Monday, January 26, 1998
Indian mascots perpetuate stereotypes
MASCOTS Sports teams claim to honor indigenous people, culture
with images of savages
From the banners to the marquees to the merchandise bearing
Indian mascots at the stadium, an entire culture is being demeaned
and insulted. And while the players rush onto the field in their
team jerseys sporting Indian mascot logos, the crowd runs wild. Yet
one group of people has no reason to celebrate as it witnesses
tradition and culture ridiculed and grossly depicted.
For the American Indians in the United States, any reference to
sports teams such as the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Redskins
is painful and offensive. Every cap, T-shirt or jacket emblazoned
with a logo of a Native American-themed mascot is a grim reminder
of the ignorant, racist attitudes still prevalent in the field of
sports and mascots.
Those who stand by the use of Indian mascots claim it’s a way of
honoring the indigenous people. Yet mascots for many professional
sports teams as well as schools and universities are based on
stereotypical and often inaccurate beliefs about American Indians
and are downright offensive to the people they are said to
honor.
Sports teams and schools with Indian-affiliated mascots must put
an end to this racist practice and adopt more suitable mascots.
Often, people with no knowledge of Native American culture parade
around as team mascots. Dressed up in pseudo-Indian costumes, doing
tomahawk chops and running around like savages, these mascots are
ridiculing highly significant aspects of Native American
cultures.
Many who support the use of these mascots claim that it’s simply
their way of honoring the culture. However, the fact that the
mascots are founded on inaccurate and superficial images of Native
Americans invalidates the argument that they are paying homage to
the indigenous people. People can honor Native Americans in several
other ways, such as educating themselves and others about their
culture and history – and not through cartoon caricatures of what
Indians supposedly look and act like.
Native Americans have long been campaigning for an end to such
negative treatment of their heritage, but American society has been
slow to respond. Though Native Americans say they’re offended by
the mascots, their cries are shot down by the mascots’ supporters
who say they are not offensive.
The Los Angeles School Board made a positive stride when it
banned Indian mascots from its schools. Sports teams and schools
nationwide should do the same.
Racism has many guises, and sports team mascots are simply
another channel through which ethnic stereotypes persist and
spread. Not only are the mascots insulting to Native Americans,
they are gross misrepresentations of an entire culture of people
who are forced to tolerate such unfair stereotypes.