The Chicago Blackhawks, Washington Redskins, Cleveland

The majority culture defends use of the Native Americans symbols in sports and many are confused by the objections raised by Native Americans. “Team Names represent something positive to the fans, People don’t name teams after things they hate.” (40 What’s in a Team Name, Banks). For example, the University of Georgia selected the “The Georgia Bulldogs as their Mascot.”(What’s in a Team Name). Their attributes are “toughness...and integrity”(What’s in a Team Name) to their mascot. Teams also look

In the late 1960 's the use of Indian names and mascots in sports started to be contested by activists and academics. Many team names and mascots were guilty of appropriating Native American Culture, and needless to say the Native Americans wanted things to change. Many Colleges and Universities responded positively—Stanford University changing from Prince Lightfoot to the Cardinal, Dartmouth College changing from the Indians to Big Green—as well as many smaller schools, from high school to elementary changing mascots out of respect for Native Americans. The major roadblock came about with the professional teams: Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, and of course, the Washington Redskins. These teams have refused to change their names to this day, but the Native Americans and their supporters continue to protest.

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.

A common question about this topic is, “Insult or Honor?” Professional clubs aren’t the only ones with Native American names and mascots. Teams across our nation are preaching constantly it 's for honor not as an insult. The public views on

The Native American people have been apart of America ever since the “white man” came over from Europe. There traditions have been around for as long as they have been alive. They were the first people on the land we call home today. The Native American people have done more for this land than we have and we do not appreciate them at all for that. It is crazy how some people just blow them off like they are less than us and do not get anything special, but they do not also need to be disrespected in the public eye. Professional sports teams that have Native American mascots are used in a way that disrespects the people of Native American descent. It also happens at the high school level and gives the young adults with an biased outlook on the culture and history of these people. Any sports team name with an Native American mascot should have to change there name.

There has been many controversy with teams using Native American name for mascots and has become a major issue in today’s society. Many have viewed the Washington Redskins as honor for Native Americans, others see it racist, insensitive, and demeaning. Woods (2016) claims that “the complaint is that the use of stereotypical team names, mascots, and logos perpetuates an ideology that dehumanizes and demeans the cultures of Native Americans” (p. 298). Since the issue arise, many scholars, journalists and leaders have joined the battle to ensure that each team will eliminate the nicknames since it is considered abusive or hostile. It may take time but the trend is growing. More than 1,400 professional, collegiate,

Dating back several hundreds of years ago, Native Americans have been deprived, dehumanized, and demoralized ever since Christopher Columbus and his men came and seized the land from the Indigenous Peoples. There have been many tactics that have been used to strip the dignity of the Indigenous Peoples, but the use of an American Indian sports mascot is one tactic that has been in effect since 1932. There are some supporters of these various American Indian sports mascots such as Dan Snyder, the current team owner of the Washington Redskins, that do not feel that these sports mascots have any negative connotations. Dan Snyder may have had a few points when he wrote his letter, but he fails to realize that the American Indian Sports Mascots are

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."

The controversy over the naming of sports teams after ethnic groups has been boiling since the mid-twentieth century. Sports teams in America, ranging from Pee-wee leagues, high schools, and colleges to Professional sports, have used any enumeration of nick names and mascots by which to represent their team with pride and sometimes even comedy. However, the lines of political correctness have been greatly and maybe even intentionally blurred in terms of the use of specific ethnic groups within team names and the use of the stereotypical image of those teams’ caricatures, the native-American in particular. Of the four major professional sports team franchises included in the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL that do possess ethnic monikers, only two are of Caucasoid based ethnicity, whereas the other 5 are direct references to Native American ethnicity or stereotypes

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

     Many people do not consider themselves supporting Native American mascots that depict them in a bad manner. But when people walk around with a Atlanta Braves shirt on with a Indian with a tomahawk in his hand, it is degrading to the Indians. It is stereotyping them. School mascots and Sports team’s mascots are named after groups of people for no reason known. Notre Dame was founded by Irish Catholics, but their sports team was named the Fighting Irish. The name Fighting Irish has nothing to do with the Irish Catholics, it depicts them in a wrong way.(Price, 3). Team names can be changed to similar names that do not depict certain groups of people. Like the Redskins can be called the Red Hawks or the

The author S. L. Price of the article “the Indian Wars” analyzes the confusing subject of Native American names and mascots used in sports teams in high school, college, and professional levels. The article is written for Sports Illustrated and offers readers an insight into this debate whether indigenous symbols in sports are honoring or insulting in Native Americans. The author addresses this topic with evidence of both sides of the issue, and leaves the reader aware of the topic and its unclear stance in today’s society. This article examines the controversy of using Native American names and mascots by sports teams, even though the author provides two sides to the issue, the different evidence blinds the argument he is trying to make.

“The Center for Indigenous Peoples Studies at California State University in San Bernardino surveyed 400 individuals, 98 of them Native Americans, and found that 67 percent of Native Americans agreed the "Redskins team name is a racial or racist word and symbol."” (Steele). Some mascots are offensive and racist to certain cultures and races. In, 2005, the NCAA banned schools with Native American mascots from hosting a national championship game (ProQuest Staff). Changing the mascot won’t change the history of the school or team. Some people feel unwelcome because of certain mascots. Some mascots should be banned because they are stereotypical, dishonor cultures, and are offensive.

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

"The past should be left in the past, otherwise it can destroy your future." These are wonderful words which we should all strive to live by. But letting go of a regrettable past is difficult for even the strongest among us. For members of the 1960 New York Yankees, the World Series of that year is still the most disappointing memory any of them can recall. And while vivid mental pictures of a bad-hop grounder hitting shortstop Tony Kubek in the throat, the Clemente chop, which landed between two undecided fielders and the unforgettable sight of Yogi, his back to the camera, watching helplessly as Bill Mazeroski 's homerun sails over the left field wall, are all etched in the mind of everyone who witnessed these mind-boggling