Indian Mascots You Re Out Essay

A large part of a sports team is the mascot. They are known for getting the crowds and even the teams hyped up before any game. They are going around and talking or dancing to people before, in-between, and after the games. The mascots for any sport can range in what they are, but a portion those that are involved, are of the Native American Culture. There are over 30 teams that have a mascot or team name that reference or mimic some form of Native American culture (Valadez). To some this has become very offensive and is no longer something to be tolerated. Native American author Jack Shakely makes the argument in his article Indian Mascots – You’re Out, that the time has come to an end for Native American Culture to be used as propaganda.

To him, it is offensive and degrading that they are taking historic figures from these cultures and turning them into a character to amuse the people that come to these sporting events. The United States should refrain from using these mascots and change them to something less offensive and something that respects all cultures. Doing this would not only improve how the people of Native American culture feel, but anyone else that these mascots target. Getting rid of the use of other cultures branding would solve a problem of not only being disrespectful, but harming or upsetting anybody of the culture that is being promoted.
Many sports teams use exaggerated depictions when it comes to their mascots.

Shakely’s first encounter with such offensive imagery is when he attended a baseball game as a child. He went to the Cleveland Indians game and bought a hat from one of the merchandise stands. When he got home later that night, his mother, who is also an Indian was shocked and disgusted to see that in her household. She had went many years with exonerating her own types of stereotyping of her culture towards her and to see it come into her own home was disturbing (Shakely). His mother however had every right to feel the emotions that she did. The Indian that was displayed on the middle of the hat was insulting. The logo is bright red with a big bucked-toothed silly-looking Indian. It is not a flattering portrayal of any Indian and is often taken as offensive because of this. The Cleveland Indians are not the only team guilty of this. Shakely says that the Redskins and the duo from the Atlanta Braves, “Chief Noc-A-Homa” and “Princess Win-A-Lot.” These are just a few of the examples he lists but there are far more that are within the states. Shakely thinks it is time for a change and that all of these mascots need to be changed to give respect back to the Native Americans and their

culture.
In America today, the team mascot is viewed to be almost as big as the team.

They are the ones that are there at every game hyping everybody up. So when there is a mascot portraying or mocking Indian culture, it is a matter that needs to be addressed. Now, it is one thing to have a mascot that is respectful to the culture it is representing, but when it is out in the middle of the field or court and acting like a fool it becomes a different story. Shakely says when he went to an Atlanta Braves game, it wasn’t the name that bothered him like some others, it was the way the mascot acted in front of everybody. “It was that cringe-worthy Chief Noc-A-Homa who came stomping and war-dancing his way out of a tepee in center field every time the Braves hit a home run that got to me. He was dressed in a Plains Indian chief's eagle bonnet and acted like a village idiots (Shakely).” Who would want that mascot representing their culture? That is exactly the reason that Shakely is making the argument that he is. Mascots like these are giving Native American Indians a bad reputation. After the backlash that the Braves received they retired Chief-Noc-Hona and his girlfriend Princess Win-A-Lot in 1983. The Braves fought back and claimed that people were being overdramatic and it was not as big of an issue as it was being made out to be. While the Braves ended up being one of the teams that retired their offensive mascots, other teams started to get scrutinized as well. Florida faced minor

complaints as well about calling themselves the Seminoles even though they portrayed their mascot as the “Good Indian.” While Shakely brings up all of the points about how people are upset about the mascots being depicted form Native American culture, there are also some who have views against him.
In Shakely’s article he brings up a counter argument against himself. “In a 2002 study on the subject, Sports Illustrated reported that 84% of Native Americans polled had no problem with Indian team names or mascots. Although the methods used by the magazine to reach these figures were later criticized, that misses the point.” Shakely makes the argument that although 84% percent don’t care, that still leaves 16% of people that this does genuinely effect. Teams and organizations should take into consideration that any amount of dislike should cause a change. It should be about showing respect towards everybody and not about how much money they will lose to change the mascot or name of the team. In the end it could make a lot of people happier and there would be no disrespect towards anybody’s culture. That is the main argument that Shakely is trying to make. Besides the money it would cost, it is no real harm to change a mascot or change a team name. The only reason it does not happen is because of higher up officials that do not want to make the change.
Native American culture serotypes being portrayed in the sports world has become an epidemic that needs to be taken care of and put to an end. In the end it would be beneficial to both parties of the opposing sides and there would be no drama anymore. In the end Shockley makes the perfect argument about how when it really comes down to it, they should get rid of the use of Native American culture in sports because it would be the right thing to do.