Hey, do you guys like sports? I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume that most everyone here has either played a sport or enjoys watching sporting events. They’re a great way to get some exercise, make friends, and learn about teamwork and unity. Or you can hang out with friends for a few hours to watch other people who are much more athletic than you compete. After all, Penn State football is one of the most exciting things to do on fall Saturdays. It’s hard to imagine anyone taking offense to athletics, unless they were getting a little too riled up against the opposing team. You may be able to guess where I’m about to go with this conversation. This is a blog about cultural appropriation after all, and one of the more sensitive topics of this issue lies within the realm of sports. I’m talking of course, about mascots. Now no one is taking offense to anything like the Nittany Lions, or the Gators, or the Cardinals, or even some inanimate mascots like the Altoona Curve. No, the problem lies in the use of cultures as mascots, most notably the Native Americans.
Using Native Americans as a mascot is not a rare thing, there are over a hundred examples at high school, college, and even national levels of play. The types of sports do not limit the use either, they can be found in football, basketball, soccer, baseball, hockey, and even on the race track. Using native cultures as mascots is not even limited to the United States. Examples can be found in Canada, South America, New Zealand, and more. It seems that the cultural appropriation of mascots knows no bounds.
There is absolutely no way to sugarcoat this issue. It’s a clear example of cultural appropriation no matter what angle to look at it. Now some may argue that this one of the examples of cultural appropriation that doesn’t actually hurt anyone. The claim is that this is a way to honor the Native American culture by painting them as strong and brave, something all athletes should strive to be. However, by using Native Americans as a mascot, it perpetuates the negative stereotypes that have persisted throughout the entirety of United States History. There are very few boxes that Native Americans are placed into: the noble savage, the wise chief, the beautiful Indian princess, etc. Additionally, these mascots portray Native Americans as the typical stereotype (i.e. feathered headdress, deerskin, war paint, etc.) without acknowledging the cultural differences between each of the dozens of native tribes across the nation.
In which stereotypes become mascots.
In addition to the issue of stereotyping, the idea of honor falls flat when more flagrantly disrespectful and racist actions come to light. At McAdory High School, the students thought that it would be very clever to use a horrific tragedy as a slogan. Mocking genocide is not a very good way to prove you’re just trying to honor a culture now is it? The issue of cultural appropriation of fashion comes up again with fan merchandise and attire. Headdresses and other examples of culturally appropriated fashion are sure to abundant at any sporting even where the home team’s mascot is based off Native Americans.
So where do we go from here? There are many examples of petitions and calls to action for changing the names of major sports teams to something a little less offensive. In fact there have been several teams that have already dropped the names and have adopted new ones. Other teams have chosen to slightly alter their names and drop any cultural imagery from their logo and merchandise. However, the stigma is still there and incidents like the one at McAdory will continue to occur time and time again until a complete change is made.
Let us know what you think? Do you believe that it’s just a harmless example that some people take way too far, or do we need to be pushing much harder for a complete overhaul of the system?
Resources:
List of Sports Teams and Mascots-
Of Warrior Chiefs and Indian Princesses: The Psychological Consequences of American Indian Mascots- http://www.scribd.com/doc/124393913/Of-Warrior-Chiefs-and-Indian-Princesses-The-Psychological-Consequences-of-American-Indian-Mascots
Trail of Tears Sign- http://blog.al.com/wire/2013/11/mcadory_high_school_cheerleade.html
This is actually extremely relevant! Colbert is being hounded right now due to his mockery of the Redskins owner in starting a fund for Native American rights in exchange to keep the insensitive name. His satire was supposed to show the ridiculousness of buying the rights to cultural insensitivity when he said he’ll create a “Ching-Chong Ding-Dong Foundation of Oriental Sensitivity or Whatever.” Maybe that could be your next topic?????
The first thing that came to mind when reading your post was the news that the Washington Redskins was going to change their mascot and name in order to be more culturally correct. Everyone had their own two cents, saying that this team name was a tradition, a legacy!
But when you brought up how a high school decided to take a rival’s name and put a negative perspective on it, I think that’s where a line needs to be drawn. Whoever was overseeing the decoration of that sign should be counseled.