Opinion: Indian mascots are relics of a 'less enlightened era'

It's counterproductive to teach children about the virtues of acceptance in our increasingly diverse society at a school where student athletes are referred to as "Redskins" or "Redmen." Yet, according to the same Free Press story, two Republican lawmakers have gone so far as to introduce a bill that would force the state's Department of Civil Rights to pick up the tab if state schools are made to change their belittling nicknames and dump their mascots.

America has changed by leaps and bounds since many of these school nicknames were first adopted. It's time to ditch these relics from a bygone, less enlightened era.