TO BE, OR NOT TO BE OFFENSIVE
Looking at these mascots from all over the world, do you notice that some of those mascots are based on Native Americans? Mascots like the "Washington Redskins" or the "Cleveland Indians"...do they send a racial or hypocritical message? Or have you ever even considered individual Native Americans, that just might feel that it's offensive? Well, here's what some people had to say about these mascots:
(in short summary)
"Anil Adyanthaya from the Boston Globe" : "The use of Aztec or Seminole as a nickname by itself would not appear to be racist, as such names refer to a particular civilization rather than an entire race of people."
Polling results published in "Sports Illustrated": "Although most Native American activists and tribal leaders consider Indian team names and mascots offensive, neither Native Americans in general nor a cross section of U.S. sports fans agree."
"A few college teams; Marquette University": "We live in a different era than when the Warriors nickname was selected in 1954. The perspective of time has shown us that our actions, intended or not, can offend others. We must not knowingly act in a way that others will believe, based on their experience, to be an attack on their dignity as fellow human beings."
The History
Mascots represent what teammates themselves, people of the school system, and people all over the world think of their team. It's a symbol of how you believe "victory" should look.
The picture above, for example, is the mascot for the Washington NFL league. The team's name wasnt always "The Washington Redskins". Originally, the Washington Redskins were known as the "Newark Tornadoes". The team later changed their name to the Redskins in 1933. The co-owner, George Preston Marshall, changed the name probably because of the "then" head coach, Lone Star Dietz. Lone Dietz was said to be part Sioux and that was the reason George Marshall changed the name. But Scholars believe that the word was used by early settlers to describe the skin tone of Native Americans. Something that the redskins do as tradition, is hang a flag with a red skinned indian at every game, which represents the mascot. The Indian that's on the flag is what's said to be the real "problem". The Indian mascot for the redskins and that is what's said to be offensive to Native Americans.
Other "Offensive" MascotsThe "Washington Redskins" isn't the only team that draws racist or offensive attention. Other teams such as The "Cleveland Indians" and the "Braves" also have Native American affiliated mascots. Take a look at the Cleveland Indians picture. The mascot shows an Indian with a large feathered band. Not all Indians wore feathered bands. Is that what they think an Indian or Native American looks like? Symbols such as the Braves and Cleveland Indians bring up questions like these and sometimes offend people of that culture.
The Braves, however, has a mascot of a baseball AND a hitting stick that Native Americans used. I believe that he reason they did this was because they figured there would be controversy over the symbols. So the braves mostly share the symbol of a baseball. However, they often show the original symbol of a Natvive American hammer as well.
So What Do YOU Think?
Now that you've read this blog, I want to know what you think of the contraversy of such mascots? When you're routing for your favorite team, are you thinking of how offensive your team's mascot may be? Or do you even care? Would you think certain mascots offend others? Or do you feel, that "It's just a mascot.."?
Works Cited:
N.p., n.d. Web.
"Native American Mascot Controversy." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Sept. 2012. Web. 18 Sept. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American_mascot_controversy>.
"Native American Mascot Controversy." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Sept. 2012. Web. 18 Sept. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American_mascot_controversy>.
"Google." Google. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2012. <http://www.google.com/search?um=1>.
