Since the mascot controversy began to get out of hand, the N.C.A.A. had to step in control. The N.C.A.A. announced that teams could keep their names if they got permission from tribal leaders. If the tribal leaders were not ok with it then the teams would be forced to find a new name or they would be excluded from hosting championship games. Changing a teams mascots came with many difficulties believe it or not. Not only were the fans/team mates angry because tradition was suddenly getting forced to end, but the cost to do so was quite expensive. Some college teams then and today are changing their names and mascots without being forced too while other colleges stubbornly refuse. For example, Marquette University changed their team name from the Warriors to the Golden Eagles in 1994 to avoid controversy and cruel actions/words. There are also some teams such as the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Iowa that refuse to play teams with Native American mascots because they think it is so disrespectful to the Native American race.
Native American mascots seem to be one of the most popular for schools and colleges. For example, Miami (the Redskins), North Dakota (the Sioux), Florida State (the Seminoles), Utah (the Utes), Illinois (the Illini), Central Michigan (the Cippewa's), and etc. Miami changed their name to "Redhawks" with little to no problem at all. North Dakota is in the process of dropping "Sioux" upon losing its final appeal to the N.C.A.A. after many years. Florida State, Utah, Illinois, and Central Michigan were all able to keep their names after getting "waivers" from the N.C.A.A, pretty much stating that the tribes did not mind their name being used as a mascot. Polls were taken all around to see how everyone felt about Native American mascots. In 2004, a poll by the Anneberg Public Policy center at the University of Pennsylvania concluded that 91% of the American Indians surveyed found the name "Redskins" acceptable. Because of these polls, this made it a fair and organized way to decide whether or not the mascots/team names could stay.
When it came to the Native Americans, they had many different view as to their character being used as a symbol and mascot. Some Native Americans admired the heroism and romanticism shown by the Native American mascot/team names. Many others viewed it as offensive and racist. When fans yell certain phrases at games like "kill the Indians!" or "murder the Red Skins!" that is when it starts to become really offensive to the Native Americans, even though fans are just referring the names to other teams and not directly to the Indians themselves. Trying to put how the Native Americans feel into perspective of others, someone once said "Could you imagine people mocking African Americans in black face at a game? Yet go to a game where there is a team with an Indian name and you will see fans with war paint on their faces. Is this not the equivalent to black face?"- Teaching Tolerance. This quotation shows why it is not right and why it is racist for Native Americans to be used as mascots. Moving in the other direction, someone said, "The use of Aztec or Seminoles as a nickname by itself would not appear to be racist, as such names refer to a particular civilization rather than entire race of people."- Anil Adyanthaya from the Boston Globe. This person is explaining that since Native Americans were more like a culture rather than a race, it is ok to have mascots because it is not directed towards a group of people.
My opinion on the Native American mascot controversy is that it is totally ok. To me, it seems like being a mascot of a team would be an honor rather than an insult. I do not think anyone is trying to be racist or discriminating against Native Americans, I think they are trying to show how important they were to our history and even today. Though in some ways I can see at times where sayings such as "Kill the Indians!" might be offensive because they are a race of people too just like anyone else.
This issue for the Native Americans has been and probably will be continuing for a long time. Native Americans just want to find a fair and equal balance so they are not offended neither or the team players/fans. Many things have changed over the years so the Native Americans would not feel discriminated and angry. Because of this controversy, it makes it easier to see in the point of view from someone else's eyes rather than your own.
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| Putting Native American Mascots into perspective http://americanindiantah.com/lesson_plans/ml_mascots.html |
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| Insult or Honor?http://www.bernardgoldberg.com/ncaa-native-american-mascot-controversy/ |
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| Viewing it from the other side http://www.jmbranum.com/jmbzine2011/2010/05/18/more-discussion-re-the-war-paint-clothing-co-shirt-controversy/ |
sources:
Wikipedia
Bernard Goldberg
Gale Group
Google Images
