Social Representations of Native Americans - Literature review Example

American Indian mascots were considered detrimental since “they remind American Indians of the limited ways others see them and, in this way, constrain how they can see themselves” (Fryberg, Markus, Oyserman, & Stone, 2008, p. 208). The article relayed the information which focused on stereotyping, social representations, and perceptions of identity of an ethnic, cultural, or minority group. A media example that is related to the reading is one that was revealed by Nittle (2014) who disclosed that Native American Indians depicted in films or television shows were usually stereotyped as warriors, savages, maidens, stoic, magical men, and living in the wilderness.

As such, their identity as a social, ethnic, and cultural person has been restricted to these images. It was, therefore, emphasized that “representations of Native American women as “easy squaws” have real-world consequences. American Indian women suffer from high rates of sexual assaults, often perpetrated by non-Native men” (Nittle, 2014, par. 3). The assertions could be contributory to the negative and detrimental impact of American Indian mascots on the minds of American Indian students, in general.

It was therefore commendable for Fryberg, Markus, Oyserman, & Stone (2008) to conclude that: “the only way to reduce the negative impact of these constraining American Indian mascot representations is to either eliminate them or to create, distribute, and institutionalize a broader array of social representations of American Indians” (p. 216). One shares the same conviction to create a more positive image of American Indians in the long run.