Indian Mascot Controversy

Indian Mascot Controversy

Why does controversy exist with such little things in the United States today? Saying “Merry Christmas” upsets those who don’t celebrate Christmas, however saying “happy holidays” hurts those who do celebrate the holiday. Little feuds like this cause controversy all over the United States. Another issue, and maybe a little bit more serious matter, has been argued about for years across America. This issue is the use of Indian mascots for sports teams. Schools and sports teams across America take pride in which they represent when their players are stepping onto the field. Representing tribes of the past and current is something that should be proudly recognized, and therefore should not be an issue when teams use them as their mascot. These mascots are something that has been in the team’s history for years, why abruptly change it now? Over the past few years, Native American tribes and even those not of that decent, have spoken out and claimed these mascots to be a racist slur towards the tribes. This controversy has spiraled all over the United States, causing some schools to change their mascot for the first time since they were established. Should teams really have to change their mascots? This change could be something challenging to do in today’s world, where sporting events are such a key aspect of everyone’s life. One key thing to realize is these mascots were not intended to discriminate against anyone, they were meant to represent strong leaders and promote unity and pride.

C. Richard King and Charles Fruehling Springwood describe how college mascots must be changed in their book, “Team Spirits: The Native American Mascots Controversy”. This change is simply due to the fact that some of the public has a negative view on this issue. The authors begin to focus on the Syracuse University’s former “Saltine Warrior” as well as the Arkansas State University’s “Indian” mascot and why they are no longer active. Regarding the “Saltine Warrior”, the authors write from a Native American perspective. The “Saltine Warrior” “can be seen as racist to some,” but to Americans who love sports and find the mascots as a symbol of unity and pride, this was not even viewed as discriminatory. The Indian mascot shortly became banned from Syracuse. During the nineteen eighty-one school year, the new “Giant Orange” fruit mascot came to exist. Arkansas State University looked disrespectful rather than honorable toward Native Americans. This was because of the logo of an Indian wielding a tomahawk and scalp looking like a savage. This caused Native Americans “feeling humiliated by how the Indian mascot would act in performance.” This stereotypical mental picture of Native Americans is not just a phenomenon of Arkansas. Rather, it is due to a deficient educational system that has been unable, or unwilling, to teach about Native American