In all sports, teams use mascots to represent their team’s pride, strength, and will to win. The role the mascot plays is an intimidation factor, as well as something to motivate the team. Teams will have mascots that range from anything, from an animal to an inanimate object, like a hammer or an orange. Mascots rarely fall under scrutiny, except for the mascots that represent Native American tribes, people or cultures. Many schools and teams use some sort of Native American reference as a mascot. The Native American mascots used range from names like the Indians, Chiefs, and Braves, which are some of the more generic ones, to Seminoles, Fighting Illini, and Chippewas to name some of the tribal based names. The idea of having a Native American as a mascot seems respectful to the tribe and a way to honor the people who arrived to this country first. Many people find it racist and derogatory to call teams by these names, while They find it racist or offensive to the tribe itself even if they have no connection with the tribe at all. There is a lot of controversy surrounding elementary, middle and high schools using Native American mascots because it give 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. The opposition states that it would be considered racist to call a team the blacks, but they can have a team called the Redskins. The arguments for the opposition are thin but bring up valid
For example, The Dartmouth Big Green were once called the Indians; Oklahoma removed Little Red; Marquette Warriors changed to the Golden Eagles; even the prestigious school of Stanford was once called the Indians. However, most schools or sports teams have accommodated by not removing or not showing their mascots, but for these teams to remove the names is taking away the history of the team, and in some ways probably bring positive spotlight to the Native American culture. These teams do not want to choose a name or mascot that a lot of people do not like or look down upon. They choose names that have a rich history, and they can carry on the tradition. This is why some sports teams have no problems with keeping their sports names without any
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...
Teams in every sport, at every level of competition, have a mascot. It is the mascot that represents the competitive spirit and team identity, motivating players and fans alike. Does the symbol chosen have any impact on whether a team wins or loses? Unlikely. But the choice of a Native American mascot continues to ignite debate and controversy among athletes, fans and alumni, as well as those people who might otherwise be disinterested in sports. Utilizing an Indian mascot is nothing more than a veiled attempt at hate speech.
...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."
Logos in professional sports like the Cleveland Indians with the added features to the logo has caused a lot of conflict in the past and today. Most schools or franchises that have Native American mascots have tribal people who will stand up for the name and say that you can have them as long as they are not doing anything that people would find offensive to the culture of the Native Americans. A college in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, Central Michigan University, has a native tribe name for their mascot, the Chippewas. However, the school does not have an offensive logo, doesn’t have anyone dressed up at sporting events, or for activities around campus.
Mascots are beloved figure heads for sports teams everywhere almost every sport team has a mascot of some kind; that said, sometimes instead of bring people together it can cause a rift between two cultures. Such as Washington’s D.C.’s football team the “Redskins” often the word redskin was a derogatory word used against the Native Americans and while it may seem as though paying homage to the Native American community the overall stereotyped actions of the fans themselves as well as the sugarcoating of the previously racial slur has done little to bring the two cultures together and instead created a larger disconnect between white and Native American. The name Redskin should be retired and replaced so that rather
Putting Indians on a helmet shows how America “owns” them. “Not only do Indians have to deal with the fallout of being ‘conquered’ people...the shame of being men who descended from those unable to protect our women...the shame of being women who descended from those raped and tortured…” but they also have to deal with being reminded of the events that happened in the past. Constantly being reminded of these events is disrespectful and torture. In the past, the Indians were helpless against the pilgrims and were unable to do anything to protect their people. Since the name of the mascot is broadcasted visually, Redskins just reminds them that they were owned and still remain to be. Just like corporate America copyrighting their inventions, in Dan Snyder’s position in his letter to the Washington Redskins fans, he continues to want to “own” the name Redskins. Snyder’s action of keeping the team name shows his power of “sustain[ing] long term success if this franchise.” American Indians are being disrespected in this manner by being seen as a franchise instead of a group of people. Especially since such a big issue like this is just for a sports game, it is demeaning for American Indian’s
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.
Some schools changed their team’s name voluntarily. In 2005, the NCAA required colleges to evaluate the potential offensiveness of their team name, symbol, or mascot and to get permission from the affected group. In North Dakota, the state university tried to drop its Fighting Sioux moniker; the state legislature blocked the move and then repealed the decision. Even in the state of Mississippi, Alcorn State University has stopped using a Native American mascot, but they have retained their Braves nickname. This indicates that meaningful discussion is being held about the use of these terms and images; hopefully, they are close to being
Savages, Injuns, and Redskins are all names that have destroyed the honorable opportunity to be called an Indian. The Algonquian people, people that belong to the North American Indian family, in the Blackfoot (Blackfeet) tribe lived in present day Minnesota, North Dakota, Michigan, and Canada. Even though in the early years they farmed, they are known for hunting buffalo mostly (Ditchfield 5). There are four closely related tribes that come together to form the whole Blackfoot tribe. There is the Northern Blackfoot (Siksika), The Bloods (Kainai), The Poorly dressed or Piegan (Pikuni), and the Blackfoot (8). The Blackfoot was a widespread tribe that dominated the Great Plains. The regions ranged (north to south) from Alberta, Canada to parts
On the night of the 29th of December 1890 the American Government destroyed Native American culture, yet again. As well as slaughtering the members of the Lakota tribe present that evening the officers slaughtered the horses. In Native American culture horses play a significant role both as a form of transport, but also as a symbol of hope. Therefore the brutal slaughter of the horses was effective in destroying the Native American culture on two levels; intellectual and emotional. Throughout Reservation Blues Alexie uses the symbol of screaming horses whenever an event that is detrimental to Native American culture occurs. White Plume describes the
In the collective effort of the American masses to become increasingly politically correct and sensitive of human rights, there has been much debate regarding the Washington Redskins appropriation of Native American culture in their team name and logo. Other sports teams Atlanta Braves and Kansas City Chiefs also use race and ethnicity derived iconography that some believe also belittles the sordid legacy of the near extermination of American Indians by white colonist-invaders. However, the Redskins seem to garner more attention and controversy in recent times due to the interesting decision of the US Patent and Trademark office to revoke the Redskins’ team name. According to MSNBC reports, “The United States Patent and Trademark Office…cancelled
This is because photographers and writers make Indians resemble the Indian stereotype. A photographer in the 1900’s Edward Sheriff Curtis would take a box of paraphernalia to his photo shoots, like wigs, clothes, and backdrops in case he ran into an Indian who did not look the part Curtis would pay these Indians to change their hair or their outfit until they looked like an “Indian”(King, 34). I do not understand why Curtis would continue taking pictures of Indians in these stereotypical outfits, when he knew that they did not look that way; however Curtis was not the only one who created this stereotype. Karl May a writer, wrote a book on Indians, creating all these stereotypes, when in real life May had never even met an Indian. This seems strange that May would write a book validating this stereotype, when he himself had not even met an Indian in person. These stereotypes that were created by people like Curtis and May are unacceptable and as a student, I can help people understand the
The use of historical figures or groups as mascots, such as Indians, have caused some controversy over whether these mascots should be utilized to represent different colleges and universities in America. Carron Phillips in his article “It’s time for colleges to dump Old South nicknames and mascots” and Barbara Munson in her article “Common Themes and Questions About the use of ‘Indian’ Logos” both believe that historical nicknames and mascots should not be utilized to represent different colleges and universities in America. The use of historical figures and groups as mascots should not be used to represent colleges and universities because they can be viewed as racist, they do not honor that historical figure or group in any way, and they
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, ...