The Red Road Project

When a local school in Greeley, CO failed to eliminate their derogatory Indian mascot, the “fighting reds” back in 2002, Solomon had a brilliant idea on how to fight back. Solomon, a resident of Greeley and at the time, director of the Native American Student Services at University of Northern Colorado, thought it was time for people to see the other side of what it’s like to be a mascot. He and his intramural basketball team at UNC decided to use satire to protest. They changed their team name from “Native Pride” to the “Fightin’ Whities” and what all started out as a way to prove a point, resulted in Solomon helping raise more than $125,000 in scholarship money for Native American students at UNC. The new team mascot drew attention nation-wide and sales of logo merchandise of the 1950’s smiling Caucasian caricature went into high demand. “People that maybe never thought about these mascot issues before began to understand what it was like to be in our shoes and be a victim of stereotypes.” Today, the “fightin’ whities” no longer exist but sadly, that school in Greeley, CO continues to use the Indian mascot. However, a new Colorado law has been passed in June of 2021 that makes it illegal for schools to use these derogatory mascots. Any remaining schools have until June 2022 to change their mascots or will face a fine of $25,000 per month.

ATTENTION DENVER NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITY: we are seeking to meet with people and families that have been part of the RELOCATION ACT of 1956. Email us at [email protected] or DM for more details.