Confession of a Sports Writer

Native American Mascots are unfair!

     Before the fall of 1998, I confess, I had no idea that terms such as Indian or Brave were very offensive to the Native American nations of this country. I knew about the protests of the 1995 World Series between Atlanta and Cleveland. I am also aware about the protests of the 1992 Super Bowl when Washington won it.
     After taking a class about Native American stereotypes, I see why Native American nicknames are highly offensive. The worst one is Redskins especially from the Wahington National Football League team.
     Why is Redskins offensive? Let's break down the word into "Red" skins. To me, that infers a color of skin. How would society like it if a team were called the "Whiteskins" or "Blackskins"? It wouldn't be tolerated. The Washington team should change its nickname to RedHawks. Not only does it untolerate racism against Native Americans but RedHawks is a much scarier nickname to opponents anyhow. The Washington image also reinforces a stereotype of Native American warriors. The symbol has a Native American red-colored skin and portrays natives as having black-colored and long hair. That is not a truth of Native Americans.
     You'll never hear me say the word, Indian again. I believe the Cleveland mascot reinforces the name given to the nations as named by Christopher Columbus when he landed in the West Indies in 1492. Society has learned to tolerate that stereotype ever since that day. The Chief Wahoo symbol states that natives all had a big smile and wore feathers - not all true. Natives did more than just fight in battles. They took care of families just like humans do today. The Chief Wahoo symbol comes after a former Native American player called Sockalexis. But he did not give the team permission to use his name after all. Why honor someone when you took away their land?
     If you truly want to honor the nations of this country, you would not use their stereotypical mascots. This would mean that society will not tolerate negative stereotyping. This society does not tolerate negative images of African-Americans, Hispanics, women or other minority groups. Why should it tolerate negative stereotypes of Native Americans?

Teams that have changed nicknames recently:

NCAA:
Eastern Michigan Eagles (formerly Hurons -1991)
Miami of Ohio RedHawks (formerly Redskins)
Marquette Golden Eagles (formerly Warriors)
Stanford Cardinal (formerly Indians)

Teams that have Native American Stereotypes.

NCAA:
Central Michigan Chippewas
Illinois Fighting Illini
Florida State Seminoles
Bradley Braves

MLB:
Cleveland Indians
Atlanta Braves

NFL:
Washington Redskins
Kansas City Chiefs

NBA:
Golden State Warriors

NHL:
Chicago Blackhawks