As college students, we're now intelligent enough to know that Native Americans no longer live in wigwams or teepees, or hunt to survive, yet we continue to teach these unrepresentative images in our nation's schools. Of particular concern is the use of Native American names and images for mascots at schools and sporting events.

According to the Society of Indian Psychologists, the use of such mascots negatively impacts Native American students' self-image and self-esteem. It may not be surprising then that Native Americans have the highest dropout rate and the lowest instance of higher education among students in North Carolina.

In collegiate sports, Atlantic Coast Conference rival Florida State continues to use its Seminoles mascot, even though Elon, Marquette and Stanford Universities and Dartmouth College have eliminated similar mascots. Nationwide, Native American mascots are used at over 2,500 public schools, 60 of which are in North Carolina.

With the state-recognized Cherokee, Coharie, Haliwa Saponi, Lumbee and Waccamaw Siouan tribes within its borders, North Carolina has the sixth- largest American Indian population, the most for any state east of the Mississippi. Yet, of the 100 school districts nationwide that have done away with Native American mascots, none of them are in North Carolina.

For our senior political science seminar, graduate student Ron Benson and I looked further into this issue of Native American mascots. We found that while the N.C. Commission on Indian Affairs, the State Board of Education and State Superintendent of Schools have recommended elimination of objectionable mascots by June 2003, no school has decided to change its mascot since the resolution was approved in June.

One concern expressed by principals is the costs required to remove Indian mascots from school letterhead, jerseys, athletic apparel, locker rooms, gym floors, murals, statues and other public displays. Modified from a bill proposed to Congress this September by U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), our draft Mascot Remedy Bill gives North Carolina schools money to assist in removal of these objectionable images.

Being forwarded to Forsyth County legislators in the N.C. General Assembly and schools with Native American mascots statewide, we wrote the bill to be favorable to both sides. As an added incentive, the bill also provides these schools funds for construction and renovation of existing facilities.

Schools are only eligible for the funding if they make the formal decision to eliminate Native American mascots, and the state need only provide funding if schools make the formal decision. In this way, we attempted to employ the Ghandian method, through research and cooperation, to effect positive change.

Mascots such as the Atlanta Negroes or the San Francisco Asians today would be socially unacceptable, yet professional team names such as the Atlanta Braves, Chicago Blackhawks, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Redskins are allowed to persist.

Until the state's 18,000 Native American students are included in a supportive educational environment, inequalities and stereotypes will continue.

Will Wingfield is a senior majoring in political science.