Native American Mascots Essay

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.

Team mascots who are in reference to Native Americans are sought for entertainment purposes. This arguably conveys a negative message to the nation’s youth, as they are brought up seeing a legitimate culture degraded to a school football mascot. The publisher takes a bold approach to legitimize the sensitivity of the issue. “Would you support a team called the Peoria Kikes or the Birmingham N******? If not, how do you justify the continuation of a name like the Washington Redskins?”

In 1947 the Cleveland Indians introduced the Chief Wahoo logo for their uniforms. In the beginning of the logos days, it was seen as very offensive due to its yellow face and large nose. Many Native Americans were upset with the baseball teams decision to create such a disrespectful logo to represent the Cleveland Indians. Eventually the organization realized its fault and recreated the Chief Wahoo logo. They made the nose smaller and revealed the red faced caricature we have today.

In Robert Utley’s article, he describes how remembering the battle for Native Americans is often accompanied by negative emotions (72). Although this battle was a victory for the Native Americans, it was one of many battles fueled by discrimination and racism that inevitably resulted in their homeland being stolen from them. By naming the battlefield and monument after Custer, it represented a celebration of oppression and racism among white Americans. Utley made a point in his article that “the Battle of Little Bighorn involved two sets of antagonists…, but the monumentation commemorates only one, the losers” (72). It is peculiar how even though the Native Americans won the battle, the Americans soldiers were the only ones honored and labeled as heroes to the American government and people.

Wulf acknowledges that it is inappropriate for teams to continue to use mascots that appropriate another culture. Not only is this rude it 's inconsiderate to those who have to live with the nicknames given to those mascots. Wulf argues that “Racist and derogatory team names have real and harmful effects on [American Indian/Alaska Native] people every day, particularly young people.”(Wulf).

People of color who grow up in America believe that their race/culture is not important because they are ashamed of there culture. People of color try to hide who they really are to fit into other races. This relates to me, because I am arabic and not a lot of people like arabs because they think i am a terrorist and i am going to bomb them. Growing up in America as a boy of another race I sometimes feel I like i want to change my race and i feel ashamed that feel that way about my race/culture.

If Kathleen, or any of the Godfrey’s were to visit New Mexico they would see reservations as a justice because they were not deserving of an existence as the ancient people. Natives would righteously be put away from society because they were not as peaceful or civilized. Or Natives would need be assimilated until they were more like the ancient people, or more American. Tom’s stories leave a big mess for Natives to clear up. Because of stories like his, they need to vindicate themselves from falsehoods of savagery found in his story.

Pocahontas Assignment 1. Why does Pewewardy believe that misrepresentation of American Indians in films can be harmful to this community? Pewewardy stresses the damaging effects that stereotypes Native Americans face in films pose to the children of Native American communities. These children see themselves as less than human not only thanks to films, but also because of the image of the Native American being used as mascots and logos.

These stereotypes are harmful as they can’t practice their culture or have racial features without being criminalized by western views. Illustrated in An Indian Father’s Plea, Wind-Wolf recognizes the negative portrayal of Native Americans by Western media. Western attitudes fuel western media in which the media displays racial stereotypes of people from different backgrounds with no confrontation. Western attitudes focus upon the aspects of different people that can be mocked than the aspects that should be respected and praised. As Western attitudes infuse into America, people of different backgrounds are the victim of mockery and shame through

Native Americans and Popular Stereotypes Stereotyping others is a huge problem in society today, and Native Americans are no exception to this problem. According to Shusta et al. , (p. 230, 2015) many people in the United States sense that Native Americans were not treated with dignity in U.S. history, but many are not aware of the extent of current societal prejudices against them.

They do not view this as honorable, it is seen as their name being worn as a costume. The cultural appropriation that comes along with these mascots lead to the stereotypes being seen as a reality. So many Native Americans are now fighting for this, they have created a twitter campaign to spread awareness to this. The term “redskins” comes off as racist; it is basing them off of their skin tone and color. Many people who argue that the team name should remain are the same ones who say they do not see your “color of skin”.

She focused more on the cultural offenses of using Native Americans as mascots. She commented, “I think it is offensive to their culture to use them as a mascot.” I was glad someone mentioned the cultural aspect, but there is a deep religious significance to the “props” that people wear to the games. In his book Fair and Foul, Stanley Eitzen discusses how using this is harmful: “The word Indian isn’t offensive . . . but it’s the behavior that accompanies all of this that’s offensive.

These mascots are seen as racist imitations of the Native Americans. There are even football teams such as the “Redskins” team of Washington D.C. that in a way has a negative connotation. For the Native Americans, the term “redskin” is a slur and a generalization of the people and their skin color, basically a stereotype. Many of these mascots run around wearing headdresses, beating drums, and waving tomahawks. These images have led us to relate such things to the Native Americans and it continues to push the stereotype of a Native American.

Is it offencive for sport teams to use Native American names and mascots? Is it really that bad to have a Native American name for a sports teams? Do you think that it is racist? Having a team with a Native American name is not a bad thing. If you have a teams named after specific Nationality group, like the Indians, then that would be splendid because the Indians were feared people, it’s an honor for the Indians, and it would help the Americans remember the Native Americans.

Are team mascots using stereotypes? What about the team names? And their logos? Mascots and team names are stereotypical or offensive.