Demonstration marks Polson homecoming

Demonstrators march outside Polson High School's homecoming celebration on Sept. 30 after pictures emerged of students wearing racially-charged clothing. 

After pictures emerged of Polson High School students wearing racially charged t-shirts and costumes last week, the Pirates’ homecoming football game on Friday featured displays of outrage, in addition to pompoms and pride. 

“Kids may be kids, but if we allow this to go on they will learn that it’s acceptable,” said Dustin Monroe, a Missoula-based Native American activist and one of several dozens of demonstrators waving signs condemning racism outside the school’s stadium. 

The day before, a pair students were photographed sporting shirts brandishing images of the confederate flag and statements of white power during a school homecoming tradition called Color Wars. Another student was pictured wearing braids that were perceived as making fun of Native American heritage. 

The images spread quickly on social media, with news outlets across the state and the country picking up the story. Locally, the incident sparked frustrations that demonstrators like Monroe said have been building for some time. 

“Racism has always been here,” Monroe said. “But now we have things like Facebook and are able to talk about it.” 

Monroe said it’s ironic that the incident occurred on an Indian reservation, especially at a school where one third of the students are Native American. 

One of these students, Josh Crumley, saw the shirts and costumes in the hallway. For the incoming freshman, it was not a warm welcome to high school. 

“I was disappointed. They were basically mocking us,” Crumley, who helped organize Friday’s demonstration, said. “I thought people were better than that.”

While the incident drew criticism and even threats against the students involved, the high school has also come under heat for having an atmosphere where the situation could occur. 

The American Civil Liberties Union of Montana announced on Friday that it has launched an investigation and contacted the school concerning the incident. 

Meg Singer, group’s indigenous justice outreach coordinator, said that the fact that students wore the clothes shows that they have not received proper education about race and cultural diversity. 

“It tells me that the school doesn’t even talk about these issues with their students,” Singer said. 

Polson School District Superintendent Rex Weltz condemned the incident in a press release issued on Friday, stating that the district “will take appropriate action based on our policies and procedures, which may include discipline for the individual students.”

Weltz said in a phone interview on Monday that the ACLU and other groups have reached out to the district and offered support. He said administrators hope to use the incident as an opportunity to strengthen ties within the community. Rather than implement a generic anti-discrimination program, Weltz said he wants to address specific concerns facing the local demographic. 

“I don’t want to bring in a canned program,” he said. “I want to get individuals involved and identify the issues.” 

This strategy was shared by demonstrators on Friday night. 

As the group marched toward to a chain-link fence surrounding the Polson High School stadium, a gathering assembled on the opposite side to question the purpose of the protest. Chants of “no more hate” were countered with shouts of “freedom of speech.” But as the messages bounced back and forth, eventually the clamor died down and a discussion emerged. 

“These guys have something to say too,” Monroe said through a megaphone. “It takes courage, but we need to talk about this.”