Native American Mascot Controversy Essay

Native American themed mascots such as Braves and Warriors should not be used due to the misrepresentation they give of Indians. There are many sports teams and schools that use Native American themed mascots. The use of these Native American mascots have created a lot of controversy among people. One side of the argument centers around the idea that Native American mascots are misrepresented and stereotypical. The other side talks about how Native American themed mascots are used to honor Native Americans. Native American mascots though are a misrepresentation of the Native American people. As stated in the article “Native American-Themed Sports Mascots are Racist and Reinforce Negative Stereotypes” former APA President Ronald F. Levant states that “These mascots are teaching stereotypical, misleading, and too often, insulting images of American Indians.” Teams such as the Washington Redskins, Cleveland Indians, and different schools across are depicting the

There has been a great controversy over whether or not schools and teams keep their Mascots that portray images of Native Americans. Articles in newspapers, websites, and magazines discussing the topic are provided to the public. There is even a press release from the supreme court where they have addressed such issue. Schools, teams, and Native Americans have viewed these documents and taken their own stand on the issue. I am going to decide whether or not cities/teams should get rid of their Native American mascots/nicknames. In doing so, evidence will be provided stating that the mascots are not meant to become a slur, Natives are alright with the idea of having a mascot named after them, and what the Supreme Court decides.

Is using Native Americans as mascots for sports teams offensive? It does not matter if it is a high school or a college, sometimes even the NFL. Examples of sports teams that use Native Americans images are Washington Redskins, Florida State Seminoles, and a high school Cherokee Braves. It is not offending and there should not be any problem because it is not making fun of anybody. Using Native American images and names in professional, collegiate, and high schools sport teams does not reinforce and perpetuate stereotypes because it symbolizes their culture, shows that they are ready to play, and appreciates their coexistence.

Sports team’s mascots have been known to have the most stereotypical features. These mascots are offensive towards Native Americans, because mascots have feathers, headdresses, and even braids and mohawks. Mascots in the past have made it look as if them and their teams have no respect or common decency for Native Americans. Some of the most offensive features of these mascots are the mascots having weird, and misshapened faces. For example the mascot for the Cleveland indians.

Over the past few years, the controversy over sports names or mascots has increasingly become an uproar. The main sports teams being targeted due to controversial mascots are programs having names that deal with Native Americans. Well known programs, such as, the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, and the Washington Redskins are just a few of the many teams being targeted due to controversial team names and/or mascots. Currently, the Redskins are receiving the most heat from racial groups. However, professional sport teams are not the only teams receiving negative remarks; there are well known colleges that are also receiving huge blows for racial symbols.

"The team and its leaders are so obsessed with clinging to a dictionary-defined racial slur that they are willing to abandon their hometown and local fans in order to continue degrading Native Americans," said Joel Barkin, spokesman for the grassroots campaign. "Now that Bruce Allen has been relieved of day-to-day responsibilities as general manager he must have a lot of free time on his hands to double down on this racist moniker and try to figure out what to do about Native Americans returning donations from the team. Unfortunately, Bruce Allen, team owner Dan Snyder and the Washington team fail to understand that you cannot buy acceptance of continued racism. The Washington Redskins football team through the years has been put under increasing pressure to change its name in order to stop causing offense to Native

The Washington D.C football team has started a controversy with many people that are from the American Indian background. The “indian” sports mascot, logos, or symbols show an image of the Native American people that is not true. To some this may concerning, but to others this is no big deal. I think that this is something that people and teams should care or think about.

“Redskin” is an extremely derogatory term used to describe the reputed color of a Native American 's skin tone. Along with the simply disrespectful terminology, the phrase has a history of being used alongside bounty for the scalping of Native Americans, so it is without a doubt offensive to many people. Washington 's choice to continue using the word as a name for their popular sports team has been the cause of much controversy. Despite the pleas of millions of people, advocacy groups and even government officials to change the name, the sports team remains unchanged. Even the United States Patent and Trademark Office has refused the renewal of their name, logo and likeness, citing the combination as “disparaging to Native Americans" National public opinion polls have found that 60 to 83 percent of the general public supports the teams ' decision to continue using the name, yet only a small majority of fans think the term is offensive to Native

Reynolds constructs an interesting correlation of government intervention regarding culture in this matter to the same government intervention that Native Americans had to deal with for much of their history in the United States (659). In this particular portion of her article, she makes the argument that this is the exact same issue that Native Americans have fought against for so long, the government’s right to act and regulate issues of culture (659). Reynolds states, “More government is not the answer to a community concern” (659). Her argument clarifies that this a local issue and thus should be decided locally and not handled by the federal or state governments (659). She is worried that a negative message may be sent to students if schools do change their mascots.

Why Some Sports Teams May Have to Change Their Name Have you ever been offended by a name that someone has called you? More likely than not, the answer to this question is yes. This is the stand that some Indian tribes and the government are taking on the use of Indian names and mascots in sports. This controversial topic has been discussed and argued over for at least the last decade, if not longer.

Couple teams that carry names that are very offensive to the natives are the Atlanta Braves, Chicago Blackhawks, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Chiefs, and arguably the most popular of them all, the Washington Redskins. These teams carrying such names bring offense to all the native

Recently, the use of controversial words has become a heavily debated topic and has gained international attention as seemingly truthful statements to some, cause insult to others. The Times article "Why 'Redskins' Is a Bad Word", by acclaimed linguist and professor John McWhortor, was published around the time the use of the word Redskin was being debated. In the article, McWhortor aims to clarify the condemnation of the word Redskin, by suggesting that the offence does not stem from the literal definition of such words, but instead the negative and often derogatory connotations the words have. McWhorter begins by introducing the recent discussions surrounding the use of the word Redskins, especially the actions taken by Californian schools

Deloria pleads, “Not even Indians can relate themselves to this type of creature who, to the anthropologists, is the ‘real’ Indian […]” (Dennison, 8). It is easy to ignore how much these misconceptions limit the people subject to them. These harmful misconstructions are seen everyday, in settings like sports, particularly the football team the Washington Redskins. Finally we see a major figure, in this case, FedEx, publicly reject the identity. This is a step towards unlocking American Indian potential, which affects the United States in just as many ways.

However, the plan to educate and culture Native American never really got traction, with very few Native American students being enrolled. Dartmouth, nonetheless, adopted their image for the school’s mascot, and as it turned out, greatly exploited it. In the Hovey Murals, depicted and painted by Walter Beach Humphrey, we see how Dartmouth used the Native American image disrespectfully. Throughout

After American colonists took what belongs to them, the narrator calls out to the audience to at least give Native Americans one small thing: the name of a mascot. Native Americans have sustained a longstanding sense of pride and dignity. Through an emotional appeal, the images and footage of children present hope for change. The ad presents the possibility that the Washington Redskins mascot can change, continuing this deep pride and