Native American Mascot Essay

...

everyone upset rather than the mascot they have (Hyman, 650).

Some Native American tribe groups endorsed the use of the tribe name which caused the NCAA to back off their idea that the mascots are “hostile and abusive” (Hyman, 649). For example, the NCAA gave the go-ahead for Florida State, University of Utah, and Central Michigan University, to use their mascots without getting a post-season ban.

Some view these mascots to be hurtful and disrespectful to Native Americans. The way they are portrayed as savage cutthroats and idiots can be dehumanizing. When the Atlanta Braves mascot came stomping and war- dancing out of his tepee it’s insulting to a lot of Native Americans (Shakely, 647). Just because majority rule says most do not care about them, does not mean to just blow the rest of and not listen to everyone else who find it insulting to their culture. Another example is the Florida State Seminoles. Few people complain, but its war-painted and lance-threatening mascot is intended to be menacing, and that’s what children will get out of that. Money is put above ethics now which is why it is so difficult for teams to change.

The use of Native American mascots should not be discontinued. It would cause much more problems to stop them rather than leaving them the way they are. These mascots are meant to honor the Native Americans and to keep the names of the original settlements so no one will forget. The use of these mascots, nicknames, and logos can be a highly volatile issue and will continue to remain controversial, but keeping this imagery honors the Native Americans and is in no way intended to be dehumanizing.