Are Native American mascots racist? Examples of some teams that use Native Americans as mascots are the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, and the Washington Redskins. The teams that are listed above are not trying to be racist at all;, they are just representing the Native American culture. Using Native American images and names in high school, collegiate, and professional sports does not reinforce or perpetuate stereotypes because it does not physically harm their culture; it is just giving them more attention and more praise. Do schools and professional teams using Native Americans as mascots do not affect Native Americans in a negative way. Joseph F. Healey and Eileen O'Brien say, “Simply putting on a mascot uniform isn't hurting anyone
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
One reading from Fivethirtyeight debates the argument to change the Native American mascot names. This is a valid argument because for example the name redskins, the name of the NFL football team located in Washington D.C, can be seen and viewed as disparaging to native americans. Naming teams and especially professional teams after native american tribes can become very controversial. (https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-2128-native-american-mascots-people-arent-talking-about/)
Nowadays we do not see the Indians or Redskins as a negative way of describing a race or culture. We see them as professional teams that play hard and get our spirits up. Out of all teams, I would say that the Redskins is probably the most racist of all names because of the term it was used years ago. I would change the name to something more honorable towards Native Americans. Braves is actually more honorable than Redskins because they are identifying Native Americans as Brave rather than a negative stereotype of a name. The team name, Redskins, has actually received backlash for many years because it was seen as insulting and offensive to people of Native American culture. After many polls of whether to keep the name or not, 83 percent of people chose to keep the name as it was not used as racial slur. At this point, the team names are not meant as a racial slur so there shouldn't be any
Sports teams use "Indian," as well as many other mascots with related themes, to honor those who are native to
There has been many controversy with teams using Native American name for mascots and has become a major issue in today’s society. Many have viewed the Washington Redskins as honor for Native Americans, others see it racist, insensitive, and demeaning. Woods (2016) claims that “the complaint is that the use of stereotypical team names, mascots, and logos perpetuates an ideology that dehumanizes and demeans the cultures of Native Americans” (p. 298). Since the issue arise, many scholars, journalists and leaders have joined the battle to ensure that each team will eliminate the nicknames since it is considered abusive or hostile. It may take time but the trend is growing. More than 1,400 professional, collegiate,
The practice of NFL, and College football teams using Native American names and symbols as mascots is a sign of disrespect to their culture. These symbols are highly respected throughout society because they hold a rich history. The continued degrading by these teams is giving them a bad reputation within our society.
Former chair of the Los Angeles Native American Commission, Jack Shakley, in his argument, “Indian Mascots-You’re Out!” disputes whether Native American mascots should be allowed to be the face of American sports teams. Shakley’s purpose is to convey the idea that is insensitive to have Native Americans as mascots. Jack Shakley uses a passionate tone to show readers that not only is using a Native American mascot racist, but it is wrong and should be changed to a less offensive mascot. Shakley starts off using pathos to the readers by telling a story from his childhood. In the article, Shakley demonstrates the ability to use strong pathos and logos arguments to support his claims that we should get rid of Native American mascots and steam names.
In august of 2005 the NCAA made a new ruling about Native American mascots. The ruling stated that any college sports team to continue to use native americans as their school mascots would be banned from hosting postseason home games for all sporting events.
The dispute over whether Native American mascots should be used as a team symbol dates back to the 1970’s (Price 2). There are those who are passionately against Native American mascots. These advocators insist that Native American mascots are degrading to
Do you feel having Indian mascots for sports teams take part in racial discrimination? In the sports world, representing a Native American is showing honor and respect. In society, communities take it as offensive and racist towards Native Americans. The government recognizes the positive representation of Indians and has given them more rights than state citizens. Considering the history, what it means, and general attitude, Indian mascots should be allowed.
Imagine this: thousands of stands congregating in a stadium to cheer on their football team. They are all dressed up in their football jerseys and have their face painted to support their beloved football team. Their mascot? The blacks. On all of their jerseys, flags, on the field have their mascot painted on. The mascot is a derogatory depiction of the average black person and the stereotypes that are often associated with black people. How is this scenario of having a black person as a mascot any different than having an Indian or Native American as a mascot? It is not any different. Mascots such as the Cleveland Indians and the Washington Redskins are derogatory and offense depictions of Native Americans, and schools and organizations that allow these mascots to stay in place are promoting racism.
Many people do not consider themselves supporting Native American mascots that depict them in a bad manner. But when people walk around with a Atlanta Braves shirt on with a Indian with a tomahawk in his hand, it is degrading to the Indians. It is stereotyping them. School mascots and Sports team’s mascots are named after groups of people for no reason known. Notre Dame was founded by Irish Catholics, but their sports team was named the Fighting Irish. The name Fighting Irish has nothing to do with the Irish Catholics, it depicts them in a wrong way.(Price, 3). Team names can be changed to similar names that do not depict certain groups of people. Like the Redskins can be called the Red Hawks or the
The majority culture defends use of the Native Americans symbols in sports and many are confused by the objections raised by Native Americans. “Team Names represent something positive to the fans, People don’t name teams after things they hate.” (40 What’s in a Team Name, Banks). For example, the University of Georgia selected the “The Georgia Bulldogs as their Mascot.”(What’s in a Team Name). Their attributes are “toughness...and integrity”(What’s in a Team Name) to their mascot. Teams also look
Almost everybody loves going to sporting events and seeing all the excited fans as well as the energized mascots. There has been quite a variety of mascots and logos seen in schools whether it be high schools or colleges and in professional leagues. According to a search done by an ESPN FiveThirtyEight reporter through a database known as MascotDB, out of the 42,624 teams in the database at the time there were 2,129 sports teams that have reference to Native Americans (Munguia). That’s about a five percent of all mascots while Native American only make up roughly two percent of the population of the United States in 2014 (US Census). There has been much debate and controversy around mascots and team names that reference Native American throughout the years and gaining more attention especially with the most public debate regarding National
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