Native American Mascot Controversy

Proponents believe tribal symbols display honor and respect towards the Native American people. They cheer that the inclusion of this iconography in the athletic arena serves to pay admiration and ongoing tribute to the identity of the Native American culture. They believe that rather than extinguishing Native American mascots as a symbolic reference for schools and sports teams, the choice to sensitively use such imagery should be without sanction.

To start the article, Shakley tells the audience a story about the time he came home with a Cleveland Indians hat with the famous Chief Wahoo logo (The Cleveland Indians mascot is Chief Wahoo and is one of the most controversial mascots in American sports). This hat was later thrown in the trash by his mother (that had been fighting against Native American stereotypes her whole life), who Shakley describes as having “the look of betrayal”. Shakley uses strong words to describe his negative opinion on Native American mascots by stating that the North Dakota Fighting Sioux provoked a feeling in him that was embarrassed and angry. Shakley described it as “It was an irritant, like a long forgotten piece of shrapnel working its way to

The American Indian Sports mascots is a prime example of dysconscious racism. As a result, Native Americans have to endure mental and physical suffering daily. The first step to eradicating the offensive sports mascots is to mobilize the opposed of the racist mascots and ensure the voices are heard on mainstream media. The public will start to see how appalling it would be to keep American Indian Sports mascots, correspondingly gaining the attention of team owners, which will result in a more favorable chance of removing the

People are complaining about the logos being offensive but in reality it is only a small percent of Native Americans that are upset with the logos. Of course you can not ignore people's opinions but when it is the minority that is complaining you have to respect the silent majority. "Opinions around the use of Indian-related nicknames are as diverse as the people you ask," says Kerry Steiner, executive director of the Indiana Native American Indian Affairs Commission. "There are some Native Americans opposed to using nicknames but there are many who are in favor of keeping them. ”(Kelly).

Some Native Americans feel oppressed by the amount of supposedly offensive sports mascots. “The country’s more than 2 million American Indians face high rates of poverty, unemployment, and health problems,” (Laura Anastasia 2014). This shows that the US Native Americans are still feeling oppressed and not equal to the white american population. Also in paragraph six of the second section (in the same article), it says, “After seeing American Indian mascots students reported having low self esteem. They were also less likely to predict that they would get good grades, graduate, and find a job.” People still feel low or unworthy when their people are portrayed as a mascot or something of lore. They feel like they won’t succeed and are a thing of the past.

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.

Look at the baseball team known as the Atlanta Braves, for example. At the beginning of every game, they open their fists, slamming the “tomahawks” on their knees. They even sell cheap foam tomahawks so fans can participate in this tradition in fancy style. The Braves “tomahawk chop” perpetuates primitive and destructive ideas, namely that Indians roam the forests as savages throwing around their tomahawks. Native Americans are not primitive like they are made out to be with these mascots. They also are not savages, or beasts, or any of the other ridiculous

Not all, but the majority of Native Americans are offended by the mascots and team names. Two-Hawks states that just because some Native Americans are not offended by the mascots and team names, it does not mean they are racist. It is logical to say that this particular group of Native Americans are rather hypocritical instead.

Thus, it seems odd to suggest that naming a team after an Indian tribe is a calculated insult. A team or school embraces a mascot that represents the favorable traits and characteristics of its members. Such is the case with the Florida State Seminoles, who are named after a tribe with its origin in that southern state. The Seminole tribe optimistically favored the use of the Indian mascot and even facilitated the design of authentic dress that is proudly worn at sporting and community events. Similar to the Seminoles, the University of Illinois preserved their mascot, Chief Illiniwek, for almost 80 years. Named after the indigenous Illiniwek tribe, the Chief was a customary sideline figure at football and basketball games until 2007 when the NCAA forced the University of Illinois to remove this historic mascot. Unfortunately, the collegiate governing body failed to realize what this symbol meant to the collegiate Illinois community. Illini students were polled regarding the action and a majority disapproved of the decision. Sixty-nine percent of the students voted to keep Chief Illiniwek as their mascot. (Haugh). These students believed that removing Chief Illiniwek as the University of Illinois’ mascot would diminish the passion associated with their university. After the forceful removal of the Native American mascot by the NCAA, the students felt

There have been a myriad of disputes over the years regarding Native American imagery being either a display of honor, or pure ignorance. Though everyone is entitled to have their own opinion, should it really be up to Non-Natives to decide? “Appropriating Native American Imagery Honors No One but the Prejudice” is a powerful argument by Amy Stretten where she expresses her personal discomfort with Native American imagery being used as mascots for various schools and sports teams. Non-Natives believe that they are honoring Native Americans, however exploiting their culture for amusement and profit doesn’t accurately represent or honor them, but is rather insulting and stereotypical to their heritage.

Imagery that are “hostile and abusive” to Native Americans, some tribes sanction symbolic use. When the National Collegiate Athletic Association issued letters to schools that had Native American nicknames and mascots, few would have predicted the massive changes that would occur. The year was 2005, and 19 colleges were informed that their nicknames and mascots were potentially “hostile or abusive to Native Americans.

Native Americans see this issue of mascots as a topic that needs discussion. This discussion is seen by Native Americans as a way to learn about their culture as written by Paul Lukas in an interview with Frank Cloutier, a Native American man,

And I tried to give everyone the benefit of the doubt and see where they were coming from, but seeing as we don’t have any actual Native Americans in class that could give us an expert opinion it made the situation a lot more difficult. I personally feel that if you’re going to use Native American mascots and images you need to educate yourself and others about their actual history, not the whitewashed version we’re taught in school. Talk about how the land that they found was taken from them and how they were subject to one of the largest genocides in America, and how in 2017 they’re still treated as second-class citizens and still discriminated against. It’s 2017 and people still think it’s okay to paint their faces red and imitate Natives without anyone saying anything to them because they’re “supporting their favorite sports team”. Nothing about that is respectful, it’s blatant disrespect and

The American Psychological Association had found that using representation of the mascots “undermines the educational experiences of members of all communities- especially those who have had little or no contact with Indigenous peoples” (APA). When people view a culture being paraded as a mascot, it can become their singular view and knowledge on the ethnic group. There is nothing to stop the formulation of what students know about Native Americans when there are few natives around. With the allowance of mascots to represent Native American in a way as they do now, wearing headdresses or war paint and using “peace pipes” has become a trend and something “cool” to do. Headdresses are traditionally a part of the Plains tribes and are considered sacred. Only revered warriors or significant people could wear war bonnets or headdresses. Feathers, especially eagle feathers, are very sacred to Native Americans. These appropriations continue to be a negative and demeaning aspect of using Native Americans as

According to the 2010 United States census, there are 5.2 million Native Americans living in the United States today. About twenty-two percent of those Native Americans live on tribal lands. Schools and sports teams around the nation often use Native American symbols and tribe names for their mascot and/or logo. This topic has become controversies as to if this use of Native American themed mascot should be allowed to continue the use of their mascot and logos.