Offensive for Sports Teams to Use Native American Names and Mascots? Imagine you’re sitting in a stadium of screaming fans, all around you people are yelling their support, “Go Chiefs!” To some this is being considered a bad thing. It isn’t offensive for sports teams to use Native American names and mascots because it’s an honor to be a mascot and other groups of people are also symbolized by mascots. First off, the definition of a mascot is “An animal, person, or thing adopted by a group as its representative symbol and supposed to bring good luck” (Dictionary). A mascot is something people are proud of and rally behind, it’s an honor to be a mascot. Karl Swanson, vice-president of the Washington Redskins professional football team, declared in the magazine Sports Illustrated that his team's name "symbolizes courage, dignity, and leadership," and that the "Redskins symbolize the greatness and strength of a grand people.” (Wikipedia). In 2002 Sport Illustrated conducted a survey and found that 81% of Native Americans not living on a reservation and 53% of Native Americans living on a reservation didn’t find this discriminatory (Wikipedia). Many Native Americans don't have a problem with being a mascot. …show more content…
Anil Adyanthaya, an attorney, wrote on June 5, 2005, "They are no different from other school nicknames such as Trojans and Spartans (like Aztecs, ancient peoples) or Fighting Irish and Flying Dutchmen (like Seminoles, nationalities). Similarly, Warriors and Braves are no different from the fighting men of other cultures, like Vikings, Minutemen, or Musketeers (all current NCAA mascots, the first of which is also an NFL mascot) so it seems hard to argue that their use is uniquely demeaning in some way.” (Wikipedia). I don't think we can consider it offensive to use Native American names and mascots without considering it offensive for all groups of people represented by
The author Tex G. Hall is explaining Native American team sports mascots are racist. He is testifying for many other people as well. He makes a very sensible are you and uses the motion and great facts facts. The way his argument is structured is very engaging. He first off thanks many people for bringing this controversy to everyone 's attention.
His problem is not with the use of the name like Indian or Brave, but with the way that the mascot of the team will act or look. He uses the mascot Chief Noc-A-Homa as an example because the team has him run out doing war dances and act like “the village idiot”(Shakely 647). The team eventually retired these mascots because of all the criticism the team was receiving for it. Shakely also refers to another team that had to retire their old mascot, which was the University of Illinois fighting Illini. Once the stereotypical mascot was replaced, the connection with the team name even being Indian was
Is it Offensive For Sports to Use Native American Names and Mascots? Do you think that its offensive to use Native American names and mascots? It is not offensive for sports to use Native American mascots and names because the name could show where they are from and the names that theses teams have that are “offensive” are actually very popular names. First off the mascot that they choose to represent there team might show where they are from.
Noah Augustine, former chief of Metepenagiag Mi'kmaq Nation, delivered a great essay on how culturally and morally ridiculous, it is to use Native symbols for sports team logos. He effectively talked about how offensive it really is to make ridicule of cultural symbols by using facts and real-life events. He is also helped by the use of analogy, diction and rhetorical questions to achieve this. Augustine, impressively used an analogy to persuade a wide range of readers as he makes a connection between other cultures and how they would feel if they were put in the same shoes as the Natives were in. He goes on to say, “Nonetheless, for me, as an Aboriginal person, the use of these religious symbols and caricatures of Indian chiefs or spiritual
The Fighting Sioux Name Change The University of North Dakota, found themselves in a battle against the Standing Rock and Spirit Tribes a few years back. The Standing Rock and Spirit Tribes found the term “Fighting Sioux” and the Indian head logo disrespectful and, in fact; racist toward their heritage. After Brittany Bergstrom, the author of The Fighting Sioux: The End of a Legacy? spoke with some of the students from University of North Dakota she starts to notice that changing the name is just as offensive to them as the name itself is to the Standing Rock and Spirit Tribes. “When the ‘Fighting Sioux’ lawsuit came about, I had really never thought one way or the other about the name… I became very defensive over the name.
For the past years, different groups and organizations have wanted to change the mascot. To these groups and organizations, they felt that the mascot was offensive and disrespectful to them. Some Native Americans states that use of their imagery under the name “Indians” is offensive viewing Indians as warriors like in the back in the wild west. Here are some reasons why we need to keep the mascot 1) it is a symbol of our school that we take pride in.
Is it possible to take offense to something as simple as a team name? The Washington Redskins were originally known as the Boston Braves. When the team moved to the nation’s capital the name was changed to honor the first head coach who identified as a Sioux Indian (Leiby). Many Native Americans find the use of this name offensive and even racist while others are flattered by the mentioning of their ancestry. Over the past several decades there have been many protestors against the use of this term for the NFL team in Washington D.C.
The Effect of Racist Mascots and Sports Teams on Native Americans Native Americans have had to deal with stereotypes, racism, and discrimination for hundreds of years and while many like to believe that racism over, it is still present in day to day life for many Native Americans. Using Native Americans as mascots or team names is harmful to Native American culture and representation as it normalizes racism and stereotypes towards Native Americans. The use of mascots and team names that reference Native Americans has helped to perpetuate negative stereotypes against Native Americans by appropriating their culture, and disregarding their opinions and views in favor of the dominant culture. The use of team names and mascots that refer to Native
These mascots are disrespectful to the natives and pressure people to create stereotypes for the cultures. However, people think that the mascots are a way to honor the indigenous people and other cultures. We shouldn’t use mascots to honor the different cultures instead we should honor them in a way that’s not mocking them. Works Cited Ipatenco, Sara. “Pros and Cons of Indian Mascots.”
Ellie Reynolds advances a rhetorically effective argument on why government should not have regulatory control over offensive Native American mascots in schools across the country. She believes this control is more of a detriment to society than a service. Her article published on the DenverPost.com, “Native Americans Have Become a Political Pawn,” offers a compelling point of view on this controversial issue because Reynolds is a member of the Oglala Sioux tribe herself (Reynolds 659). Along with her strong view against government involvement on this issue, which she considers censorship by political correctness, Reynolds uses her personal experience, historical context, and the negative effects of political correctness to convey her effective
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.
Native American education has a low quality rate, is decreasing at a rapid rate, and have some of the lowest performing schools in the country . Native Americans are not getting the amount of school that other students get. There is a poor graduation rate and it has not has much progress in the last few years. The graduation rate has increased in the last few years, but lately, it has been at a stationary rate. Students of this ethnicity are getting poor educations and have a bad chance of getting chances of having a good life when they grow up, The number of native american graduates is very low and is pretty stationary.
However, the underlying truth is that teams with names like these are meant to honor and represent the pride and strength these tribes have had throughout their history. "We Seminoles embrace the mascot... they honor us", says James Billie, the tribes chairman. When he claims this statement, he is referring to their mascots having more than the appearance of calling out a specific race but to recognize the ones who deserve the merit (source C). People who find this so offensive don 't realize that in reality we are all hypocritical.
I noticed the tremendous amount of discussion being faced about the controversy of the Cleveland Indians mascot, Chief Wahoo. Is this entire thing a racial slur or just a way to honor our Native Americans? Even though some might think that it is an honor to the Native Americans that Chief Wahoo is the mascot, but there is a whole other side of the argument. I believe the Cleveland Indians should ban their mascot.
This name is supposed to honor Native Americans not offend them. . Some believe that the Washington Redskins, should change their name because some think that the name is nothing but a racial slur; others believe that