"You want to ''Commit to the Indian''? Joe Podlasek has some ideas for you.
''If the Blackhawks want to commit to the symbol, why don't they help us feed 300 families a month?'' he said. ''Why don't they write a check for scholarships? I don't see them as being committed to the symbol.''
Clearly Hawks fans are rediscovering their passion for the team, and that's great. But not everyone is happy about the way they've latched onto Savard's poor choice of words.
Count Podlasek -- executive director of the American Indian Center at 1630 W. Wilson on the North Side -- among the unhappy.
''For a fan base to use that statement as its motto is terrible,'' he said. ''What are they teaching the kids? These old symbols perpetuate the belief that American Indians are a thing of the past and that natives don't exist.''
Podlasek thinks Savard should have known better.
''It is very insulting, No. 1,'' he said. ''Comments like that make no sense. They speak to racism and a lack of awareness of what symbols mean. It's a lack of cultural understanding for him to make that kind of statement.''"
Get the Story:Carol Slezak: Commit to tastefulness (The Chicago Sun-Times 1/29) $rl Chicago Blackhawks - http://blackhawks.nhl.com
