What Are American Indian Stereotypes In Sports

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.

In the book titled Race, Sports, and the American Dream, it discussed how sports helped change the place of African-American in society. “Sports was well segregated deep into the 20th century” (Smith 9). How college football looked in America in the 1950s was exactly how American society looked in the 1950s, segregated and racist. African-American athletes in college football helped fight and negate stereotypes because it showed that they are equally as good

In recent history it has been evident that some of the most popularize sports in America have been dominated and overran by African American and other minority athletes. In turn when the coaching and management positions in sports are analyzed and broken down, the number of minority coaches and managers in sport are almost non-existent and have been since those sports organization became established.

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.

The lack of accurate representation of Native Americans in our everyday lives has left members of society without more than a stereotype to draw from when thinking about characteristics of Native Americans. Native Americans have “relative invisibility” in mainstream media and this lets the few inaccurate portrayals, such as a sports team’s mascot, have an overwhelming amount of power in forming stereotypes (Fryberg, Markus, Oyserman, Stone, 2008, pg. 208). Many members of society have a very narrow view of what they understand a Native American to look, dress, and act. These ideas mostly come from what they see in media through the caricatures used as mascots, childhood cartoons, and similar

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."

Many areas of the world have been affected because they were accused of having a racist mascot or team name. In the United States many teams have respect for Native Americans. Counterpoint: Native American-Themed Sports Teams Represent the History and Traditions of the Areas They Represent, and Changing Names Does a Disservice to the

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 as a mascot 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. Why all the controversy?

The Chicago Blackhawks, Washington Redskins, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Chiefs, and Atlanta Braves are all professional sport teams in America that use Native American culture to represent them through the means of tribe names, logos, and mascots. These teams have received a lot of media attention around the debate on if the representation of Native Americans is offensive or not. Controversy surrounding Native American mascots first came into the public eye during the 1960s Native American Civil Rights movement, where the use of these mascots was criticized for being insulting. However, the people who conceived these teams did not acknowledge the prejudice and discrimination they were creating and grew the brands into multi-million

The article, “The 2,128 Native American Mascots People Aren 't Talking About” written by Hayley Munguia gives a massive overview of not only the Redskins, but the 2, 129 other teams representing the controversial Native American mascot references. Munguia begins the article by sharing that a little boy does not even realize the connection between the Redskins and the Native American innuendo. She that this is not just the issue of an NFL team, but about all the other teams in High School, College, Semi Pro, and Pro athletics, and how “8.2% of college have Native American team names. Munguia goes into an interview with a high school coach from the Estelline Redmen. He claims that the name is for the “color they

“To remember who you are, you will need to forget what society has tried to teach you to be...culture matters. Be proud.” These words from an unknown Native American about one major subject: Native American culture. The beliefs of Native culture have been with Native people for as long as they have lived. They believe in sacred acts that have supported and healed Natives and better their heritage. Then Whites began to make American Indian mascots to “honor” Natives. They have had a purpose to honor Natives, but have recently shown a bias towards Natives. Over the past 30 years, there has been a national argument between non-natives and Natives as to whether school and professional sports teams should use Native American imagery as their mascots,

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.

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.

In the last few year, one of the biggest controversies throughout the media was controversy over the Washington Redskins’ name. The Washington Redskins, a National Football League (N.F.L) team, has had their name as “Redskins” for eighty-one years. Then, a lot of critics say the team name itself has historical beginnings as a racist tag which is offensive to Native American while some arguments say in their context, “Redskins” is just the name that means respect and honor. Consequently, this controversy has become a study topic in many schools and colleges in term of what is the term of Redskins to Native American and how is the Redskins name offensive to American Indian?

I would like to discuss the issue of race and ethnicity in sports. We will also explore the bigger questions. How much does race and ethnicity matter in the sports world? Are certain races dominant in certain sports? Is there a difference in how we treat players based on race and ethnicity? Does it matter? I would like to answer some of these questions and gain a better understanding of how much of a part they play.