The Controversy of native American Mascots and names used by North American sports teams
There seems to be a serious case of racism going on in American sports teams. It has been going on for a long time and people did not even seem to notice. The problem is that a lot of American baseball and football teams have Native
American names and caricatures as their mascots. This is an interesting controversy because the names and mascots have been around for so many years that people have accepted them even though on the surface they seem to be glaring examples of racism and discrimination.
Now a days the problem looks like it is being addressed with teams changing their names and mascots.
There are a lot of teams in American sports these days which have Native American names and mascots. Examples of these teams are the Atlanta Braves, the Cleveland Indians with their mascot Chief Wahoo and the Washington Redskins.
There are numerous arguments from both sides of the debate on the issue of racism. Native American activists say that all these names and mascots are very offensive while the other side claims that these mascots and names are honouring Native American culture.
This issue stretches back to the 1960s, when a campaign was started by the National Congress of American Indians to combat negative racial stereotyping in American society and the media. They also focused their campaign on sports
teams and how these teams were using images and names that were offensive to their people. They took particular offense at the practice of sports fans dressing up as Native Americans and painting their faces with war paint.
Over the years the organisation has managed to get a large number of sports teams and universities to change their names and mascots but some still persist on using them. A lot of Native American activists have compared the practice
to using African American stereotypes and having caricatures of black people as mascots. They have even asked whether it would it be possible that fans would paint their faces black in support of their teams that used black images and names. This would not
be possible today in America; there would be a huge outcry if it did take place.
The other side to this argument claim that the practice of using Native American images and names is a way to promote the culture and traditions of the people who were the original inhabitants of America. The other argument is
that to change the names and mascots of teams now would be a huge risk to a team’s brand image and would represent a significant reduction in earnings for the teams. The teams have taken years to cultivate a brand image and people instantly recognise and connect
with a mascot and a name. To change something like that now would cost a huge amount of money and represent a massive cost to the team.
Some teams have taken the high road and changed their names and their mascots to cater to the sensitivities of the Native American people. The trend of using stereotypical names and mascots is very prevalent in University teams
all across America. Stanford University originally had the name The Stanford Indian as their mascot between 1930 and 1972. They eventually changed the name to the Stanford Cardinal and the mascot of the band has become a Tree. Seattle University changed the
nickname of their mascot from the Chieftains to the RedHawks. The College of William & Mary, nicknamed the Tribe, had to remove the two feathers from their logo, because of insensitivity towards Native American people.
A lot of people have said that everyone might be taking the issue to an extreme because even a lot of American Indians say that the names are fine and do not offend anyone. This issue is a bit sensitive because at the end of the
day a lot of the images and names used are very insensitive similarly to how African American people were portrayed in classical cartoons. All of these images have disappeared but the sports teams names remain.
It may be that in a few years, the names of sports teams are forced to be changed through government legislation and court order. But at the same time, maybe all sports teams in America should learn to become more sensitive towards
all races and cultures in the future.
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