Major Essay On Mascots

Brieana Mcclean

English 101

Professor Herdzina

January 26th, 2018

Major Essay 3

Many of us have favorite Sports teams that we tend to follow and keep up with. Most of the time as a way of familiarizing ourselves we usually point them out by their mascots and names. Little did we know that our team’s mascot or name may be offensive to a particular culture and has an underlying meaning. According to the Director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indians, as early as 1912 Indian names for sports teams have been used in the professional sector. Following this example many high schools started naming their teams using Indian culture and the use of Indian inspired Mascots. We may like the way the teams name and its

Most Native Americans are against the use because the role playing of their past somehow doesn’t validate their battles in defining themselves and it affects the self-images of their children. For example; the Washington ‘Redskins’. The term redskin refers to Indian kill. In 1863 an excerpt from a Republican Newspaper in Winona, Minnesota read: “the state reward for dead Indians has been increased to $200 for every red-skin…” (Riley and Carpenter). The use of the word ‘Redskin’ to represent Native Americans simply means that you support the killing of Indians and are somehow justifying such a cruel act. That to most Natives are a good enough reason why names regarding their culture and/or history shouldn’t be used. Knowing the history behind the name it shouldn’t even be used as a reference to the Native American community. Many of these names, logos, and mascots that are being used, “relegate[s] American Indian people to a colonial representation history” (Pewewardy). At some of the Sports events there are many fans who drink and act as if they have no sense of morals or decency, whilst wearing the cultural attire of the Natives. In schools we are educated and are taught about different cultures and ways in which we can avoid racial discrimination or cultural appropriation. When fans exert this kind of behavior they highlight issues that

It presents a misleading view of the Native American people. Mascots as defined by the Oxford Dictionary is “a person or thing that is supposed to bring good luck, especially one linked to a particular organization or event”. From my research Native Americans were only familiar with the sport of Stick ball (lacrosse). Thus, the statement native Americans have no link whatsoever to any other sport that their symbols and names are being used for is a form of mis appropriation. “It is offensive that Native Americans are perceived, and used as symbols, [especially] in the same way as animals” (Davis). The Native American Culture and history isn’t to be used as a form of entertainment. This is where stereotypes about the Native American Culture originate. This can cause a decrease in many areas for Native Americans. A decrease in areas such as: self-esteem, mood and the belief in their community. These stereotypes limit an individual’s view on culture, helping to hide the Native American realities. This is where the schools come in. Schools are institutions that educates against racism, teaching the history of the Natives and other cultures. Mascots that show slurs and/or any stereotype toward a specific culture is against what students are taught in the classrooms. Schools implement the importance of Cultural Appreciation in a Multicultural Society, thus the reason why these type of mascots and schools