Native American Mascots Analysis

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.

this makes teams look ignorant. Mascots imply that all Natives have to be a dark brown color, have big noses, and long wavy black hair. Examples of these stereotypical mascots are the Washington Redskins, FSU, Cherokee Braves, and any other school with a racist mascot. Native Americans find that when we use their people as mascots we are making them look like savages. Native Americans are offended by racist nicknames, logos, and stereotypes in sports. Using Native American images and names in professional, collegiate, and high school sports teams does reinforce and perpetuate stereotypes.

Sports teams use "Indian," as well as many other mascots with related themes, to honor those who are native to

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.

Using Native American mascots for sports logos is offensive to their culture because the creators of these images use exaggerated features that only portray all the negative stereotypes that people think about Native Americans.

To reach a compromise, a person must be able argue effectively, but also not ignite or be hostile towards the opposing arguer. An argument is an exchange of diverging or opposite views but it does not need to be a belligerent debate because it leads to a verbal stalemate. The Rogerian Method, derived from psychologist, Carl Rogers, is a way for two parties to peacefully argue to avoid an adversarial approach. An example of effective use of the Rogerian Method is in “Is The Use of American Indian Mascots Racist?,” written by Jane Willy discussing that the use of Native American tribe names is not meant to be condescending or demeaning.

The lack of accurate representation of Native Americans in our everyday lives has left members of society without more than a stereotype to draw from when thinking about characteristics of Native Americans. Native Americans have “relative invisibility” in mainstream media and this lets the few inaccurate portrayals, such as a sports team’s mascot, have an overwhelming amount of power in forming stereotypes (Fryberg, Markus, Oyserman, Stone, 2008, pg. 208). Many members of society have a very narrow view of what they understand a Native American to look, dress, and act. These ideas mostly come from what they see in media through the caricatures used as mascots, childhood cartoons, and similar

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

A common question about this topic is, “Insult or Honor?” Professional clubs aren’t the only ones with Native American names and mascots. Teams across our nation are preaching constantly it 's for honor not as an insult. The public views on

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.

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

The answer is no, Native Americans should not be represented as mascots. Hopefully, soon in the future we will gain justice for this. For now, we

     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

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