Native American Mascots Research Paper

Words: 1365
Pages: 6

For years, sports centers have had many mascots that come and go for different teams. Every team wants to stand out and be different among the others. Mascots usually are represented by the state and the animal of the specific area. According to Merriam- Webster, a mascot is a person, animal, or object adopted as the symbol of a group (as a school or sports team) and believed to bring good luck. Native Americans have been used as mascots for teams. A person’s culture should not be represented as a mascot for various reasons. Fans from teams make posters mimicking the opposing team with threats and malicious pictures, such as having a red character holding an ax. People carelessly forget that the posters and “humorous” behavior may offend one …show more content…
Native Americans should not be represented for sports teams nationwide, it provides the public with an insensitive message towards this nationality. At Brigham Young University Education & Law Journal, a student Stephanie Bolliger, wrote an article informing her readers on the awareness of Native American mascots. She begins by stating that sports teams who use Native Americans as a mascot are “violating public policy by the U.S court system” (Bolliger). In addition to this, the Indian mascot provides a stereotypical image to the public, antagonizing those who are a part of this particular ethnic …show more content…
Williams explains that the image of Native Americans, most sports teams display is offensive. The color of the Indian often is red and with maliciously big feathers around their head or often carrying an ax. Native Americans spoke out implying that a majority of sports teams uncaringly mimics their appearance and culture. King and Springwood, editors of analogy essays, write, “Native American mascot perpetuates inappropriate, inaccurate, and harmful understandings of living people, their cultures, and their