Native American Mascots

In a majority of cases, this view is even endorsed by the tribes themselves (Morrison). They argue that the restriction and ultimate elimination of the Native American mascot would also abolish the nation’s historic view of this cultural entity as characters of strength, determination, boldness, resourcefulness and courage. They contend that these same positive attributes are not only required by athletes, but are held expectations of the sporting community. The pursuant argument entails that there is an inherent oddity in the suggestion that naming a team after an Indian tribe is a calculated insult.

Have you ever wonder what is the big deal with teams with Native Americans name? I'm going to tell you about the argument with teams that have Native Americans such as the Washington Redskins. With a lot of people trying to get the Washington Redskins to change their because it's racist, they still don't because the cost of name change and uniforms, and quiet simply their is not enough support to change it.

The year is 1991.  The Atlanta Braves had just completed their first trip to the Fall Classic in four decades, and the Washington Redskins were undefeated, well on their way to their third Super Bowl title.  All across the eastern seaboard, sports fans were tasting success - while American Indians were in an uproar.  This year witnessed the peak of the protests over the use of mascots with American Indian themes.  With two of the major professional sports teams in question making front-page news across the country, many of us heard American Indians' complaints for the first time.  Suddenly, thanks to the cries of thousands of demonstrators, the names of many Americans' favorite teams had become synonymous with "nigger."

Do schools and professional teams using Native Americans as mascots do not affect Native Americans in a negative way. Joseph F. Healey and Eileen O'Brien say, “Simply putting on a mascot uniform isn't hurting anyone

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.

Mascots are not harmful to Native Americans. The AP reports, “ At Florida State, Wetherell said the NCAA was trying to embarrass the school for using its nickname,even though the Seminole Tribe of Florida has given the university permission to continue using it,” (AP 2005). None of the Mascots display discriminatory or abusive behavior towards other members of another race. The Native Americans do not feel that it displays them in a negative light. Many sports teams want their team to show school pride. The image of the Native Americans embodies pride.

Sports teams across the country are all represented by a mascot. A mascot is used in a variety of ways, but mainly to represent a team’s identity and motivate both players and fans alike to bring out the competitive spirit. Many teams are represented with normal names and themes, while some are more controversial such as the Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Blackhawks, Cleveland Indians, Florida State Seminoles, Atlanta Braves, and Washington Redskins (to name a few). A prickly topic for years, even decades the usage of Native American mascots continues to strike controversy in fans, players, alumni, as well as disinterested fans. Depending on who you talk to, it’s a stain on the organizations it affects or is it a way of honoring those who

“As the nation’s oldest, largest, and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native advocacy organization, NCAI has long held a clear position against derogatory and harmful stereotypes of Native people—including sports mascots—in media and popular culture” (“Ending the Era of Harmful ’Indian’ Mascots” 1). Native Americans have been used as mascots and names for several high school, college, and professional teams such as the Washington Redskins with their Native American mascot. The term “Redskins” or any other term about Native Americans should not be used for any sports teams at any level, because it implies a snide nature, that it damages how people perceive their culture, and how Native American children perceive themselves.

Native american teams have been and continue to be some of the most beloved and heralded teams in all of sports. The Washington Redskins, Chicago Blackhawks and the Florida State Seminoles all have sports teams with fan bases that most other teams could only dream about. People continue to fill the stands no matter what their record because the love for these teams. The Redskins fans sing “Hail the Redskins” at home game. I could see the name Redskins or Redmen being offensive if the actions behind it were a derogatory, but the fact that people embrace the names, pass on their love for the team to their children and hopefully teach them the history of the native american people make it the exact opposite. The use of these names might be the

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

They lump a diverse group of people, who have different backgrounds, beliefs and cultures, into one group, and ignore the individual and unique aspects of each tribe. For example, Bruce Anderson, a Native American and columnist at the Washington Post said, “It confuses my race with a brand name.” The name Redskins creates a culture of stereotyping. The team logo does not accurately represent a Native American. This image is confusing and misleads sports fans into believing this caricature is representative of the group, and it is not. This logo or image, makes it acceptable for people to mock or make fun of minorities such as Native Americans, something which should never be acceptable. It confuses children, who are taught from a very young age to be tolerant and accepting of others. It confuses Americans, who spend so much time and energy battling the bullying problem in America. There is a difference between what we teach in our schools, and what we model as acceptable behavior. We need to provide a consistent message-that negative stereotypes are unacceptable no matter what the

What is considered offensive? Is it considered offensive to use obscenities around children? According to many people in the United States, it is sport team names and mascots that depict a certain group of people are considered offensive. People around the United States are trying to get professional sport teams to change their names and mascots because they feel it depicts their certain race in bad way. Teams should have to change their mascot and their name if they are named after a certain group of people.

Almost everybody loves going to sporting events and seeing all the excited fans as well as the energized mascots. There has been quite a variety of mascots and logos seen in schools whether it be high schools or colleges and in professional leagues. According to a search done by an ESPN FiveThirtyEight reporter through a database known as MascotDB, out of the 42,624 teams in the database at the time there were 2,129 sports teams that have reference to Native Americans (Munguia). That’s about a five percent of all mascots while Native American only make up roughly two percent of the population of the United States in 2014 (US Census). There has been much debate and controversy around mascots and team names that reference Native American throughout the years and gaining more attention especially with the most public debate regarding National

“Puritanism. The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy” (Mencken). This famous quote by H.L. Mencken portrays an unfavorable view of Puritanism that is reflected in the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is the historical tale of a young Puritan woman, the protagonist Hester Prynne, whose sin of adultery has a significant effect on the lives of three different people: her daughter Pearl Prynne, her husband Roger Chillingworth, and her lover and town clergyman Arthur Dimmesdale. Her sin exposes the cruel reality of Puritans and their society, as their societal and faithful values constantly conflict. These characteristics are emphasized in the novel, as Hawthorne expresses his beliefs of Puritanism through Hester’s

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