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Impact of colonization on indigenous people
Native American Mascots: Insult or Honor Essay
Impact of colonization on indigenous people
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“It is a way of using another culture in a way that delights our imagination, while stripping that group of their identity.” This is how Author Lenore Keeshig-Tobias defines appropriation. Stripping the Native community of their identity is exactly what the use of these mascots is doing. The use of Native American mascots is racist, dehumanizing, degrading, and people “supporting” their teams has made it become dangerous for Native people.
The use of Native American mascots is racist. One false stereotype that is perpetuated by these mascots is — Native people were bloodthirsty killers. The main cause of the stereotypes are the caricatures. They can be seen as offensive, and should not be used unless honoring them. The Redskins are often the
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Did you know, Native Americans were imprisoned for practicing their religion, but non-natives were allowed to mock it by using sacred objects to mimic their culture? Along with many other objects, people appropriated the well known headdresses, traditionally referred to as war bonnets that were worn by those who earned them, by using them whenever and wherever they like. Using sacred symbols is not the only thing that is degrading. The tomahawk chop is an awful tradition people have started at sports games. This is suggesting skinning of Indians. When it comes to sports games, people think that it is rightful to play Indian for a night. Bigham Young University law professor and Indian law expert Michalyn Steele said, “You have, on one hand, people asking for an increase in human decency. On the other hand you have: Well, it’s a fun tradition and we enjoy it so how dare you criticize it.” It is also unbelievably dehumanizing to the Native community that there are no other races representing mascots mostly because the majority of mascots are animals. Animals that are, or have been, hunted. Native people were hunted too. Every part of a Native American human being was worth a different price. Even gender and age was a contender to pricing the bodies. By these standards, people are comparing human beings to animals, and that is not okay in the slightest
The dispute over whether Native American mascots should be used as a team symbol dates back to the 1970’s (Price 2). People differ on the basic issue, but there is a more important underlying principle. It is called freedom. Determining whether or not someone is harmed by a practice can reveal whether that practice can or should be morally justified. Wherein lies the truth about exercising the use of American Indian mascots? The reality is that they cannot be morally justified. The certainty is not ascertainable by way of any comparison to other similar phenomena. No such comparison can be made as none exits. Then, are not the only relevant voices those of the Indians themselves? If so, the truth regarding this imagery can only be discovered by conferring with the groups that are depicted. Only those portrayed should have a voice. Or at the very least, be heard louder and more clearly than those who are not mirrored in the representations.
Team mascots that depict a certain type of group is wrong and should be changed. It is degrading and hurtful to far too many people to keep them from staying the same. Native Americans or any other race or ethnicity should not be stereotyped in a way that degrades them in any way. All teams that have mascots that are named after a certain race or ethnicity should be changed.
The author Justin Angle says how in a study the mascots and names were shown to people unfamiliar with Native American culture and the sport teams, in the end of the study most of the participants viewed Native American’s as “war like”, which can carry negative consequences in the real world affecting the views of some future employers, creating a view that though Native American’s can be seen as strong and bold they can also have been perceived as violent and irrational. The uses of Redskins also create the belief that it is culturally appropriate for the constant use of Native American culture this has led to thousands of schools and sports teams to have questionable mascots and names. Such as the Savages from Salmon High school and the baseball team the “Indians” whose mascot was a hooked nose red skinned Indian with bucked teeth. Comparing this to the now frowned upon depiction of African American as black red lipped stereotyped popular in the 1920s advertisements does it not show similarities in a cultures becoming a caricature. While one is view as racist the other is view and honorable due to it representing one of the greatest passtimes in America,
The American institution has raised countless generations with misconceptions and lies regarding various foreign cultures. During the 1950’s the educational system in America was given the responsibility of teaching children the horrors and injustices they would suffer if the "evil" communist took over the world. Schools taught students that communist wanted to take away music, apple pie, baseball, and anything else that Americans cherished. Students learned that it was best to believe in the righteous of America. The preceding discussion has much in common with the treatment that Native Americans have received from picture books in America.
The debate is divided into two sides. Those opposed to the use of Redskins and all Native American names in sports, and perceive the use of such terms and imagery as racist and derogatory towards Native Americans and those for keeping the name who cite the history of the team, its links to Native American players and coaches who were part of the team when it was create...
...ers' evolution from mother and student into a leading voice against the merchandising of Native American sacred symbols -- and shows the lengths to which fans will go to preserve their mascots." In keeping all the Native American Mascots in schools, colleges, and professional sports teams we are showing a lack of respect. The Native Americans have voiced the lack of honor these names are bringing to them. "The fact that history has ignored the incredible pain we have inflicted on Native Americans does not now give us the right to ignore their largely muted call." Americans need to take a step back think about how they would feel if there ritual and or sacred tradition was misused. "We feel that we are being put in a position of sacrificing our dignity and pride and will never be treated as equals in white society as long as the use of Indian symbols continues."
There is a lot of controversy surrounding elementary, middle and high schools using Native American mascots because it gives them stereotypes of the tribe or people before they learn about them. It is felt that it would give them stereotypes of the Native American people being fierce and wild people who kill and hunt. The problem with this is that for many Indian tribes, that is the case. In the case of the Seminoles, they have an entire war named after them, and people want us to believe that they did not kill. The arguments provided by people opposed to these mascots also state that it is racist and demeaning to the tribe.
Issue of whether to keep Mascots in schools or not, started in late 1970’s and from then this debate is going on. Most of the schools have Indian Mascots in place for half a century and suddenly it become problem to use Indian Mascots. Over 500 Native American organizations also announced their support for the removal of those mascots and over 1200 schools across the United States have changed the name of their sports teams and some school refused to play with those schools using Indian mascots. But some school still think that using mascots are just paying homage to the Native peoples and it’s just another group claiming to be offended. Sports teams used those mascots to promote their team’s athletic powers, like wolf, lion and eagle etc. How portrait of an Indain wearing hat with feather or headdress can be offensive or racist? One thing which never be done up to now that is to view our history from Native eyes. First of all, learn about their culture and their living style from their new perspective not the one which is given in our history books. From last hundred years we taught our generations that this is our country and we had a very long war with Indians which won. We also tell different kind of stories like burning of Fort Pequot Indians because they had trade relationship with British company. Can stories like this possibly be related to mascot issue? Using mascots are really a problem or just a political incorrectness.
Native Americans have been living on American soil for quite a while now. They were here before the European colonists. They have been here and still continue to be present in the United States. However, the way the media represents Native Americans disallows the truth about Native Americans to be told. Only misinterpretations of Native Americans seem to prosper in the media. It appears the caricature of Native Americans remains the same as first seen from the first settler’s eyes: savage-like people. Their culture and identity has become marginalized by popular culture. This is most evident in mainstream media. There exists a dearth of Native American presence in the mainstream media. There is a lack of Native American characters in different media mediums. When they are represented, they are misrepresented. They are easily one of the most underrepresented cultures and people in American media. Native Americans shouldn’t be confined to a stereotype, should have a greater presence in the media, and shouldn’t be misrepresented when they are presented.
Many races are unjustly victimized, but Native American cultures are more misunderstood and degraded than any other race. College and high school mascots sometimes depict images of Native Americans and have names loosely based on Native American descent, but these are often not based on actual Native American history, so instead of honoring Native Americans, they are being ridiculed. According to the article Warriors Survive Attack, by Cathy Murillo (2009) some “members of the Carpentaria community defended Native American mascot icons as honoring Chumash tradition and the spirit of American Indian Warriors in U.S. history and others claimed that the images were racist stereotypes” (Murillo, 2009). If people do not attempt to understand and respect Native American culture, then Native American stereotypes will become irreparable, discrimination will remain unresolved, and ethnocentrism will not be reprimanded.
In our current generation, the year 2016, one may think racism would be diminished but it has yet to be acknowledged. Most people would have thought discrimination ended with the time of slavery, but it continues to exist in indirect ways. When people think Native Americans, they think about how they were the true Americans and how they aided Columbus’s settlement into the Early Americas. Native Americans experience discrimination to this day, yet nothing has been said about the Indian’s existence and rights. In Kimberly Roppolo’s essay, “Symbolism, Racism, History, and Reality: The Real Problem with Indian Mascots,” constructs the reason and gives us an idea on why this type of racism still exists and why people continue to unknowingly discriminate
Redskins, Seminoles, Tribe, Indians, what do they all have in common? They are all athletic team names under scrutiny by people who deem them as being racist. For years, people have argued over the fact that these names and/or mascots are being used in a negative way. Some have been changed while others are still being argued over. Teams with these mascots should not be forced to change their names because the majority of Native Americans are not even bothered by these sports names.
When Native Americans are being made fun of and constantly reminded that their ancestors were torn apart and made out to be savages by the White men, it is hard to pick up the pieces and move on. Native Americans shouldn’t even be associated with savages or racial slurs, but that is what is happening when Natives are being seen as Mascots. For example, at one point OSU was playing against a team with a Native American mascot and they had on a banner, “Send them home on a trail of tears” (Charles). The Trail of Tears is not an event to be made a mockery of, because it moved the Cherokee tribe from their homeland state of Georgia to the state of Oklahoma, and over 4,000 Cherokee people died during the removal (Trail of Tears, PBS). This shows that even though a minority socioeconomic group is working towards advancement in the world of the majority socioeconomic group, but some people in the majority socioeconomic group will find anything and do everything to keep the barriers between the two
Cowboys and Indians is the popular game played by many children played as a game of heroes and villains. Natives are villainized in American pop culture due to the history being told by educational institutions across the nation. There are not many positive roles popular in the media about Native Americans. Many roles are even played by white people. The costume representation is not accurate either. The disrespect towards them is especially seem on Halloween, when people dress as Natives in cute and sexy ways that they think represent their culture. War paint, beads, feathers and headdresses are ceremonial accessories that represent their culture, it not a fun costume to wear. Only if they are being criticized and ridiculed, like they have been in the past. Racism has also been a huge problem when it comes to using creative names for sports teams, like the Redskins for example. Redskin is a derogatory and offensive term towards Native Americans and many white people do not see it as wrong due to the privilege they inherited throughout history. The disrespect towards them has grown and today it seems that if Natives were not getting ridiculed, they are for the most part ignored. The concerns that King describes in his book explains how the past has wired Americans to believing everything they have once learned. White people
The next reason we’ll be looking at are the stereotypical images commonly seen in literature and mascots. Mainstream media such as “Dances with Wolves”, “The Lone Ranger”, and “The Last of The Mohicans” and mascots in professional sports teams like Washington Redskins, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, and Chicago Blackhawks all include representations of Native Americans that for some, are offensive. With this in mind, ...