dartmouth College Library, n.d.-b). At the same time, the trustees emphasized that the image had never been formally adopted as an official mascot. This distinction, or half measure, allowed the college to avoid issuing a direct ban, which meant that students and alumni were still free to use the imagery informally. Because the college did not fully prohibit its use, some students and alumni continued bringing the symbol to games or wearing it on clothing throughout the late 1970s and into the early 1980s.
These mascots aren't harmless; they actively hurt students' psychological well-being. When Indigenous students are exposed to these stereotypes, their self-worth drops, and they struggle to imagine a wide range of future careers or life paths. The imagery effectively tells them there is a limit to what they can do or be (Fryberg et al., 2008). This deep sense of alienation is exactly what Dartmouth students were describing in 1971 when they fought to get rid of a symbol they felt distorted their identity. Dartmouth’s response demonstrated both meaningful progress and structural limitations. The decision to withdraw the imagery from official use and to recognize it as inconsistent with institutional values represented an important shift in acknowledging harm (Dartmouth College Library, n.d.-b). However, the refusal to issue a formal ban limited the reach of Dartmouth’s reforms. By claiming that the symbol had never been official, Dartmouth distanced itself from responsibility for its widespread use in earlier decades and avoided implementing an explicit prohibition.
As of today, Dartmouth still does not have an official mascot. The athletics program now competes simply as “Big Green,” a nickname rather than a mascot, and the college has chosen not to adopt a replacement figure. Although some alumni continue to use the old imagery in private settings, the symbol has largely disappeared from campus, and no official Dartmouth materials have featured it in decades (Dartmouth College Library, n.d.-b).
Significance and Personal Connection
The Dartmouth symbol caused harm because it was simply wrong. It took the diverse Indigenous nations of New England and replaced them with a movie stereotype, a kind of “Hollywood Indian” with Plains-style clothing that had nothing to do with the local tribes. When Indigenous students at Dartmouth pushed back, they were challenging who gets to decide how their cultures are shown and insisting that they be able to speak for themselves. Their protest also forced the college to face an uncomfortable truth about its own history. Dartmouth’s charter claimed Indigenous education as one of its central purposes, yet the college enrolled very few Indigenous students for most of its existence.
My interest in this topic was inspired by the research of a colleague whose dissertation focuses on Indigenous experiences in higher education. Their work has stayed with me and made me think more carefully about how Native American students are represented and supported in academic spaces. I also wanted to use my position of privilege as a white American male to help amplify Native American voices because they are so often ignored or pushed aside in conversations about higher education. As I started exploring Indigenous issues for this assignment, I stumbled upon this situation at Dartmouth. It immediately caught my attention because I have a friend who attended Dartmouth and is Native American and that connection made the issue feel more personal to me as a result.
Conclusion
The history of the so-called Dartmouth “Indian” symbol shows how powerful institutional symbols can be, both in the harm they cause and in the truths they reveal. Although Dartmouth was founded with a promise to educate Indigenous students, the college spent much of its history without their presence, while non-Native students created images that reduced Indigenous cultures to stereotypes. When Indigenous students finally entered Dartmouth in greater numbers in the 1970s, they challenged the symbol not only because it was inaccurate, but because it failed to recognize their reality, their history, and their humanity.
Learning about this history has affected me in a very personal way. As someone who has been reflecting on exclusion and on how dominant norms shape who feels seen, I found myself drawn to the stories and voices of Indigenous students’ thanks in large part to my colleague and their research on the marginalization of Indigenous students in higher education. I do not share their experiences, but I recognize the weight of being misread by systems that were not built with you in mind. Studying this incident has reminded me how important it is for institutions to listen, truly listen, when marginalized students speak about how imagery, language, and traditions make them feel. It has also reminded me of the responsibility that comes with my own position and privilege in higher education: to pay attention, to keep learning, and to help ensure that voices that have been historically overlooked are given space and respect.
In the end, this historical incident is not only about a symbol. It is about who gets to define a community, whose stories are valued, and whose identities are recognized. The students who challenged the imagery at Dartmouth asked the institution to live up to the values it claimed to hold. Their efforts continue to matter today, and studying this history has deepened my commitment to supporting more honest, inclusive, and culturally respectful educational environments.
References
Calloway, C. G. (2010). The
Indian history of an American institution: Native Americans and Dartmouth.
Dartmouth College Press. https://doi.org/10.1349/ddlp.699
Dartmouth College Library.
(n.d.-a). The beginning of the mascot. The Indian symbol at Dartmouth: A
story of voices and silence. Retrieved December 1, 2025, from https://course-exhibits.library.dartmouth.edu/s/HIST8/page/beginning_of_mascot
Dartmouth College Library.
(n.d.-b). The mascot’s removal. The Indian symbol at Dartmouth: A story
of voices and silence. Retrieved December 1, 2025, from https://course-exhibits.library.dartmouth.edu/s/HIST8/page/mascot_removal
Dartmouth Library. (2022, March
30). Dartmouth to give Occom papers to the Mohegan Tribe. Dartmouth
College. https://home.dartmouth.edu/news/2022/03/dartmouth-give-occom-papers-mohegan-tribe
Fryberg, S. A., Markus, H. R.,
Oyserman, D., & Stone, J. M. (2008). Of warrior chiefs and Indian
princesses: The psychological consequences of American Indian mascots. Basic
and Applied Social Psychology, 30(3), 208–218. https://doi.org/10.1080/01973530802375003
King, C. R., Staurowsky, E. J.,
Baca, L., Davis, L. R., & Pewewardy, C. (2002). Of polls and race
prejudice: Sports Illustrated’s errant “Indian Wars.” Journal of Sport &
Social Issues, 26(4), 381–402. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193732502238255
Native American Program. (n.d.).
History. Dartmouth College. Retrieved December 1, 2025, from https://students.dartmouth.edu/nap/about/about-nap-0/history
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