Native American Mascots

Native American Mascots

Mascots, no matter what they are of, are the most blatant form of stereotypes in society today. From the Redskins to the Trojans, and to the Fighting Irish, there are countless different types of schools and professional teams that use a stereotypical figure as their mascot. One of the most hotly debated topics in recent history has been the use of Native American mascots for schools and professional sports teams. As with any other debate, there are always two sides to the argument, with one side always losing, and one winning.

Many Native Americans are very upset because they think the images portrayed by mascots are unfair stereotypes linked to their people. Their resentment cannot be argued, because they are entitled to their own feelings. In the video In Whose Honor, one of the Native Americans who, after going to an Illinois basketball game and seeing chief Illiniwek perform at halftime said that, “If you grew up within the community where those things have meaning.. it would be a blow.” While I haven’t grown up in her community, I must take her word for it that it is indeed offensive to them.

However, there many more aspects to this debate. One of the most important aspects of the use of Native American mascots is intent. In the case of mascots, the intent is to use a figure that will unite a team’s fans and give them something to identify with. It seems counterintuitive that a team’s own fans would disrespect their mascot. People must also understand that there is a level of co-opting that goes on with a mascot. In many instances the image that a mascot is representing becomes separated from its original meaning.

In the video, they only interviewed Natives who were angered at this… Does the whole Native population share this sentimate? Probably not. When looking at any issue, one must not make the false assumption of group homogeneity – the idea that everyone in a group feels the same way as an individual.

A small group of natives may be offended, but then again, groups of people are offended by almost anything. Look at groups such as PETA – they raise concern but most likely, the way animals are treated before they are killed will probably not be changed because of money… here also, money is a big driving factor. If a University such as Florida State switched their mascot, many alumni will be pissed at this, and thus pull their funding from the school.

This controversy brings attention to the issue of Native Americans. The old saying that ‘any publicity is good publicity’ can apply to this situation. If there weren’t this controversy over the mascots, Native Americans would not be paid much attention to in the media. However, because of this controversy, people are being made aware of the Natives and their culture. People are now aware of the possible disrespect to the culture, and are careful not to have the intent of disrespect.

It is impossible to please everyone all the time. In the end, America is a free-market capitalist society, so whatever brings in the most money will always win out in the end. No matter what happens, one group of people will be left unsatisfied. In the future, when new sports teams come to be, it would be wise to not allow them to take on names that have anything to do with Native Americans, or for that matter, any other race of people. This would help prevent the current controversy from taking on a new form.