Sport In Native American Culture

Native Americans symbols and culture exemplify the things that we admire in our athletes strength, endurance and courage. However ,the way that we use these symbols can be offensive and hurtful to the very people that we want to honor. In this paper , I will discussed how teams are mocking and being disrespectful to the Native American culture.

Have you ever wonder how the world was created from another culture’s perspective? Native Americans used creation myths to explained to their people how the world was developed overtime. Creation myths are a big part of the Native American culture. they have been passed down from generation to generation. In the creation myths, harmony with nature, rituals, and strong social values are shown in each myths. The purpose of having strong social value in these myths is to teach younger Native Americans valuable lesson if they ever do something bad. These myths reveals how the rituals were created and their intentions for doing it. Creation myths has harmony with nature in it to show a very close kinship between them

Because sports are very important to many people, and have been since the days of the Romans, there is much pride and honor in sports; however, there is something that has tainted the image of sports and athletes alike:

Sports have been apart of society since the beginning of written history. Sports have also been separated in genders for centuries due to the physical and mental uniqueness of both genders. People take pride in sports. In some families and to communities sports are imbedded in their social infrastructure; it is very important to their identities. Sports are very tradition based seasonal, rules, and even attire. This has made rituals in sports very easy to pass down from generation to generation. Even though times and society has changed rules, traditions, and conservative individuals have not. There is one particular case in the world of golf that illustrates this point perfectly.

Sports of old were merely competitive activities rooted in heroism and romanticism. Sports activities today, however, have no such innocence or simplicity. Currently in America, the activities that make up our sports culture is not only the competitive events themselves but the processes and issues that underlie and surround them. Entwined in our sports culture is the giant business of mass broadcasting. Indeed, sports and the media go hand in hand like peanut butter and jelly, like Mickey and Minnie, Darth Vader and Luke. They are intertwined and depend on each other to continue to grow. Sports media includes television, radio, magazines, newspapers, books, films, and, now, most importantly, social media devices provided by the

Native American culture originated in some parts North America. These countries are known as the United States of America and some parts of Canada. In the United States, there are 6.6 million Native Americans, which form about 2.0 percent of the population (Bureau, 2016). Europe had realized there were about 50 million people already living the “new world” and these people were called Native Americans. Native Americans were originally called Indians, but later through history they formed a new name. These people were called this because of them being native to the “new world” and the American part came after the colonist named the United States. Throughout history, Native Americans believed that using raw material in nature was the best way to provide for their people. Their culture thought no part of an animal should go to waste. They would eat the meat, use the skin for clothing, and make jewelry from the bones. Over the years a lot of their culture and customs were lost due to conforming with society. Their languages were referred to as “Indigenous Languages” because of them being extremely complicated and diverse. Some important factors that help understand the foundation of Native American culture are their rituals/practices, death ceremonies, holidays, family, and stereotypes.

First, Price states that sports being a form of religion is not conclusive to modern American culture. From the Greeks to the Native Americans, sports have always had great observance and significance on the religious level. Price cites Charles Lippy in conveying that the media is an imperative element of considering sports to be a form of popular religion. The

Historically, Native Americans are the weakest minority economically and politically in the United States. Unlike African-Americans or Hispanic-Americans, the indigenous-American population has received very little political power and even less economic status than they had in the 1950’s. The use of the image of Native Americans, tribal names and images, though romanticized as great chiefs and warriors in the sports arena, are none-the-less being exploited to the great monetary gain of the franchisee but not to the financial or psychological reward of the people whom

The central idea of “Why sports history is American history” by Mark Naison, The Glider Lehrman Institute of American History is, how the influence of African Americans, Italians, and Jewish people to migrate them into sports.

From lacrosse to the blanket toss, sports in native traditions have evolved and endured. Whether their origins are spiritual, survival, or entertainment based, sports have always played and continue to play an important role in Native American culture. Lacrosse originated in the Iroquois Confederacy, Lacrosse sticks were made out of saplings and the balls were made of wood. There were sometimes hundreds of players to a team, and the field of play often extended for miles. The objective of the game was the same as it is today: to get your ball in the opponent's goal. Not only did lacrosse provide a means to challenge oneself physically-it was nicknamed the "little brother of war"-it was also considered a gift from the Creator, played for various spiritual

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

Sports are extremely popular around the world and only get more popular as time goes on. Sports is on television (TV), in the news, in the newspaper, and online. It only makes sense that this is the case. A sporting event is the ultimate drama. The variability of a game is what gets people so into it. Sports can tell a story, and teach great life lessons as well as inspire people. If sports are that important to the people around the world who watch it, just think about how important sports are to the ones who actually play it and coach it. It is their passion, their persona, their life. With the media’s harsh expectations of teams today, unless a team wins a championship, they are deemed unsuccessful. Since expectations are so high,

The topic that I chose for this ethnographic interview was sports in American culture. Sports are popular in America, and are a big part of the culture in America. I would say most people in America have played sports, whether they played as kids, in high school, at the collegiate level, or even professional. A great deal of people also enjoy watching sporting events. The following were the questions asked during the interview. How have sports affected your life? Why do you think sports are so popular in America’s culture? How are sports a part of the culture in America? What do you think about the amount of money spent on spectator sports?

In modern day America sports are a very important part of our culture, because we are constantly watching sports and participating in sports. In any sport we watch mythology is present. The very act itself of playing the sport is reflective of old roman times when gladiators would kill for the crowds entertainment although today instead of killing its by hitting a home run or scoring a goal. “At their best, sports are about the extraordinary capacities of the human spirit.”(Wolter). These athletes can become extremely popular to the point were they are viewed as superhuman just like in myths, and there is a reason because the best athletes in their respective sport do what no average person could do. “The most legendary performances speak of almost super-human feats: the sub 4 minute mile, Michael Jordan’s flu stricken playoff

Sports, admittedly, have had a huge impact on our culture. Some of us even use sports as an excuse to gather our family for some quality time with each other, whether they just hangout for the sake of entertainment or engage in a meaningful conversation full of fervid passion when discussing spectacular plays, athletes, and coaches. However, people talk about the multitude of positive traits that sports are associated with, one must be informed about the abundance of issues that sports face; issues that keep sports from being what we want it to be- free from malicious intent and more along the lines of a peaceful collaboration perpetuated by authentic equality; coming together to proclaim our love for the game. Inequality, for example, is