Native American Mascot Research Paper

One of the problems with having a Native American mascot is the representation and meaning of it. It is not represented as a tribute or support of the Native people. Its meaning is quite the opposite. It represents racism and bigotry. It represents oppression. Its meaning is to make fun of and put down the Native people. It is the practice of humiliating them. Professional sports teams use their platform to spread the message

The year is 1991.  The Atlanta Braves had just completed their first trip to the Fall Classic in four decades, and the Washington Redskins were undefeated, well on their way to their third Super Bowl title.  All across the eastern seaboard, sports fans were tasting success - while American Indians were in an uproar.  This year witnessed the peak of the protests over the use of mascots with American Indian themes.  With two of the major professional sports teams in question making front-page news across the country, many of us heard American Indians' complaints for the first time.  Suddenly, thanks to the cries of thousands of demonstrators, the names of many Americans' favorite teams had become synonymous with "nigger."

The Washington Redskins is just a football team name. It is not a big deal. This discussion for Erik Bickel “is very similar to the situation when people had to stand up for civil rights, a woman’s right to vote, or gay marriage. But a team name is not discrimination because it doesn’t prevent anyone from anything on the basis of being in a certain group or category”. More specifically, the discrimination that could be used for the expression Redskins has no fundamental evidence because it does not cite and relate directly to the Native Americans when used as a team

Sports teams across the country are all represented by a mascot. A mascot is used in a variety of ways, but mainly to represent a team’s identity and motivate both players and fans alike to bring out the competitive spirit. Many teams are represented with normal names and themes, while some are more controversial such as the Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Blackhawks, Cleveland Indians, Florida State Seminoles, Atlanta Braves, and Washington Redskins (to name a few). A prickly topic for years, even decades the usage of Native American mascots continues to strike controversy in fans, players, alumni, as well as disinterested fans. Depending on who you talk to, it’s a stain on the organizations it affects or is it a way of honoring those who

Native american teams have been and continue to be some of the most beloved and heralded teams in all of sports. The Washington Redskins, Chicago Blackhawks and the Florida State Seminoles all have sports teams with fan bases that most other teams could only dream about. People continue to fill the stands no matter what their record because the love for these teams. The Redskins fans sing “Hail the Redskins” at home game. I could see the name Redskins or Redmen being offensive if the actions behind it were a derogatory, but the fact that people embrace the names, pass on their love for the team to their children and hopefully teach them the history of the native american people make it the exact opposite. The use of these names might be the

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

The range spans from the most obvious source of Native American groups all the way to the American Psychological Association. At the root, the argument against the use of Native American mascots is that is exacerbates racism towards native peoples. Essentially, with the extreme reach of influence that sports have in the United States, these mascots and team names are an extensive representation for the majority of the public that do not partake in research on this issue. As one could imagine, this leads to harsh generalizations as well as inaccurate representations of Native Americans as a whole. However on the contrasting side of the argument, teams, fans, and community members state that the use of these mascots should be revered as an honor and not the alternative. Mascot supporters generally claim the importance of the Native American illusion that it raises awareness for Native Americans but do not understand the perpetual damage that these team names actually cause. It is important to understand that the prevalence of these team names leads to an overall theory of the public that there is nothing wrong with accepting the fact that these generalizations are okay with every party involved. Whereas, the vast majority of Native Americans – those of which are actually being portrayed by these mascots – people do not agree with the usage to any

Anderson, a former NFL player and member of the Coquille tribe says that the portrayal of the Indians as “redskins” makes it sound like all tribes are the same, and that is far from the truth. He states “There is no right word for an entire race or religion when it comes to naming a sports team.” (Anderson). While he was playing for the Washington Redskins he felt a sense of pride because he thought being a “Redskin embodied the image of Native Americans as tough brave and persevering.” (Anderson). He now states “It was a positive but wrong depiction of my life.” (Anderson). Ultimately what is at stake here is the respect of the Native American culture and its people. As long as there are derogatory and degrading team names out there these

Though I concede that the original naming of the team may have been intended to be a gesture of respect and honor, I maintain that the name has become derogatory term that is discouraging for many Native Americans. Shown by the American Psychological Association, when in August of 2005 it adopted a resolution calling for the abandonment of all Native American mascots. The APA cited studies showing that these mascots and team names deny Native Americans societal definitions of themselves, create a racially hostile environment, and have a negative impact on the self esteem of Native American children (“APA Resolution Calling for the Immediate Retirement of Native-Themed Mascots,” American Psychological Association.) Although some might object, such as Snyder in his aforementioned letter to fans, that there are many Americans who do not want the name to change and even some in Native American communities who are not offended by the name. I would reply that that is irrelevant. No one gets to decide what is offensive to Native American peoples except for Native Americans themselves, and no single Native American speaks for the thoughts and opinions of so many diverse communities. This issue is of vital importance because it affects the lives, development, and identities of many Native Americans, which should always be prioritized over the preferences or traditions of an

A controversial topic in American sports right now is whether some names and mascots in sports should be changed because its racial and very stereotypical. In 2005, the NCAA ordered 19 colleges such as Arkansas University Indians, Southeastern Oklahoma State Savages to change there name and mascot because the team name was “hostile or abusive” to the American Indians. More than 900 teams in the U.S have N.American names including in the pros, for example some professional teams that had to change their mascots were Chicago Blackhawks and the Atlanta Braves. More recently, the Washington Redskins lost their trademark registration as a result that claimed that the name was “racial designation based on skin color is disparaging to Native Americans.”

     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

These names and mascots that sports teams are using have been negative and stereotypical towards Native Americans. Sports teams have used names like braves, redskins, and chiefs. The word braves has been used to “dehumanize the Indian make and equates him to something less than human.” The word redskins refers to “the bloody

In the recent years the media has sparked a controversy weather names such as the “Redskins” should be changed and this debate still rages on because there is no clear cut answer. I am on the side that Native American mascots should not be changed. First, Native American people see this as a chance for dialogue and conflict resolution. Next, This gives people to have an insight on Native American culture. Finally, many Native Americans feel that the names are not offensive.

Across the nation, sports teams are being forced to change their long standing mascots due to individuals that feel as though they are racial slurs. At the center stands the Washington Redskins. For several years Native Americans have opposed the title “redskins” to be used as a mascot. They feel it is a racial slur with negative meaning behind the name. As a result, Native Americans began a fight to rid all team mascot names countrywide from the high school level to pro, but the mascot names have no negative connotation and should not be protested against.

What exactly is seen as offensive? Different people would answer this question in many different ways. But for some Native Americans today, one of their answers would be the names of major sports teams. For these Native Americans it is unacceptable to use slurs such as “redskins” as a major sports team name. A humanities professor at the University of Houston-Victoria, Macarena Hernandez, would agree (Crowe, ). However, Dr. Philip Suarez, a Redskins fan, believes that the name is not intended to be offensive whatsoever (Crowe ). Many Redskins fans do not consider what the name means for a majority of Native Americans.