Native Americans testify on need to preserve identity in face of popular culture

Photo by Maryann Batlle/ Cronkite News Mary Kim Titla, a member of the San Carlos Apache tribe in Arizona, told the Senate Indian Affairs Committee that more resources need to go toward improving education for native students in Arizona and elsewhere.

Washington, D.C. — When nonnative people don war bonnets at Halloween or Thanksgiving, when they give their sports teams names like Redskins, they may argue that they are simply paying homage to Native Americans. Mary Kim Titla doesn’t see it that way. “That’s offensive to us,” said Titla, a member of the San Carlos Apache tribe in Arizona, who testified to a Senate committee in Washington Thursday.

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