Sports can be used to celebrate a localized team or figure. Teams are frequently named after prolific terms or things surrounding the location of the team. However, some teams contain certain mascots or team names that are degrading towards certain groups of people; Native Americans. Teams like the NFL’s Washington Redskins, the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, MLB’s Cleveland Indians, and various other NCAA and high schools. When many of these teams were founded back mainly in the early part of the 1900’s, the views of Native Americans in US culture were much different than they are now. Back then, people wouldn’t think twice by using the term “redskin.” But now, in a more politically correct society, it is borderline discrimination to use such terms in the wrong context.
When it comes to the use of certain, and I must emphasis certain, Native American names as sports team’s names, I find some offensive. I’m going to break it down by a few teams on how I feel about them.
The Cleveland Indians: Incredibly offensive, the term “Indian” is in fact a slur on Native Americans. The term Indian is also a vague term used to generalize native tribes. This in turn desensitizes native peoples and the rich heritage that follows each tribe.
The Florida State Seminoles: Respectable. Located in the former heartland of the Seminole tribe’s land in Florida, the university takes great respect of their mascot; Chief Osceola. The uniform worn by Chief Osceola is an authentic outfit created by a Seminole tribe member, and the student who is honored to represent Chief Osceola is trained by Seminole tribe members in their culture.
The Washington Redskins: Offensive, but not in the same way as Cleveland. The term “redskin” is a lot more offensive than Indian. There are so much more racial ideas associated with the word redskin. It is an insensitive term that belittles all native peoples. However, this team name would be the least likely to change.
It isn’t terribly difficult to change a high school’s name or mascot if it is deemed offensive. Terms like redskins, savages, Indians, chiefs, and raiders are just some of the more popular team names that should no longer be used. When it comes to being named after specific tribes like the Sioux, Seminoles, or Cree, then it seems more suitable as long as the image of the mascot is not used in an offensive manner.
Native Americans have such an important history and role in the foundation in this country. To use their heritage as a tool for racism is wrong and needs to stop. To change or correct the names of high schools and colleges could be done without many problems, but professional teams like the Cleveland Indians and the Washington Redskins could take some time. I can only hope that more light can be shed on this subject and that people can realize that it is unethical and immoral to use these slanderous terms to cheer on sports teams.
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Brendan, I posted the same comment on Terry Clark's blog. Your posts concern the same topic, and I just wanted to share my opinion to both of you.
ReplyDeleteHere is what I wrote:
I think imagery of Native Americans needs to be removed from sports, just to be on the safe side. This includes depictions of Native Americans as mascots and logos of Native Americans. However, I feel words that associate with Native Americans are acceptable. For example, the Cleveland Indians should be able to keep their nickname, but remove the Chief Wahho head from the logo arsenal.
The reason I believe this is because when people have memories, they recall the image of that memory. It's not like people can read a paragraph-long description of a memory they have. The image is what people recall in memories, and images seem to affect people more than words. Everyone can have an opinion on an image; if you can't read though, you're completely unaffected by what is written.
I hope this analogy is helpful. I think the debate about whether Native American is an interesting one. The opinions on it are endless, which maybe is why it is so interesting.
I agree with many of the comments made by both of you, but I have one question about the use of Redskins by Washington. I wonder why you think it is less likely to be changed than logos or mascots used by High Schools or Colleges. It seems to me that when a professional team is in the nation's capital, that is even more reason that there needs to be sensitivity to the mascot. I too hope that there will be more attention drawn to this issue and that many of the names will be changed in the near future.
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