For more than 200 years the Baltimore Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) Indian Affairs Committee has sought to support the concerns of Native Americans. We support the efforts of all who have called for eliminating disparaging team names and mascots (“200 people attend forum about ‘Indians’ mascot in Skowhegan,” Jan. 8).

People are not mascots; they — we — are human beings. Paraphrasing what an Old Town High School student said, Native people are Natives all the time — they don’t go home from being Native after a game. That’s the difference between a mascot and real people.

Kudos for the Maine students, their tribal supporters and others for advocating for this overdue change. News of your concerns has spread widely, gathering strength and numbers of backers.

Susan Marcus

Fairfax, Virginia