The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines mascot as, “a person, animal, or object used as a symbol to represent a group (such as a sports team) and to bring good luck.” Hopeful sports teams around the United States rely on their mascots to bring in positive energy as motivation to help win the game. The mascot often serves as the face of a team, and acts to define the team’s character to their opponents. The mascots represent the community that the team belongs to, and that is a big role. When a mascot is offensive or isolates a particular group of people, the mascot can also bring negative attention to the team. The negative publicity will often result in a mascot change. Many of the most controversial mascots in history have been caricatures of indigenous peoples. One of the most famous is “the Chicago Redskins,” with a picture of a Native American on its flag. There has been an on-going campaign to change the name by fans of the NFL, which have been dismissed by the owner, Dan Snyder, and the NFL alike. Despite the mascot being portrayed in a positive light, it is still representing a stereotype and encouraging racism. Chicago sports teams seem to admire the fighting spirit of the Native Americans, hockey fans cheer on “the Chicago Blackhawks.” Again the mascot is an Indian, fully dressed with feathers and face paint. While many people are offended by the use of a particular race of people being used as a mascot, The Executive Vice President of the Blackhawks tribe doesn’t seem to mind, calling the team’s logo “respectful and proud.” The Florida State University “Seminoles” managed to escape a name change due to outrage over a new rule by the NCAA, banning the use of American Indians as mascots. The Florida Seminole Tribe endor... ... middle of paper ... ...face, they suggest that being a trinket used to bring good fortune to the team is all they are worth as a race. The universities help to oppress them even more by ignoring their culture and making them the “Redskins that bring the team luck.” Most importantly, they isolate these people by their race, essentially saying the “redskins” are not like the other races. A sports team capitalizes on a mascots positive energy to bring them luck before a game. Sometimes, a school’s ignorance can encourage racism and stereotyping to bring negativity to the race that they are oppressing. While their heart is in the right place, the mascots should be changed. American Indians are not savage warriors like the mascots suggest, they should be known for their rich history and amazing culture. If there is equality among all of the races, maybe everyone would have positive energy.
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.
The author Justin Angle says how in a study the mascots and names were shown to people unfamiliar with Native American culture and the sport teams, in the end of the study most of the participants viewed Native American’s as “war like”, which can carry negative consequences in the real world affecting the views of some future employers, creating a view that though Native American’s can be seen as strong and bold they can also have been perceived as violent and irrational. The uses of Redskins also create the belief that it is culturally appropriate for the constant use of Native American culture this has led to thousands of schools and sports teams to have questionable mascots and names. Such as the Savages from Salmon High school and the baseball team the “Indians” whose mascot was a hooked nose red skinned Indian with bucked teeth. Comparing this to the now frowned upon depiction of African American as black red lipped stereotyped popular in the 1920s advertisements does it not show similarities in a cultures becoming a caricature. While one is view as racist the other is view and honorable due to it representing one of the greatest passtimes in America,
In the past few years, the controversy over Native American and other racial sport names or mascots have become an uproar. The main sport teams that are being targeted due to controversial mascots are programs having names dealing with Native Americans. Many teams are well known programs such as the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, and the Washington Redskins. The Redskins are receiving the most heat from racial groups. According to Erik Brady of USA Today “The volatility surrounding such names has amped up in the year since Daniel Snyder, owner of Washington's NFL club, told USA TODAY Sports that he'd never change his team's name: ‘NEVER — you can use caps.’” (3). However, professional teams are not the only teams receiving negative remarks,
In regards to the use of Indian mascots by elementary, middle and high school sports teams, I feel that children should be exposed to realistic and positive portrayals of American Indians during their educational years rather than something that can be taken as bigoted. It is the responsibility of educators to set the example and teach the youth of today to respect other ethnic or minority peoples - NOT to exploit or disrespect them by using them as 'mascots' or stereotypical 'images' which perpetuates racism.
There is a lot of controversy surrounding elementary, middle and high schools using Native American mascots because it gives them stereotypes of the tribe or people before they learn about them. It is felt that it would give them stereotypes of the Native American people being fierce and wild people who kill and hunt. The problem with this is that for many Indian tribes, that is the case. In the case of the Seminoles, they have an entire war named after them, and people want us to believe that they did not kill. The arguments provided by people opposed to these mascots also state that it is racist and demeaning to the tribe.
There is considerable controversy that dates back to the 1960’s over sports teams’ names that reference Native American heritage. “The National Congress of American Indiana’s (NCIA) created a campaign in 1968 to eliminate stereotypes found in print and other media.” (ChangeTheMascot.org). The American Indian community has worked for many years to abolish the right to use Native American Names, spiritual and cultural symbols by professional sports teams (Teters) that they feel offensive. The Washington Redskins football team continues to battle a long standing controversy to change their name. Native Americans, politicians, fans of American football, as well as the general public all seem to have opposing viewpoints regarding if this team should be forced to change their name out of respect to those offended.
In the article “Indian Mascots- You’re out,” Jack Shakely discusses how colleges, and professional sports team portray Native Americans as their mascots. Shakely argues that when most schools or teams are coming up with mascots or team names that they may be only doing it for the money that can be brought into the franchise of the professional team or to the college team. Shakely also says that when it comes to removing the mascots that are offend people that it may be hard and costly, but it is the right thing to do.
Times have changed - what was acceptable 30 years ago may not hold up in today’s world. Racially offensive mascots have created division - not unity. If teams like the Indians, Braves and Redskins were to change their names and update their branding, they could potentially benefit more than by holding on to offensive, outdated traditions. Why would a professional sports organization settle for fewer fans, less revenue, and an image that offends its own citizens? By...
A large part of a sports team is the mascot. They are known for getting the crowds and even the teams hyped up before any game. They are going around and talking or dancing to people before, in-between, and after the games. The mascots for any sport can range in what they are, but a portion those that are involved, are of the Native American Culture. There are over 30 teams that have a mascot or team name that reference or mimic some form of Native American culture (Valadez). To some this has become very offensive and is no longer something to be tolerated. Native American author Jack Shakely makes the argument in his article Indian Mascots – You’re Out, that the time has come to an end for Native American Culture to be used as propaganda.
Expert: Sport mascots must be proficient all through the ensemble. They must have the capacity to work freely and as a major aspect of a group. They ought to be thoughtful, amenable, versatile, ready to think rapidly, have solid interpersonal aptitudes, be capable, and be arranged to skillfully manage any circumstance. Sport mascots ought to likewise have the capacity to interface absolutely with kids and know how to manage injurious and frightful kids.
In her article, Hoffman explained how there was never a time that her and her community thought of their “Reddy Redskin” and a derogatory slur. In Hoffmann’s community, Chowchilla, the town derived from the tribe of the Chaushila Yokut Indian tribe, meaning bravery. She owes a large part of who she is to her heritage of being a Chowchilla Redskin. Local school district Superintendent explains “We don’t call those offended by the term Redskins, Redskins. We call ourselves Redskins. We use the term as a sense of pride, respect and honor. We don’t use it in a derogatory way (Hoffmann).” In small communities, like Chowchilla, with generations of Redskin alumni, the Redskin name change is widely opposed and makes it an even more sentimental topic. The pride these High Schools have for their Redskin mascot isn’t “Warpaint and racial slurs” it’s pride and honor for the Native American tribes that once walked and ruled the
Putting Indians on a helmet shows how America “owns” them. “Not only do Indians have to deal with the fallout of being ‘conquered’ people...the shame of being men who descended from those unable to protect our women...the shame of being women who descended from those raped and tortured…” but they also have to deal with being reminded of the events that happened in the past. Constantly being reminded of these events is disrespectful and torture. In the past, the Indians were helpless against the pilgrims and were unable to do anything to protect their people. Since the name of the mascot is broadcasted visually, Redskins just reminds them that they were owned and still remain to be. Just like corporate America copyrighting their inventions, in Dan Snyder’s position in his letter to the Washington Redskins fans, he continues to want to “own” the name Redskins. Snyder’s action of keeping the team name shows his power of “sustain[ing] long term success if this franchise.” American Indians are being disrespected in this manner by being seen as a franchise instead of a group of people. Especially since such a big issue like this is just for a sports game, it is demeaning for American Indian’s
Redskins, Seminoles, Tribe, Indians, what do they all have in common? They are all athletic team names under scrutiny by people who deem them as being racist. For years, people have argued over the fact that these names and/or mascots are being used in a negative way. Some have been changed while others are still being argued over. Teams with these mascots should not be forced to change their names because the majority of Native Americans are not even bothered by these sports names.
Sports teams that have Indian names or mascots are offensive to Native culture and their
The next reason we’ll be looking at are the stereotypical images commonly seen in literature and mascots. Mainstream media such as “Dances with Wolves”, “The Lone Ranger”, and “The Last of The Mohicans” and mascots in professional sports teams like Washington Redskins, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, and Chicago Blackhawks all include representations of Native Americans that for some, are offensive. With this in mind, ...