Sports Mascots and Racism towards Native Americans - Term Paper Example

Sports Mascots and Racism towards Native Americans Introduction A mascot represents the team, performs and amuses the audience in a sport event (Profile of a Sport, par. 1). It has become a common sight that images of Native Americans are used as mascots in school matches. This has been viewed as discriminatory not only by the native peoples but also by non-native groups and individuals. The Native Americans were oppressed and pushed to the outskirts by the colonizers (DeWitt, par. 2). The discriminatory stereotyping is apparent by referring to people of Native American descent as redskins (DeWitt, par. 6). This cultural group has continually experienced discrimination for a long time that images mocking their practices cause negative social impact. On the other hand, there are also claims that the use of native peoples as mascots is not discriminatory but in fact honors them. Beginning the 1800s when sports teams came into being, it became the practice that team names and their mascots were taken from tribe names and symbols, which practice persists up to the present (DeWitt, pars. 3-4). Despite efforts to stop this practice among schools and universities, there are still around 2,000 schools that utilized native people as mascots (Beck, par. 6). Tribute and Honor to Native Americans There is a claim that the use of mascots and tribal names and symbols gives tribute and honor to the native peoples. For the Seminole, it would be an honor for a school to use the tribe’s name (DeWitt, par. 16). According to the Florida State University, two Seminole Indian tribes allowed the tribes’ names to be used in the teams as well as in its mascots (DeWitt, pars. 12-14), thus, images of their tribe can be seen on the football helmet (Beck, par. 9). There is a group who insists that the mere use of Indians as mascots does not discriminate nor downgrade this racial group. In fact, not a few members of Native American tribes see that use of images denoting their descent is not an issue to them. Many members of the ethnic group are not bothered by such images (Beck, par. 9). In a 2002 survey on whether the name Washington Redskins is discriminatory, 75 percent of Native American respondents indicated having “no problem” with the team’s name (DeWitt, pars. 8, 11). Another survey published by Sports Illustrated in the same year (2002), a marked percentage (81%) of the Indian respondents do not agree with the proposal that the use of Native American mascots should stop (Adyanthaya, par. 9). It would be unwise to remove all vestiges of even non-repulsive names (e.g. Warrior, Chieftain) due to their mere association with Native Americans but tolerate the use of names of other racial groups (Adyanthaya, par. 8). The avid fans of the teams manifest their adoration to the mascots by reasoning out that such use is a tribute to the native Indians (Beck, par. 9). Adyanthaya is of the opinion that Seminole refers to a civilization just like the Aztec, Trojan or Spartan and an entire group of people (par. 3). The words Warriors or Braves can be equated with Vikings and have no degrading connotation (Adyanthaya, par. 3). Mascots as Discriminatory Discrimination was manifest through the prohibition imposed among Native Americans to use things (e.g. drums, clothing) from 1920s to 1978 in religious practices when these things were sparingly used in sports events and by mascots from 1920 to 1950 (Rose, par. 4). The use of these things in sports which the native Indians consider as sacred shows disrespect to their religion (Rose, par. 4). A teepee is considered sacred and used for praying, a Native American high school student in Oklahoma, Sarah Mae Martin, said (Beck, par. 1). Putting up of teepee during football matches caused embarrassment to her that she prefers not to attend such events because her nation is “being used as a prop” (Beck, pars. 2-3). The images portrayed in the mascots do not reflect the true culture of the people but as mere caricatures (Beck, par. 12). The way the images are projected gives the impression that the indigenous Americans are “warlike people” (Rose, par. 5). Violence is likely to occur in areas where mascots are used (e.g. burning of Indian effigy in Massachusetts, beating of native Americans in Minnesota after the student and teacher rally with cowboy and Indian attire) (Rose, pars. 7-8). The portrayal of native practices (e.g. painting of face, dances) in school events causes shame that children shun themselves from sports and games which violates their civil rights (Rose, par. 14). Mascots with names such as Savages and Redmen are culturally degrading and portrayed unjustly (Adyanthaya, par. 8). While the Florida school has been allowed by the Seminole to use their images as mascots, such noble objective to pay tribute to the tribe falls apart when the fans begin their “war chants” and wielding of axe (Beck, par. 10). Granting consent by Seminole tribe does not diminish the pain and shame experienced by the rest of the members of the tribe. (Beck, par. 10). Mascots are also called red in reference to redskin as in the case of University of Oklahoma with its mascot named Little Red (changed in 1970) (Beck, par. 16) and Redmen of Carthage College (Adyanthaya, par. 3). The term redskin refers to the skin scalped from an Indian that is brought to collect the bounty (Rose, par. 15). The skin is red due to the blood of the victim (Rose, par. 15). A survey poll also indicated desire for the elimination of Indian images as mascots as expressed by 81 percent of Native American respondents (Rose, par. 18). Gains Against Discriminatory Use of Mascots In congruence with the agenda of upholding the rights of the native peoples against discrimination and violation of civil rights, individuals, groups and government officials take positive steps that already gain a foothold in society. This is apparent in the resolutions issued by the State School Boards that manifest a hard position against the use of ethnic Indian mascots (Rose, par. 2). The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) moves for the cessation of usage of ethnic Indian images as mascots because it posters racism and degrades the native peoples (Adyanthaya, pars. 2-3). Around 500 Indian organizations, over a hundred tribes and thousands of signatories petition for the removal of Indian mascots (Rose, par. 18). Some schools undertook to have harmless names (e.g. IUP Indians to IUP Crimson Hawks in Indiana University of Pennsylvania) (DeWitt, par. 15). The name Chieftains of Stonehill College (Massachusetts) mascot is changed to Skyhawks in reverence to the culture of the native peoples (Adyanthaya, par. 6). The name Warriors of Marquette University, adopted in 1954, was changed to Golden Eagles in 1994 to reflect a different viewpoint not connected with aggression (Adyanthaya, par. 5). Some schools (e.g. University of Wisconsin, University of Iowa) would not even plan non-conference matches with schools sporting Indian mascots (Adyanthaya, par. 7). On the legal and political front, the Tulsa Indian Coalition Against Racism has been coordinating with the Senate for the passage of the Native Mascot Act in Oklahoma (Beck, par. 3). The gist of this proposal is the removal of words “savages” and “redskins” as mascot monicker in public schools and in order to “protect Oklahoma’s children from the consequences of racism” (Beck, par. 3). In California, Representative Jackie Goldberg re-filed a mascot bill (introduced for three times) to stop schools from using redskin because it refers to scalped native people on order of the government and with money prize (Beck, par. 5). While a great majority of the survey respondents (75 percent) express no concern over the discriminatory tone of Washington Redskins (DeWitt, pars. 8, 11), legal suits have been filed for the change of team name (DeWitt, pars. 10-11). One major legal case occurred in 1992 when seven heads of Indian groups filed a suit in United States Patent and Trademark Board (Washington, D.C.) for the cancellation of patent on the use of Washington Redskins to which the three-man panel all decided in favor of cancellation (Indian Mascots, Legal Action, par. 1). The groups supporting the total eradication of the stigma of native peoples in sports grow with the addition of National Education Association, National Organization for Women (NOW), American Jewish Committee, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), civic associations and religious societies (Beck, par. 13). Support for the movement against the use of ethnic Indian images in sports is bolstered by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights that expressed disappointed over the degrading and offending stereotypes cast upon these peoples who suffered “forced assimilation” for a long time (Beck, par. 15). Pressure come on all fronts, such as the threat of an alumnus to hold back a $100 million financial support that prompts the State Board of Higher Education (North Dakota) to discard the review of the Fighting Sioux mascot (University of North Dakota) (Beck, par. 18). In accordance with the recent decision of the North Dakota Supreme Court, the Board of Higher Education finally decided that the name and images on Fighting Sioux be removed until August 2010 (Kelly, par. 1). From the time that Little Red was removed as mascot name in 1970, around 1,000 references to ethnic Americans are changed even at middle school (Beck, par. 17). Conclusion Poll surveys reveal that even Native Americans are divided on the issue of discrimination on the use of mascots with their images. The pro-group says that it is a pride that their images are graced as mascots in sports events. But it is a reality that thousands of native Indians experience discrimination with the actuation of non-Indians especially during events. Discrimination and embarrassment are more apparent with young teens and children who feel helpless against the social pressure. The unruly actuations of fans cause emotional and psychological pain, making them shun away from sports events. While other teams use the ethnically related names such as Spartans or Trojans, these names cannot be equated with the Native American tribes. Spartan refers to a group that has long been non-existent and any attribution or discrimination to Spartans does not harm them emotionally, psychologically or socially. Thus, the context wherein the names are used must be taken into consideration and not merely the similarity. The ethnic groups under consideration are still living and are experiencing negative social pressures. The use of ethnic mascots might be good for some Indians but not for the rest of the tribes’ members. Moreover, the Native Americans experience oppression and persecution for a long time. They were pushed further into reservations and their movements are controlled. They also experience discrimination in their religious practices. Those who experience harm are the ones that should be protected, especially the younger ones, through legislation and laws. Besides the social pressure that discrimination poses, it also violates the civil rights of indigenous peoples. It would be appropriate that mascots and team names in any sports with images and connotations referring to Native Americans should be totally removed. This would slowly eliminate the stereotype of these people as violent axe-wielding individuals who are always out for a war. It will take decades for the stigma to dissipate, but at least images that project them to a certain stereotype are already removed from schools and universities. It this manner, they can be treated equally with the rest of the people in America. Works Cited Adyanthaya, Anil. Sports, mascots, and Native Americans. The Boston Globe. 5 June 2005. 21 April 2010. . Beck, Holly. Take Me Out of the Ball Game. AlterNet. 31 January 2005. 21 April 2010. . DeWitt, Nick. Native American Mascots: Honorable or Ignorant? bleacher report. 2010. 19 April 2010. . Indian Mascots, Symbols, and Names in Sports: A Brief History of the Controversy. n.d. 23 April 2010. . Kelly, Dan. Retiring the Fighting Sioux Nickname and Imagery. Creativity and the Law: DuetsBlog. 16 April 2010. 22 April 2010. . Profile of a Sport Mascot Performer. TheFreeLibrary. 2009. 22 April 2010. . Rose, Christine. Understanding The American Indian Mascot Issue: A Collection of Writings on Team Names and Logos. Students and Teachers Against Racism. 2003. 19 April 2010. . Read More