Charlene Teters New! Site

Charlene Teters (Spokane Nation) is a transformative artist, educator, and activist who single-handedly shifted the national conversation surrounding Indigenous mascotry in the United States. Her tireless work, rooted in art and direct action, helped dismantle stereotypical representations of Native American people and elevated the need for indigenous representation to be controlled by Indigenous voices. Early Life and Artistic Roots

: She views art as an experience rather than a commodity, stating that her work is meant to exist in memory to spark lasting reeducation. MLK Symposium: Charlene Teters

Teters is often described by fellow activists as a pioneer who forced mainstream America to confront the racist underpinnings of sports mascotry. Her advocacy contributed significantly to the eventual retiring of the University of Illinois mascot in 2007, and it helped lay the groundwork for the eventual, albeit slow, change of professional team names like the Washington Redskins. charlene teters

Her scholarship, often delivered through fierce public lectures, dismantles the liberal myth of "honoring" through appropriation. She draws a sharp line between appreciation (which requires consent, context, and relationship) and appropriation (which takes without asking, deadening the living symbol into a logo). She has argued persuasively that the mascot issue is not a "free speech" issue but a civil rights issue—one that inflicts measurable psychological harm on Indigenous youth, contributing to depression and suicide rates that are tragically elevated in Native communities. Her voice has been a constant thorn in the side of the NFL and major universities, and the slow, ongoing retirement of Native mascots (from the University of Illinois’s Chief Illiniwek to the Washington Commanders) owes an incalculable debt to her early, lonely witness.

Teters began holding one-woman protests, standing silently with a sign outside the football stadium during games. She was met with hostility, jeers, and indifference from fans. Charlene Teters (Spokane Nation) is a transformative artist,

: Her work often features provocative pieces like "Way of Sorrows," which addresses migration and the US-Mexico border, and "It was only an Indian," an installation challenging the casual dismissal of Native lives.

Through her art, lecturing, and persistence, Charlene Teters has ensured that the "conqueror’s" story is no longer the only one being told, achieving a national shift in perception. MLK Symposium: Charlene Teters Teters is often described

The mascot, a student dressed in stereotypical war paint and buckskin, danced and simulated "warrior" actions during halftime shows. For Teters, this was not harmless entertainment; it was a profound dehumanization of her people, reducing a rich, complex culture into a cartoonish caricature.

Her story was captured in the documentary film In Whose Honor? , produced by Jay Rosenstein, which showcased her emotional journey to demand the removal of the mascot. Activism and Impact

Teters' artistic journey is rooted in a desire to use visual media as a tool for social justice.

Today, Charlene Teters serves as a Professor at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she mentors the next generation of Indigenous artists. She holds an Honorary Doctorate from Mitchell College and continues to exhibit her work nationally.