Opinion: Racism persists in use of 'Indians' as sports mascots

Friday, September 30, 2011  

"We who were too young to significantly participate in the 1960s civil rights movement clearly understood Sylvester Stewart’s timely message on side two of that scratchy old vinyl platter. I’m sure those of the hip-hop generation who are wise enough to trace their roots have stumbled upon this seminal recording, much to their good fortune. However there are still some sports teams and their loyal fans who just don’t “get it” when it comes to the stark reality of blatantly racist sports mascots which depict Native Americans as tomahawk chopping savages, or cliché images of a cigar store Indian, and/or buffoonish old-Hollywood stereotypes with feathers sticking out of their heads, to cite a horrific few.

The landscape of college and professional sports is littered with team logos, chants, and other cheer-leading activities that have denigrated and grossly misrepresented a culture that oft practiced a greater reverence for the environment, humanity, and the animal kingdom than did the European settlers who “discovered” America and the generations which have followed. Kudos to the universities who have respected the recommendations of indigenous rights organizations such as the National Congress of American Indians and the American Indian Movement. To my knowledge, college sports did not suffer any loss of interest nor popularity when the University of Stanford dropped “Indians” in favor of “Cardinal,”St. John’s University’s “Redmen” became “Red Storm,” or the Warriors of Marquette University were re-named “Golden Eagles.”

The usual arguments in favor of Native American sports mascots and the subsequent “whoop-la” that supports these figures centers on the supposition that these practices honor Native American attributes including bravery, fighting skills, and rank. Nonsense!"

Get the Story:
Tom Semioli: The Mascots Who Shall Not be Named (Counterpunch 9/30)