In class last week we watched a video about Native Americans views on using mascots and team names that they find offensive. One example that was used was the Washington Redskins. Honestly I had never really thought about the racism involved in their team name before now. After watching the video and seeing the reaction of the Native Americans and what shame and disgrace it seemed to bring to them, I agree that it is offensive and their name should be changed. Redskin is a racial term and should not be used by any team,, especially one in the National Football League.
In the video, many people were saying that it was an honor for sports teams to have such names as the "Cleveland Indians," but honestly when you feel as if someone is disrespecting your culture, family and heritage, it is not an honor. It is a disgrace.
Another aspect of the mascots is the face painting and dancing. The video said that often the painting and dancing was not authentic. This is not an honor or respectful to Native Americans at all. I feel like the Native Americans feel like they are being mocked, not honored. To take something that is very sacred to them such as tribal face painting and ceremonial dancing and turn it into something else is disrespectful and degrading.
As a regular fan of any sports team that represents Native American culture, many people see their mascot as a symbol of pride and something that is in no way negative. However, the fact is that some people find these blatantly offensive and it's an injustice to sit back and not do anything about it.
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Brandy, I find your view very interesting and it makes me think about my own conflicting opinion on this matter. Maybe teams that want to use names like the "Braves" should hire Native Americans with a good knowledge of their history to help keep the team and its traditions as authentic as possible.
ReplyDeleteWhat Gina suggested was actually something that some teams have done. In fact, the Florida State Seminoles have met with Seminole Indians to try to make the representation of their mascot more authentic. By contrast, Chief Wahoo is more of a caricature, and does not really represent an actual tribe. So it would be difficult to make such a mascot more authentic. The thing about the Washington Redskins that is even more offensive (imho) is that this team is in the nation's capital. I will be interested to see if President Obama takes a stand on this issue. This is a good analysis of the issues.
ReplyDeleteYeah I can honestly say I have never really thought about the mascot issue until now either. But after realizing more about it I do agree with you that the names should be changed because they are very offensive to people.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a very touchy subject that will prolly never be resolved though, as sad as that is.
Do you think teams such as Fairview should change there mascot too? I was thinking about this question after this class and I am not really sure what to think. I know it isn't a big deal in our area, but then again maybe it is and I just don't know about it.Overall I do believe that there should be something done to get these names changed!
Oh thats a good point Cheryl, I guess I never really thought about the Fairview Apaches as anything bad either... but then again they do have that Tepee they run out of for football games. I guess some people could find that offensive just as easily as face paintings or dancing!
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