Examine individual changes

'{{good article}} {{Use American English|date = April 2019}} {{Short description|controversy over mascots depicting Native Americans}} {{Use mdy dates|date = April 2019}} [[File:NotYourMascot2.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Protest against the name of the [[Washington Redskins]] in [[Minneapolis|Minneapolis, Minnesota]], November 2014.]] <!-- NOTE: This lead section is a summary of the sections below, so references are minimal (See WP:Manual_of_Style/Lead_section)--> The use of terms and images referring to [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] and [[First Nations]] as the name or [[mascot]] for a sports team is a topic of public controversy in the [[United States]] and [[Canada]]. Since the 1960s, as part of the [[Native American civil rights|indigenous civil rights movements]], there have been a number of protests and other actions by Native Americans and their supporters. The protests target the prominent use of such names and images by professional franchises such as the [[Cleveland Indians]] (in particular their "[[Chief Wahoo]]" logo, which is now officially retired); and the [[Washington Redskins]] (the term "[[redskin]]s" being defined in most American English dictionaries as "derogatory slang"). Changes, such as the retirement of Native American names and mascots in a wide array of schools, has been a steady trend since the 1970s. The widespread attention to systemic racism in 2020 has led to Native American mascots being questioned for schools in Detroit<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/education/2020/06/22/bell-tolling-native-american-mascots/3213847001/| title=Is the bell tolling for Native American mascots?| author=John Wisely| newspaper=Detroit Free Press| date=June 22, 2020}}</ref> and Chicago<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/ct-life-lane-tech-reconsiders-indian-mascot-06242020-20200624-ut7d4m7xyfd6njpaduxwhfqz4i-story.html| title=Under pressure from alumni, Lane Tech tells parents it is reconsidering its controversial Indian mascot| author=Nara Schoenberg| newspaper=Chicago Tribune| date=June 24, 2020}}</ref>; and national teams such as the Washington Redskins.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newsweek.com/aoc-slams-washington-redskins-says-change-your-name-if-team-wants-really-stand-racial-justice-1508247| title=AOC Slams Washington Redskins, Says 'Change Your Name' if Team Wants to 'Really Stand For Racial Justice'| author=Scott McDonald| date=June 2, 2020| magazine=Newsweek}}</ref> The issue is often discussed in the media only in terms of the offensiveness of certain terms, images, and performances to individuals of Native American heritage, which tends to reduce the problem to one of feelings and personal opinions. This prevents a more comprehensive understanding of the history and context of the use of Native American names and images, and the reasons why sports teams should eliminate the utilization of such terms.<ref name="King.2010">{{cite book| chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Native_American_Mascot_Controversy.html?id=GApQrXWeGLwC| editor=C. Richard King|title=The Native American Mascot Controversy: A Handbook| chapter=Introduction| author=C. Richard King| publisher=Scarecrow Press| location=Lanham, Maryland| year=2010| isbn=978-0-8108-6731-4}}</ref> Social science research says that sports mascots and images, rather than being mere entertainment, are important symbols with deeper psychological and social effects.<ref name="Freyberg.2008">{{cite journal|author=Stephanie A. Fryberg|title=Of Warrior Chiefs and Indian Princesses: The Psychological Consequences of American Indian Mascots|journal=Basic and Applied Social Psychology|date=September 2008|volume=30 | issue = 3|page=208| url=http://www.indianmascots.com/fryberg--web-psychological_.pdf|doi=10.1080/01973530802375003|author-link=Stephanie Fryberg}}</ref> The accumulation of research on the harm done has led to over 115 professional organizations representing civil rights, educational, athletic, and scientific experts adopting resolutions or policies that state that the use of Native American names and/or symbols by non-native sports teams is a form of [[ethnic stereotyping]] that promotes misunderstanding and prejudice which contributes to other problems faced by Native Americans.<ref name="APA2010">{{cite web|url=http://www.apa.org/pi/oema/resources/communique/2010/08/native-themed-mascots.aspx|title=Legislative efforts to eliminate native-themed mascots, nicknames, and logos: Slow but steady progress post-APA resolution|website=American Psychological Association|date=August 2010|accessdate=January 23, 2013}}</ref><ref name="Coalition">{{cite web|url=http://www.coalitionagainstracism.org/|title=National Coalition Against Racism in Sports and Media| website=National Coalition Against Racism in Sports and Media|accessdate=October 3, 2014}}</ref> Defenders of the current usage often state their intention to honor Native Americans by referring to positive traits, such as fighting spirit and being strong, brave, stoic, dedicated, and proud; while opponents see these traits as being based upon stereotypes of Native Americans as savages.<ref name="Davis.2010">{{cite journal| issn = 1068-3844| volume = 9| issue = 4| pages = 11–14| last = Davis| first = Laurel R.| title = The problems with Native American mascots| journal = Multicultural Education| accessdate = October 10, 2017|url=https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ649928}}</ref> In general, the social sciences recognize that all stereotypes, whether positive or negative, are harmful because they promote false or misleading associations between a group and an attribute, fostering a disrespectful relationship. The injustice of such stereotypes is recognized with regard to other racial or ethnic groups, thus mascots are morally questionable regardless of offense being taken by individuals.<ref name="Morris.2015">{{cite journal| author=S.P. Morris| date=2015| title=The Trouble with Mascots| journal=Journal of the Philosophy of Sport| volume=42| issue=2| pages=287–297| doi=10.1080/00948705.2014.997740}}</ref> Defenders of the [[status quo]] also state that the issue is not important, being only about sports, and that the opposition is nothing more than "[[political correctness]]", which change advocates argue ignores the extensive evidence of harmful effects of stereotypes and bias.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Native_American_Mascot_Controversy.html?id=GApQrXWeGLwC|editor=C. Richard King|title=The Native American Mascot Controversy: A Handbook|chapter=2. Teaching Them Respect Not Racism: Common Themes and Questions About the Use of "Indian" Logos|author=Barbara E. Munson|publisher=Scarecrow Press|location=Lanham, Maryland|year=2010|isbn=978-0-8108-6731-4}}</ref> Although there has been a steady decline in the number of teams doing so, Native American images and nicknames nevertheless remain fairly common in American and Canadian sports, and may be found in use at all levels, from youth teams to professional sports franchises. ==History== [[European American]]s have had a history of "playing Indian" that dates back to the [[Colonial history of the United States|colonial period]]. In the 19th century, fraternal organizations such as the [[Tammanies|Tammany Societies]] and the [[Improved Order of Red Men]] adopted the words and material culture of Native Americans in part to establish an aboriginal identity, while ignoring the dispossession and conquest of indigenous peoples.<ref>{{cite book| last=Deloria| first=Philip J.| year=1998| title=Playing Indian| location=New Haven| publisher=Yale University Press| title-link=Playing Indian}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| url=http://yalebooks.com/book/9780300080674/playing-indian| title=Playing Indian| publisher=Yale University Press| accessdate=January 6, 2016| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630090119/http://yalebooks.com/book/9780300080674/playing-indian| archivedate=June 30, 2016| df=}}</ref> This practice spread to youth groups, such as the [[Boy Scouts of America]] (BSA) (in particular, the [[Order of the Arrow]]) and many summer camps.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.voanews.com/usa/native-americans-boy-scouts-stop-plundering-our-past| title=Native Americans to Boy Scouts: Stop Plundering Our Past| website==Voice of America| author=Cecily Hilleary| date=August 5, 2019| accessdate=August 7, 2019}}</ref> University students in the late 19th and early 20th centuries adopted Indian names and symbols for their sports teams, not from authentic sources but rather as Native American life was imagined by European Americans.<ref name="Spindel">{{cite book|last=Spindel|first=Carol|year=2002|title=Dancing at Halftime: Sports and the Controversy Over American Indian Mascots|location=New York|publisher=New York University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Dancing_at_Halftime.html?id=4p62ket04PgC|isbn=9780814781272}}</ref> Professional team nicknames had similar origins. In professional baseball the team that is now the [[Atlanta Braves]] was founded as the Boston Red Stockings in 1871; becoming the [[History of the Boston Braves|Boston Braves]] in 1912. Their owner at that time, [[James E. Gaffney|James Gaffney]], was a member of New York City's political machine, [[Tammany Hall]], one of the societies formed to honor [[Tamanend]], a chief of the [[Lenape|Delaware]]. The team that moved to become the [[Washington Redskins]] in 1937 was originally also known as the Boston Braves since the [[American football|football]] and baseball teams played at [[Braves Field]]. After moving to [[Fenway Park]], home of the [[Boston Red Sox]], the team name was changed to the Boston Redskins in 1933, using a "red" identifier while retaining the Braves "Indian Head" logo. While defenders of the Redskins often cite coach [[William Henry Dietz]], who claimed Native American heritage, to justify the name; the use of Native American names and imagery by this [[National Football League|NFL]] team began in 1932 before hiring Dietz in 1933.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nfl/wasbos/bosskins.html|title=The Boston Redskins|accessdate=2013-04-24| website=Sports Ecyclopedia}}</ref> The [[Cleveland Indians]]' name originated from a request by club owner [[Charles Somers]] to baseball writers to choose a new name to replace the "Naps" following the departure of their star player [[Nap Lajoie]] after the 1914 season.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Baseball writers select "Indians" as the best name to apply to the former Naps |url= |newspaper=The Plain Dealer |location=Cleveland, Ohio |date=January 17, 1915 |access-date= |quote=With the going of Nap Lajoie to the Athletics, a new name had to be selected for the Cleveland American league club. President Somers invited the Cleveland baseball writers to make the selection. The title of Indians was their choice, it having been one of the names applied to the old National league club of Cleveland many years ago.}}</ref> The name "Indians" was chosen as it was one of the nicknames previously applied to the old [[Cleveland Spiders]] baseball club during the time when [[Louis Sockalexis]], a member of the [[Penobscot]] tribe of Maine, played for Cleveland.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Looking Backwards |url= |newspaper=The Plain Dealer |location=Cleveland, Ohio |date=January 18, 1915}}</ref> The success of the Boston Braves in the [[1914 World Series]] may have been another reason for adopting an Indian mascot. The story that the team is named to honor Sockalexis, as the first Native American to play [[Major League Baseball]], cannot be verified from historical documents.<ref>{{cite journal|title=An Act of Honor or Exploitation? The Cleveland Indians' Use of the Louis Francis Sockalexis Story|first=Ellen|last=Staurowsky|journal=Sociology of Sports Journal|date=December 1998|volume=15 | issue = 4|page=299|doi=10.1123/ssj.15.4.299}}</ref> The news stories published to announce the selection in 1915 make no mention of Sockalexis, but do make many racist and insulting references to Native Americans.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2014/03/18/the-cleveland-indians-louis-sockalexis-and-the-name/| title=The Cleveland Indians, Louis Sockalexis, and The Name| first=Joe| last=Posnanski| date=March 18, 2014| website==NBC Sports}}</ref> The stereotyping of Native Americans must be understood in the context of history which includes conquest, forced relocation, and organized efforts to eradicate native cultures, such as the [[Native American boarding schools|boarding schools]] of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which separated young Native Americans from their families in order to educate them as European Americans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.apa.org/pi/oema/resources/policy/mascots-justif.pdf|title=APA Resolution Justifications|year=2005|website=American Psychological Association|accessdate=2013-01-21}}</ref> As stated in an editorial by Carter Meland ([[Anishinaabe]] heritage) and David E. Wilkins ([[Lumbee]]) both professors of [[Native American studies|American Indian Studies]] at the [[University of Minnesota]]: "Since the first Europeans made landfall in North America, native peoples have suffered under a weltering array of stereotypes, misconceptions and caricatures. Whether portrayed as ''[[noble savage]]s'', ''[[Stereotypes about indigenous peoples of North America|ignoble savages]]'', ''teary-eyed [[Environmentalism|environmentalists]]'' or, most recently, simply as ''casino-rich'', native peoples find their efforts to be treated with a measure of respect and integrity undermined by images that flatten complex tribal, historical and personal experience into one-dimensional representations that tells us more about the depicters than about the depicted."<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Star Tribune|title=Stereotypes in sports, chaos in federal policy|author=Carter Meland and David E. Wilkins|date=November 22, 2012|url=http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentaries/180435801.html|accessdate=2013-01-30}}</ref> ==Viewpoints== ===Native Americans=== {{see also|Stereotypes about indigenous peoples of North America}} {{quote box|quote=Why do these people continue to make a mockery of our culture? In almost every game of hockey, basketball, baseball, and football&mdash; whether high school, college, or professional leagues&mdash; I see some form of degrading activity being conducted by non-Indians of Indian culture! We Indian people never looked the way these caricatures portray us. Nor have we ever made a mockery of the white people. So then why do they do this to us? It is painful to see the mockery of our ways. It is a deep pain.|author=[[Dennis Banks|Dennis J. Banks]], American Indian Movement, 1970<ref name="Banks.1993">{{ cite journal| last=Banks| first=D. J.| year=1993| title=Tribal Names and Mascots in Sports| journal=Journal of Sport & Social Issues| volume=17| issue=1| pages=5–8 |doi=10.1177/019372359301700102}}</ref>|width=320px| align=right}} In the 1940s, the [[National Congress of American Indians]] (NCAI) created a campaign to eliminate negative stereotyping of Native American people in the media. Over time, the campaign began to focus on Indian names and mascots in sports.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hylton|first=J Gordon|title=BEFORE THE REDSKINS WERE THE REDSKINS: THE USE OF NATIVE AMERICAN TEAM NAMES IN THE FORMATIVE ERA OF AMERICAN SPORTS, 1857–1933|journal=North Dakota Law Review|date=2010-01-01|volume=86|page=879| url=https://law.und.edu/_files/docs/ndlr/pdf/issues/86/4/86ndlr879.pdf}}</ref> The NCAI maintains that teams with mascots such as the [[Braves]] and the [[Redskin]]s perpetuate negative stereotypes of Native American people and demean their native traditions and rituals. "Often citing a long-held myth by non-Native people that "Indian" mascots "honor Native people," American sports businesses such as the [[National Football League|NFL]]'s [[Washington Redskins|Washington 'Redskins']] and [[Kansas City Chiefs|Kansas City 'Chiefs']], [[Major League Baseball|MLB]]'s [[Cleveland Indians|Cleveland 'Indians']] and [[Atlanta Braves|Atlanta 'Braves']], and the [[National Hockey League|NHL]]'s [[Chicago Blackhawks|Chicago Black Hawks]], continue to profit from harmful stereotypes originated during a time when white superiority and segregation were commonplace."<ref name="NCAI.2013">{{cite web| url=http://www.ncai.org/resources/ncai_publications/ending-the-legacy-of-racism-in-sports-the-era-of-harmful-indian-sports-mascots| title=Ending the Legacy of Racism in Sports & the Era of Harmful Indian Sports Mascots| accessdate=October 10, 2017| website=NCAI}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title=Policy Paper| url=http://www.ncai.org/attachments/policypaper_mijapmouwdbjqftjayzqwlqldrwzvsyfakbwthpmatcoroyolpn_ncai_harmful_mascots_report_ending_the_legacy_of_racism_10_2013.pdf| website=NCAI}}</ref> Several of the founders of the [[American Indian Movement]], including [[Clyde Bellecourt]], [[Vernon Bellecourt]],<ref>{{Cite news | issn = 0362-4331 | last = Martin | first = Douglas| title = Vernon Bellecourt, Who Protested the Use of Indian Mascots, Dies at 75| newspaper = The New York Times| accessdate = 2014-11-12| date = 2007-10-17 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/17/sports/17bellecourt.html}}</ref> [[Dennis Banks]] and [[Russel Means]],<ref>{{Cite web |title = Russell Means: A Look at His Journey Through Life| work = Indian Country Today Media Network.com | format = Text | accessdate = 2014-11-12 | date = 2012-10-22| url = http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/10/22/russell-means-look-his-journey-through-life-141444}}</ref> were among the first to protest names and mascots such as the Washington Redskins and [[Chief Wahoo]]. Vernon Bellecourt also founded the National Coalition Against Racism in Sports and Media (NCARSM) in 1989.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.coalitionagainstracism.org/about| title=About - National Coalition Against Racism in Sports and Media| website=National Coalition Against Racism in Sports and Media}}</ref> Cornel Pewewardy ([[Comanche]]-[[Kiowa]]), Professor and Director of Indigenous Nations Studies at [[Portland State University]], cites indigenous mascots as an example of dysconscious racism which, by placing images of Native American or First Nations people into an invented media context, continues to maintain the superiority of the dominant culture.<ref name="Pewewardy.1999">{{Cite journal| issn = 0710-1481| volume = 23| issue = 2| pages = 176–189| last = Pewewardy| first = Cornel| title = From enemy to mascot: The deculturation of Indian mascots in sports culture| journal = Canadian Journal of Native Education| date = 1999| id = {{ProQuest|230304174}}}}</ref> Such practices can be seen as a form of [[cultural imperialism]] or [[neocolonialism]].<ref name="Longwell-Grice.2003">{{Cite journal| issn = 0027-6014| volume = 40| issue = 3| pages = 1–12| last1 = Longwell-Grice| first1 = Robert| last2 = Longwell-Grice|first2 = Hope |title = Chiefs, Braves, and Tomahawks: The Use of American Indians as University Mascots| journal = NASPA Journal (National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, Inc.)| year = 2003 | doi = 10.2202/0027-6014.1255}}</ref> Native mascots are also part of the larger issues of [[cultural appropriation]] and the violation of [[indigenous intellectual property]] rights, which includes all instances where non-natives use indigenous music, art, costumes, etc. in entertainment and commerce. It has been argued that harm to Native Americans occurs because the appropriation of Native culture by the majority society continues the systems of dominance and subordination that have been used to colonize, assimilate, and oppress indigenous groups.<ref>{{cite journal| last=Riley| first=Angela| title=Straight Stealing: Towards an Indigenous System of Cultural Property Protection| journal=Washington Law Review| volume=80| issue=69| date=2005| ssrn=703283}}</ref> Some see the use of caricatures of Native Americans as sports mascots as contributing to their political and economic [[Social exclusion|marginalization]]. Where other minorities would be consulted, decisions impacting Native Americans, such as building the [[Dakota Access Pipeline]], are made while excluding Native concerns.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/beyond-standing-rock-the-native-american-economic_us_58b6e21de4b0e5fdf619792b| author=Dedrick Asante-Muhammad| title=Beyond Standing Rock: The Native American Economic Experience| quote=The U.S. has gained far too much from the marginalization of Native Americans| date=March 1, 2017| website=The Huffington Post}}</ref> Another incident cited as indicative of the misunderstanding of Native American legal status because of stereotyping is the [[Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl|Baby Veronica case]], in which a child was adopted by a white family without the consent of her father, an enrolled member of the [[Cherokee Nation]].<ref>{{cite podcast|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/the-washington-redhawks-culture-jam/| title=The Washington Redhawks Culture Jam: Jacqueline Keeler joins the show to talk native mascotry| host=Dave Zirin| publisher=The Nation| accessdate=December 20, 2017| date=December 19, 2017}}</ref> Not all Native Americans are united in total opposition to mascots. Steven Denson, a professor at [[Southern Methodist University]] and member of the [[Chickasaw]] nation, while not issuing a blanket endorsement, has nevertheless stated that there are acceptable ways to use Native American mascots if it is done in a respectful and tasteful manner. He states: "I believe it is acceptable if used in a way that fosters understanding and increased positive awareness of the Native-American culture. And it must also be done with the support of the Native-American community. There is a way to achieve a partnership that works together to achieve mutually beneficial goals."<ref name="SMU">{{cite web| url=http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/153383/nativeamerican_nicknamesmascots/index.html| title=Native-American Nicknames/Mascots|website=Red Orbit| date=June 2, 2005}}</ref> The NCAI recognized the right of individual tribes to established relationships with teams which allowed them to retain their names.<ref name="NCAI">{{cite web|url=http://www.ncai.org/policy-issues/community-and-culture/anti-defamation-mascots|title=Anti-Defamation and Mascots|website=National Congress of American Indians|accessdate=12 January 2013}}</ref> ===Social sciences and education=== The damage caused by the use of Native American mascots, particularly in an academic context, was stated by the Society of Indian Psychologists in 1999: <blockquote>''Stereotypical and historically inaccurate images of Indians, in general, interfere with learning about them by creating, supporting and maintaining oversimplified and inaccurate views of indigenous peoples and their cultures. When stereotypical representations are taken as factual information, they contribute to the development of cultural biases and prejudices, (clearly a contradiction to the educational mission of the University.) In the same vein, we believe that continuation of the use of Indians as symbols and mascots is incongruous with the philosophy espoused by many Americans as promoting inclusivity and diversity.''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aiansip.org/uploads/SIP_Indian_Mascot_Position_Statement.pdf| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031052230/http://aiansip.org/uploads/SIP_Indian_Mascot_Position_Statement.pdf| archive-date=October 31, 2015|title=Indian Mascot Position Statement | website=Society of Indian Psychologists|date=January 27, 1999|accessdate=2013-08-19}}</ref></blockquote> Sports mascots have been cited as an example of [[Microaggression theory|microaggressions]], the everyday insults that members of marginalized minority groups are subject to in the comments and actions of other groups in society.<ref>{{cite book |title=Microaggressions and Marginality: Manifestation, Dynamics, and Impact| author=Derald Wing Sue| publisher=John Wiley & Sons| date=2010| page=384| url=https://books.google.com/?id=7WZxpPnnjzkC&pg=PA114 |isbn=9780470627204}}</ref> In 2005, the [[American Psychological Association]] (APA) issued a resolution "Recommending the Immediate Retirement of American Indian Mascots, Symbols, Images, and Personalities by Schools, Colleges, Universities, Athletic Teams, and Organizations" due to the harm done by creating a hostile environment, the negative impact on the self-esteem of American Indian children, and discrimination that may violate civil rights. It also impacts non-natives by reinforcing mainstream stereotypes, preventing learning about Native American culture. The APA states that stereotyping is disrespectful of the beliefs, traditions and values of Native Americans.<ref name=APA>{{cite web|url=http://www.apa.org/pi/oema/resources/indian-mascots.aspx|title=Summary of the Resolution Recommending Retirement of American Indian Mascots|website=American Psychological Association|year=2005}}</ref> Similar resolutions have been adopted by the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport,<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.nasss.org/nasss-native-american-imagery-resolution/| title=NASSS Native American Imagery Resolution| date=October 28, 2005| website=North American Society for the Sociology of Sport| accessdate=February 5, 2017}}</ref> the [[American Sociological Association]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asanet.org/about/Council_Statements/use_of_native_american_nicknames_logos_and_mascots.cfm |title=Statement by the Council of the American Sociological Association on Discontinuing the Use of Native American Nicknames, Logos and Mascots in Sport |website=American Sociological Association |date=March 6, 2007 |accessdate=2013-01-23 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130221184942/http://asanet.org/about/Council_Statements/use_of_native_american_nicknames_logos_and_mascots.cfm |archivedate=February 21, 2013 |df= }}</ref> the [[American Counseling Association]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.counseling.org/docs/resolutions/resolutions-2001-present.pdf?sfvrsn=2 |website=American Counseling Association |title=Opposition to Use of Stereotypical Native American Images as Sports Symbols and Mascots |year=2001 |accessdate=2013-01-23 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130915125336/http://counseling.org/docs/resolutions/resolutions-2001-present.pdf?sfvrsn=2 |archivedate=2013-09-15 |df= }}</ref> and the [[American Anthropological Association]].<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/rdcms-aaa/files/production/public/FileDownloads/pdfs/issues/press/upload/Sports-Mascot-Resolution-Release-Final.pdf |title=AAA Calls on Sports Organizations to Denounce Inappropriate American Indian Mascots |date=March 25, 2015 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161204135245/http://s3.amazonaws.com/rdcms-aaa/files/production/public/FileDownloads/pdfs/issues/press/upload/Sports-Mascot-Resolution-Release-Final.pdf |archivedate=December 4, 2016 |df= }}</ref> In a 2005 report on the status of Native American students, the [[National Education Association]] included the elimination of Indian mascots and sports team names as one of its recommendations.<ref>{{citation|title=A Report on the Status of American Indians and Alaska Natives in Education|author=Trujillo, Octaviana (Ph.D.)|author2=Alston, Denise (Ph.D.)|year=2005|publisher=National Education Association}}</ref> In 2018, the [[Robert Wood Johnson Foundation]] announced it would no longer consider teams with racist mascots, such as the Kansas City and Washington football teams, for its annual RWJF Sports Award, which recognizes organizations that contribute to public health through sports.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/05/07/kansas-city-chiefs-washington-redskins-racist-mascots-football-rwjf-sports-award-column/584858002/| title=Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: We honored sports teams with racist mascots. Not anymore. | author=Richard E. Besser| newspaper=USA Today | date=May 7, 2018| accessdate=May 9, 2018| author-link=Richard E. Besser }}</ref> Social science research gives weight to the perceptions of those directly affected. In particular, studies support the view that sports mascots and images are not trivial.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Fryberg |first=Stephanie A.|title=Of Warrior Chiefs and Indian Princesses: The Psychological Consequences of American Indian Mascots|journal=Basic and Applied Social Psychology|date=September 2008|volume=30 | issue = 3|page=208|doi=10.1080/01973530802375003}}</ref> Stereotyping directly affects academic performance and self-esteem, which contribute to all of the other issues faced by Native Americans, including suicide, unemployment, and poverty.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/opinion/sunday/intelligence-and-the-stereotype-threat.html|title=It's Not Me, It's You|first=ANNIE|last=MURPHY PAUL|date=October 6, 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|accessdate=2013-02-11}}</ref> European Americans exposed to mascots are more likely to believe not only that stereotypes are true, but that Native Americans have no identity beyond these stereotypes.<ref name="bias">{{cite journal|last=Chaney|first=John| title=Do American Indian Mascots = American Indian People? Examining Implicit Bias towards American Indian People and American Indian Mascots|journal=American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research |date=2011-01-01|volume=18 | issue = 1|pages=42–62|doi=10.5820/aian.1801.2011.42|pmid=21866499|doi-access=free}}</ref> Two studies examining the effect of exposure to an American Indian sports mascot found a tendency to endorse stereotypes of a different minority group (Asian Americans), which is indicative of a "spreading effect". Exposure to any stereotypes increased the likelihood of stereotypical thinking; demonstrating the harm done to society by stereotyping of any kind.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kim-Prieto|first=Chu|title=Effect of Exposure to an American Indian Mascot on the Tendency to Stereotype a Different Minority Group|journal=Journal of Applied Social Psychology|date=March 2010|volume=40|number=3|page=534|doi=10.1111/j.1559-1816.2010.00586.x}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-hidden-brain/201003/native-american-imagery-sports-mascots-new-problem |journal=Psychology Today |title=Native American imagery as sports mascots: A new problem |date=March 25, 2010 |first=Shankar |last=Vedantam |accessdate=February 5, 2013 | archiveurl=https://archive.is/20130419123235/http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-hidden-brain/201003/native-american-imagery-sports-mascots-new-problem |archivedate=April 19, 2013 |df= }}</ref> A connection between stereotyping and racism of any group increasing the likelihood of stereotyping others was made by Native Americans opposing the "Indians" mascot in [[Skowhegan, Maine]] when fliers promoting the [[KKK]] were distributed in that town.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.centralmaine.com/2017/04/05/kkk-flyers-in-skowhegan-prompt-school-letters-renewed-angst-over-indians-mascot/| title=KKK flyers in Skowhegan prompt school letters, renewed angst over 'Indians' mascot| date=April 5, 2017| author=Doug Harlow| newspaper=Portland Press Herald| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406172232/http://www.centralmaine.com/2017/04/05/kkk-flyers-in-skowhegan-prompt-school-letters-renewed-angst-over-indians-mascot/| archivedate=April 6, 2017| df=}}</ref> ===Civil rights=== The [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]] (NAACP) passed a resolution calling for the end of the use of Native American names, images, and mascots in 1999.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aistm.org/naacp_1999_resolution.htm |title=NAACP 1999 Resolution |accessdate=2013-01-29 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121128103322/http://www.aistm.org/naacp_1999_resolution.htm |archivedate=2012-11-28 |df= | website=American Indian Sports Team Mascots}}</ref> In 2001, the [[United States Commission on Civil Rights|U.S. Commission on Civil Rights]] released an advisory opinion calling for an end to the use of Native American images and team names by non-Native schools. While recognizing the right to freedom of expression, the commission also recognizes those Native Americans and civil rights advocates that maintain these mascots, by promoting stereotypes, may violate anti-discrimination laws. When found in educational institutions, mascots may also create a hostile environment inconsistent with learning to respect diverse cultures, but instead teach that stereotypes that misrepresent a minority group are permissible. Those schools that claim that their sports imagery stimulate interest in Native American culture have not listened to Native groups and civil rights leaders who point out that even purportedly positive stereotypes both present a false portrayal of the past and prevent understanding of contemporary Native people as fellow Americans.<ref name=USCCR>{{cite press release|url=http://www.usccr.gov/press/archives/2001/041601st.htm |title=Statement of the United States Commission on Civil Rights on the use of Native American images and nicknames as sports symbols |accessdate=2016-12-10|date=2001}}</ref> In a report issued in 2012, a [[United Nations]] expert on Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples cited the continued use of Native American references by sports team as a part of the stereotyping that "obscures understanding of the reality of Native Americans today and instead help to keep alive racially discriminatory attitudes."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=14497&LangID=E |title=USA: 'Redskins' Team mascot hurtful reminder of past suffering of Native Americans – UN rights expert |website=United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413145318/http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=14497&LangID=E |archivedate=2014-04-13 |df= }}</ref> Justice Murray Sinclair, the head of Canada's [[Truth and reconciliation commission|Truth and Reconciliation Commission]] said in 2015 "sports teams with offensive names, such as Redskins and cartoonish aboriginal-looking mascots have no place in a country trying to come to grips with racism in its past".<ref>{{cite news| title=Stop using offensive indigenous mascots in sports, Justice Murray Sinclair says| url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/11/15/stop-using-offensive-indigenous-mascots-in-sports-justice-murray-sinclair-says.html| first=Chinta| last=Puxley| newspaper=The Toronto Star| date=November 15, 2015}}</ref> ====Legal remedies==== While all advocates for elimination of Native mascots agree that the practice is morally wrong, many do not find a basis for legal remedy. Civil rights law in the United States reflect the difference between the experience of racism by [[African American]]s and Native Americans. The effects of slavery continued after emancipation in the form of discrimination that insured a continued source of cheap labor. What European Americans wanted from Native Americans was not labor but land, and many were willing to have native people themselves assimilate. Continued discrimination came to those who refused to do so, but asserted their separate identity and rights of sovereignty. The [[Cultural appropriation|appropriation]] of native cultures is therefore seen as discriminatory practice by some but is not understood as such by those that think of assimilation as a positive process. The difference is reflected in the continued popularity of Native Americans as mascots when similar usage of the names and images of any other ethnic group, in particular [[African American]]s, would be unthinkable, and the continued claim that the stereotype of the "noble savage" honors Native Americans.<ref>{{cite journal|volume=56 |journal=UCLA Law Review |page=591 |title=Red: Racism and the American Indian |last=Berger |first=Bethany R. |year=2009 |url=http://www.uclalawreview.org/pdf/56-3-2.pdf | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423112932/http://www.uclalawreview.org/pdf/56-3-2.pdf |archivedate=2015-04-23 |df= }}</ref> In February 2013, the [[Michigan Department of Civil Rights]] (MDCR) filed a complaint with the [[United States Department of Education|US Department of Education]]'s [[Office for Civil Rights]] (OCR). MDCR's complaint asserted that new research clearly establishes that use of American Indian imagery negatively impacts student learning, creating an unequal learning environment in violation of Article VI of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]].<ref name=MDCR>{{cite web|title=Michigan Department of Civil Rights: Continued Use of American Indian Mascots Hurts Student Achievement |url=http://www.michigan.gov/mdcr/0,4613,7-138--294605--,00.html |website=State of Michigan |accessdate=23 February 2013 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130218160526/http://www.michigan.gov/mdcr/0%2C4613%2C7-138--294605--%2C00.html |archivedate=18 February 2013 |df= }}</ref> In June 2013, the OCR dismissed the case on the basis that the legal standard required not only harm, but the intent to do harm, which was not established.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.freep.com/article/20130603/NEWS06/306030121/indian-mascot-ban-tossed-michigan| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605075801/http://www.freep.com/article/20130603/NEWS06/306030121/indian-mascot-ban-tossed-michigan| archive-date=June 5, 2013|title=Feds toss Michigan complaint to ban Indian mascots for sports teams|date=June 3, 2013|newspaper=The Detroit Free Press|first=Lori|last=Higgins|accessdate=December 8, 2016}}</ref> A legal claim of discrimination rests upon a group agreeing that a particular term or practice is offensive, thus opponents of mascot change often point to individuals claiming Native American heritage who say they are not offended. This raised the difficulty of [[Native American identity in the United States]], also an evolving controversy.<ref name="Morris.2015"/> ===Religious organizations=== In 1992, the [[Central Conference of American Rabbis]] issued a resolution calling for the end of sports teams names that promote racism, in particular the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Redskins.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ccarnet.org/rabbis-speak/resolutions/1992/racism-1992/|title=Resolution Adopted by the CCAR: Racism|year=1992|accessdate=September 1, 2013 | website=Central Conference of American Rabbis}}</ref> In 2001, the [[Unitarian Universalism|Unitarian Universalist Association]] passed a resolution to establish relationships with groups working to end the use of Indian images and symbols for sports and media mascots.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.uua.org/statements/resolution-establish-formal-relationships-national-coalition-racism-sports-and-media| title=Resolution to Establish Formal Relationships with the National Coalition on Racism in Sports and Media| accessdate=March 15, 2017| website=Unitarian Universalist Association}}</ref> In 2004, the [[United Methodist Church]] also passed a resolution condemning the use of Native American team names and sports mascots, which was highlighted in a meeting of the Black caucus of that organization in 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=5765541&ct=3722449| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140204042505/http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=5765541&ct=3722449| archivedate=February 4, 2014|title=Black caucus joins Native American mascot fight|date=April 4, 2007|accessdate=December 8, 2016| website=United Methodist Church}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://umc-gbcs.org/faith-in-action/native-american-mascots-must-go |title=Native American mascots must go: Time to remove them is long passed |author=Rev. Chebon Kernell |date=April 5, 2011 |accessdate=January 21, 2014 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203082502/http://umc-gbcs.org/faith-in-action/native-american-mascots-must-go |archivedate=February 3, 2014 |df= | website=United Methodist Church}}</ref> {{Quote box |quote = A child once asked me why Indians were "mean." Where did he get that idea? By schools such as the [[Chief Illiniwek|University of Illinois]] "honoring" my ancestors?<ref>{{cite web |url=http://archive.wfn.org/2001/03/msg00121.html |title=Mascot issue raises specters of racism, idolatry |date=March 9, 2001 |accessdate=October 19, 2013 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118081335/http://archive.wfn.org/2001/03/msg00121.html |archivedate=January 18, 2017 |df= | website=Worldwide Faith News}}</ref> |author = Rev. Alvin Deer (Kiowa/Creek), United Methodist Church |width = 320px }} A group of sixty-one religious leaders in Washington, D.C. sent a letter to NFL Commissioner [[Roger Goodell]] and Redskins owner [[Daniel Snyder]] stating their moral obligation to join the "Change the Mascot" movement due to the offensive and inappropriate nature of the name which causes pain whether or not that is intended.<ref name="faith">{{cite news|url=https://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/documents/local/letter-to-goodell-and-snyder/695/|title=Letter to Goodell and Snyder|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/faith-leaders-urge-redskins-owner-dan-snyder-and-nfl-to-change-teams-name/2013/12/05/e1dad2be-5dd3-11e3-be07-006c776266ed_story.html|title=Faith leaders urge Redskins owner Dan Snyder and NFL to change team's name|first=Theresa|last=Vargas|date=December 5, 2013|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> Members of the Indian Affairs Committee of the Baltimore Yearly Meeting of the [[Quakers|Society of Friends]] approved a formal statement condemning the name of the Washington football team, stating that "the NFL has violated its core principles for decades by allowing the team playing in Washington, D.C., to carry the name 'redskins,' a racist epithet that insults millions of Native Americans. Continued use of the term encourages and perpetuates persecution, disrespect, and bigotry against Native men, women, and children".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/07/29/quaker-indian-affairs-call-redskins-change-name-156099 |title=Quaker Indian Affairs Call for Redskins to Change Name |date=July 29, 2014 |website=Indian Country Today | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140801010742/http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/07/29/quaker-indian-affairs-call-redskins-change-name-156099 |archivedate=August 1, 2014 |df= }}</ref> The Torch Committee, the student government organization of the [[Sandy Spring Friends School]] in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, voted to ban any apparel on the campus which includes the Redskins name, although the logo would continue to be allowed.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/md-private-school-bans-use-of-the-r-word-on-campus-to-promote-equality/2015/02/13/bdbf769c-b394-11e4-854b-a38d13486ba1_story.html| title=Md. private school bans use of the 'R-word' on campus to promote equality| author1=Moriah Balingit| author2=John Woodrow Cox| date=February 13, 2015| newspaper=The Washington Post}} </ref> In a meeting March 1, 2014, the Board of Directors of the Central Atlantic Conference of the [[United Church of Christ]] (UCC) unanimously passed a resolution proposing that its members boycott Washington Redskins games and shun products bearing the team's logo until the team changes its name and mascot. Redskin's spokesman [[Tony Wyllie]] offered a response, saying, "We respect those who disagree with our team's name, but we wish the United Church of Christ would listen to the voice of the overwhelming majority of Americans, including Native Americans, who support our name and understand it honors the heritage and tradition of the Native American community."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/churches-propose-a-boycott-of-redskins-unless-the-team-change-its-name/2014/03/01/488669bc-a189-11e3-b8d8-94577ff66b28_story.html|title=Churches propose a boycott of Redskins unless the team changes its name|first=Carol|last=Morello|date=March 1, 2014|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> At its annual meeting in June 2014, the membership of the UCC also passed a resolution supporting the boycott.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nativenewsonline.net/currents/united-church-christ-central-atlantic-conference-passes-resolution-calling-washington-nfl-team-name-change-calls-member-boycott/|title=UCC Central Atlantic Conference Passes Resolution Calling for Washington NFL Team Name Change & Calls for Member Boycott|date=June 15, 2014|website=Native News Online}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/redskins/2014/06/14/church-of-christ-boycott-washington-redskins-name/10524269/|title=Church group latest to boycott Redskins over name|first=Erik|last=Brady|date=June 14, 2014|newspaper=USA Today}}</ref> The resolution and boycott was passed by the National Synod of the UCC in June, 2015.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.19actionnews.com/story/29433519/cleveland-church-calling-on-the-washington-redskins-to-change-its-name-logo| title=Cleveland church calls on Washington Redskins to change name, logo| date=June 29, 2015| first=Scott| last=Taylor| website=19 Action News| access-date=July 1, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150726050741/http://www.19actionnews.com/story/29433519/cleveland-church-calling-on-the-washington-redskins-to-change-its-name-logo| archive-date=July 26, 2015| url-status=dead}}</ref> ===Popular opinion=== [[File:FedExField - Redskins Jaguars pregame field.jpg|thumb|right|210px|The Washington Redskins logo at FedEx Field, in Maryland]] The topic became an issue on a national level in the twenty-first century, with a hearing before the US Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in 2011,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indian.senate.gov/hearings/hearing.cfm?hearingID=e655f9e2809e5476862f735da16ba74a| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121212132533/http://www.indian.senate.gov/hearings/hearing.cfm?hearingID=e655f9e2809e5476862f735da16ba74a|archive-date=December 12, 2012| title=OVERSIGHT HEARING on Stolen Identities: The Impact of Racist Stereotypes on Indigenous People|date=May 5, 2011|accessdate=December 8, 2016 | website=United States Senate}}</ref> and a symposium at the Smithsonian [[National Museum of the American Indian]] in 2013.<ref name="Smithsonian Institution">{{cite web|url=http://newsdesk.si.edu/releases/native-american-mascot-controversy-takes-center-stage-national-museum-american-indian|title=Native American Mascot Controversy Takes Center Stage at the National Museum of the American Indian| website=Smithsonian Institution|date=December 24, 2012|accessdate=December 1, 2013}}</ref> In November, 2015 President Obama, speaking at the White House Tribal Nations Conference, stated "Names and mascots of sports teams like the Washington Redskins perpetuate negative stereotypes of Native Americans" and praised [[Adidas]] for a new initiative to help schools change names and mascots by designing new logos and paying for part of the cost of new uniforms.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/259331-obama-teams-should-drop-native-american-mascots| date=November 5, 2015| title=Obama: Teams should drop Native American mascots| first=Jordan| last=Fabian| newspaper=The Hill}}</ref> Mainstream opinion reflects the function of identification with a sports team in both individual and group psychology. There are many benefits associated with sports fandom, both private (increased self-esteem) and public (community solidarity). The activity of viewing sporting events provide shared experiences that reinforce personal and group identification with a team. The name, mascot, cheerleaders, and marching band performances reinforce and become associated with these shared experiences.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.athleticinsight.com/Vol5Iss2/FanDevelopment.htm| title=The Social Psychology of the Creation of a Sports Fan Identity: A Theoretical Review of the Literature| author=Beth Jacobson |website=Athletic Insight - The Online Journal of Sports Psychology| date=2003| accessdate=January 15, 2017}}</ref> Daniel Snyder explicitly invokes these associations with family, friends, and an 81-year tradition as being the most important reasons for keeping the Redskins name.<ref>{{cite news| title=Letter from Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder to fans| date= October 9, 2013| newspaper=The Washington Post| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/letter-from-washington-redskins-owner-dan-snyder-to-fans/2013/10/09/e7670ba0-30fe-11e3-8627-c5d7de0a046b_story.html| accessdate=January 15, 2017}}</ref> When self-esteem becomes bound to the players and the team, there are many beneficial but also some unfortunate consequences, including denial or rationalization of misbehavior.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-psychology-of-why-sports-fans-see-their-teams-as-extensions-of-themselves/2015/01/30/521e0464-a816-11e4-a06b-9df2002b86a0_story.html| title=The psychology of why sports fans see their teams as extensions of themselves| author=Eric Simons | date=January 30, 2015| newspaper=The Washington Post| accessdate=December 20, 2016}}</ref> However, for some, the identity being expressed is one of supremacy, with the defense of native mascots being clearly racist.<ref name="Banks.1993"/> Some individuals who support the use of Native American mascots state that they are meant to be respectful, and to pay homage to Native American people. Many have made the argument that Native American mascots focus on bravery, courage and fighting skills rather than anything derogatory. Karl Swanson, then vice-president of the Washington Redskins professional football team, declared in the magazine ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' that his team's name "symbolizes courage, dignity, and leadership", and that the "Redskins symbolize the greatness and strength of a grand people".<ref name="bar">{{cite journal| last=Emert| first=Phyllis Raybin| year=2003| url=http://www.njsbf.org/images/content/1/1/11134/Respect%20Winter%202003.pdf| title=Native American Mascots: Racial Slur or Cherished Tradition?| journal=Respect (Newsletter)| publisher=New Jersey State Bar Foundation| volume=2| issue=2 (Winter 2003)| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110103052217/http://www.njsbf.org/images/content/1/1/11134/Respect%20Winter%202003.pdf| archivedate=2011-01-03| df=}}</ref> However, many note that the behavior of fans at games is not respectful. [[Richard Lapchick]], director emeritus of Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society, in an article: "Could you imagine people mocking African Americans in [[Blackface|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 [[Body painting|war paint]] on their faces. Is this not the equivalent to black face?"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=lapchick/050825&num=0|title=Mascots are a matter of respect|website=ESPN|accessdate=February 6, 2013}}</ref> Others claim Native American mascots help promote the culture to those who might be unaware of its significance. [[Chief Illiniwek]], the former athletic symbol for the [[University of Illinois]], became the subject of protest in 1988.<ref name="Spindel"/> In 1990 the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois called the mascot a dignified symbol: "His ceremonial dance is done with grace and beauty. The Chief keeps the memory of the people of a great Native American tribe alive for thousands of Illinoisans who otherwise would know little or nothing of them."<ref name="Spindel"/> However, the mascot costume was not based on the clothing of the people of the [[Illinois Confederation]], but an imitation of the clothing of the [[Lakota people]], and the first three men to portray Illiniwek were not performing authentic Native American dances, but routines they had learned from other non-Native hobbyists in the [[Boy Scouts of America]].<ref name=Farnell>{{cite journal|last=Farnell|first=Brenda|title=Choreographing Colonialism in the American West|journal=Journal for the Anthropological Study of Human Movement |year=2010|volume=14 |issue=3 |url=https://anthro.illinois.edu/sites/default/files/inline-files/0.pdf | quote=In 1915, the [[Order of the Arrow]], a national Scout camping fraternity, was founded in which ceremonies of initiation were based on 'Indian themes' and local lodges and chapters were given 'Indian names.' The first three individuals who portrayed Illiniwek (Lester Leutwiler, Webber Borchers, and William Newton) became interested in 'Indian lore' through their involvement with the Boy Scouts. They spent time “[[Playing Indian]]” (Deloria 1998) at summer camp, learning so-called Indian dances as well as arts and crafts from Ralph Hubbard, a renowned enthusiast who traveled widely in the United States and Europe producing 'Indian pageants'.}}</ref> The [[Peoria people]] are the closest living descendants of the Illiniwek Confederacy. In response to requests by those who had portrayed the mascot to bring back occasional performances, Peoria Chief John P. Froman reaffirmed the tribe's position that Chief (Illiniwek) "was not in any way representative of Peoria culture".<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2013-05-07/updated-peoria-tribe-leader-doesnt-back-chief-return.html| title=Peoria tribe leader doesn't back Chief return| date=May 7, 2013| author=Christine Des Garennes| newspaper=News-Gazette| accessdate=June 9, 2017}}</ref> Conservative columnists often assert that outrage over mascots is manufactured by white liberals, rather than being the authentic voice of Native Americans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/redskins-manufactured-controversy-9395|title=Redskins: A Manufactured Controversy|author=W. James Antle III|date=November 13, 2013|website=The National Interest}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/360614/liberals-fabricate-outrage-over-redskins-rich-lowry|date=October 8, 2013|title=Liberals Fabricate Outrage Over 'Redskins': The team name is an anachronism, but a harmless one|author=Rich Lowry|magazine=National Review|author-link=Rich Lowry}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/355628/left-vs-redskins-dennis-prager|date=August 13, 2013|title=The Left vs. the Redskins: Teaching people to take offense is one of the Left's black arts|author=Dennis Prager|magazine=National Review|author-link=Dennis Prager}}</ref> ====Other team names and ethnic groups==== Many argue there is a double standard in Native Americans being so frequently used as a sports team name or mascot when the same usage would be unthinkable for other racial or ethnic group. One current exception is the [[Coachella Valley High School]] "Arabs"<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/07/arab-team-mascot-ethnic-slur/3461059/|title=California high school's Arab mascot draws ire|date=November 7, 2013|accessdate=September 17, 2014| newspaper=USA Today}}</ref> which has also been the subject of controversy, resulting in the retirement of its more cartoonish representations.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/education/2014/09/09/mighty-arab-coachella-valley-high/15368751/|title='Mighty Arab' takes its place at Coachella Valley High|first=Brett|last=Kelman|newspaper=The Desert Sun|date=September 10, 2014}}</ref> The [[University of Notre Dame]] [[Notre Dame Fighting Irish|Fighting Irish]]<ref>{{cite web| url=http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1556389-should-the-notre-dame-fighting-irish-leprechaun-logo-be-banned-by-the-ncaa| title=Should the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Leprechaun Logo Be Banned by the NCAA?| author=Jason S. Parini| date=March 6, 2013| accessdate=June 9, 2017| website=The Bleacher Report}}</ref> and the [[University of Louisiana at Lafayette]]'s "[[Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns|Ragin' Cajuns]]" are sometimes cited as counter-arguments to those that favor change. However, rather than referring to "others" these teams employ symbols that European American cultures have historically used to represent themselves.<ref>{{cite web|title= Is "Fighting Irish" Offensive?| date=October 9, 2014| author=Cassidy McDonald| url=http://scholastic.nd.edu/issues/is-fighting-irish-offensive/|website=University of Notre Dame Scholastic| accessdate=9 June 2017}}</ref> The [[University of Notre Dame]] mascot, the [[Notre Dame Leprechaun|University of Notre Dame leprechaun]]<ref name="ND">[http://und.cstv.com/trads/nd-m-fb-mas.html Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Traditions: The Leprechaun] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071201200717/http://und.cstv.com/trads/nd-m-fb-mas.html |date=December 1, 2007 }}, University of Notre Dame Athletics</ref> is a mythical being that represents the [[Irish people|Irish]], which is both an ethnic and a national group.<ref name="fearson">{{cite journal|last=Fearon|first=James|title=Ethnic and Cultural Diversity by Country|journal=Journal of Economic Growth|year=2003|volume=8|issue=2|pages=195–222|url=https://web.stanford.edu/group/fearon-research/cgi-bin/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Ethnic-and-Cultural-Diversity-by-Country.pdf| quote=Ireland has an ethnic fractionalization score of 0.171, meaning that there is only a 17.1% chance that two randomly selected people in Ireland will be from different ethnic groups.|doi=10.1023/A:1024419522867}}</ref> The [[Cayenne (mascot)|University of Louisiana at Lafayette mascot]] is an anthropomorphic [[Cayenne (mascot)|cayenne pepper]], an ingredient frequently found in [[Cajun cuisine]]. Opponents also see this argument as a false equivalency, because it ignores systemic inequality, and serves to discount the Native American voice by saying that if one group isn't hurt by a particular portrayal, then no group has the right to be hurt, regardless of vastly different backgrounds, treatment, and social positions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2008/10/05/notre-dames-fighting-irish-mascot|title=Sociological Images| author=Gwen Sharp, PhD| date=October 5, 2008| website=The Society Pages}}</ref> The [[United States Commission on Civil Rights|U.S. Commission on Civil Rights]] call for an end to the use of Native American mascots was only for non-native schools.<ref name=USCCR/> In cases where universities were founded to educate Native Americans, such mascots may not be examples of [[cultural appropriation]] or stereotyping. Examples include the [[Haskell Indian Nations Fighting Indians|Fighting Indians]] of the [[Haskell Indian Nations University]] and the [[University of North Carolina at Pembroke]] (UNCP), which continues to have a substantial number of native students, and close ties to the [[Lumbee]] tribe. The UNCP nickname is the [[UNC Pembroke Braves|Braves]], but the mascot is a [[red-tailed hawk]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uncp.edu/news/2005/braves_nickname.htm|title=NCAA: UNCP will keep the Braves|date=August 9, 2005|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20051222114740/http://www.uncp.edu/news/2005/braves_nickname.htm| archivedate=December 22, 2005|accessdate=December 8, 2016| website=University of North Carolina at Pembroke}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mcac-naia.org/members.php |title=Member institutions |author= |website=Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference |access-date=18 March 2015 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150328075846/http://www.mcac-naia.org/members.php |archivedate=28 March 2015 |df= }} </ref> Pembroke Middle School, which also has close ties to the Lumbee tribe, is nicknamed the Warriors.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.robeson.k12.nc.us/Page/13354 |title=About Us/History |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=Pembroke Middle School |access-date=18 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.robeson.k12.nc.us/pms |title=Overview |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=Pembroke Middle School |access-date=18 March 2015}}</ref> ====Financial impact of change==== Many supporters of Native American mascots feel that the financial cost of changing mascots would outweigh the benefits. Sales of merchandise with team mascots and nicknames generate millions of dollars in sales each year, and teams contend that a change in team mascots would render this merchandise useless.<ref name="bar"/> The cost of removing images from uniforms and all other items, which must be paid out of local school funds, is a greater factor for secondary schools.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120518/NEWS/205180322|title=State bans Native American mascots|date=May 18, 2012|first=Sanne|last=Specht|newspaper=Mail Tribune|accessdate=February 11, 2013}}</ref> Opponents feel that despite the cost of a change in team mascots, it should be done to prevent what they believe is racial stereotyping. [[Clyde Bellecourt]], when director of the [[American Indian Movement]] stated: "It's the behavior that accompanies all of this that's offensive. The rubber [[Tomahawk (axe)|tomahawks]], the chicken [[War bonnet|feather headdresses]], people wearing [[Body painting|war paint]] and making these ridiculous [[Battle cry|war whoops]] with a tomahawk in one hand and a beer in the other; all of these have significant meaning for us. And the psychological impact it has, especially on our youth, is devastating."<ref name="bar"/> A study done by the [[Emory University]] [[Goizueta Business School]] indicates that the growing unpopularity of Native American mascots is a financial drain for professional teams, losing money compared to more popular animal mascots.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blogs.emory.edu/sportsmarketing/2013/12/19/the-financial-impact-of-mascots-on-sports-brands/?_ga=1.256951951.500422532.1397069844b|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020044121/https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/esma/2013/12/19/the-financial-impact-of-mascots-on-sports-brands/?_ga=1.256951951.500422532.1397069844b| archivedate=October 20, 2014| title=The Financial Impact of Mascots on Sports Brands|website=Emory University|date=December 19, 2013|accessdate=April 20, 2014}}</ref> Writing for ''[[Forbes]]'' in response to the statewide mascot ban passed by Maine in 2019, marketing analyst Henry DeVries compares Native mascots to the retired "[[Frito Bandito]]" mascot, and argues that "offensive marketing mascots" are a bad idea financially and "on the wrong side of history."<ref>{{cite magazine| url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/henrydevries/2019/06/01/why-maine-banning-indian-mascots-is-a-marketing-wake-up-call/#6ae6986c126d| title=Why Maine Banning Indian Mascots Is A Marketing Wake Up Call| author=Henry DeVries| magazine=Forbes| accessdate=June 4, 2019}}</ref> ====Public opinion surveys==== {{see also|Washington Redskins name opinion polls}} A survey conducted in 2002 by [[Harris Insights & Analytics|The Harris Poll]] for [[Sports Illustrated]] (SI) found that 81 percent of Native Americans who live outside traditional Indian reservations and 53 percent of Indians on reservations did not find the images discriminatory. The authors of the article concluded that "Although most Native American activists and tribal leaders consider Indian team names and mascots offensive, neither Native Americans in general nor a cross section of U.S. sports fans agree". According to the article, "There is a near total disconnect between Indian activists and the Native American population on this issue." An Indian activist commented on the results saying "that Native Americans' self-esteem has fallen so low that they don't even know when they're being insulted".<ref name=PriceWoo>{{cite news| url = https://www.si.com/vault/2002/03/04/8100154/the-indian-wars-the-campaign-against-indian-nicknames-and-mascots-presumes-that-they-offend-native-americansbut-do-they-we-took-a-poll-and-you-wont-believe-the-results| author = S.L. Price| title = The Indian Wars| work = Sports Illustrated| date = March 4, 2002| pages=66–71}}</ref> Soon after the SI article, a group of five social scientists experienced in researching the mascot issue published a journal article arguing against the validity of this survey and its conclusions. First they state that "The confidence with which the magazine asserts that a 'disconnect' between Native American activists and Native Americans exists on this issue belies the serious errors in logic and accuracy made in the simplistic labeling of Native Americans who oppose mascots as 'activists.'"<ref>{{cite journal|title=Of Polls and Race Predudice|doi=10.1177/0193732502238255|journal=Journal of Sport and Social Issues|date=November 2002|volume=26|issue=4|page=381|author1=C. Richard King|author2=Ellen J. Staurowsky|author3=Lawrence Baca|author4=Laurel R. Davis|author5=Cornel Pewewardy}}</ref><ref>King, C. Richard. ''The Native American Mascot Controversy: A Handbook'' p.268. ({{ISBN|978-0-8108-6732-1}}). Peter Harris Research Group. (2002) Methodology for ''Sports Illustrated'' survey on the use of Indian nicknames, mascots, etc. Document produced by The Peter Harris Research Group and shared with Ellen Staurowsky in January 2003.</ref> A flaw unique to polls of Native Americans is they rely upon self-identification to select the target population. In an editorial in the [[The Herald-Times|Bloomington Herald Times]], Steve Russell (an enrolled [[Cherokee]] citizen and associate professor of criminal justice at [[Indiana University]]), states that both SI and Annenberg's samples of "self-identified Native Americans&nbsp;... includes plenty of people who have nothing to do with Indians".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iupui.edu/~mstd/e320/amerind/flap.html|title=Some collected materials about the NCAA's decision to ban Indian sports mascots from the Indianapolis area|accessdate=January 27, 2013| website=Indiana University}}</ref> Individuals claiming to be Native American when they are not is well known in academic research, and people claiming Indian identity specifically to gain authority in the debate over sports mascots has been criticised.<ref name="too">{{cite journal|author=Charles Springwood|title='I'm Indian Too!': Claiming Native American Identity, Crafting Authority in Mascot Debates|journal=Journal of Sport and Social Issues|date=February 2004|volume=28|page=56|issue=1|doi=10.1177/0193732503261477}}</ref> At the Center for Indigenous Peoples Studies at [[California State University]], San Bernardino a survey has conducted of 400 individuals whose identity as Native American was verified, finding that 67% agreed with the statement that "Redskins" is offensive and racist. The response from non-natives was almost the opposite, with 68% responding that the name is not offensive.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/lindseyadler/native-americans-offended-by-racial-slur|title=New Study Finds 67% Of Native Americans Find Redskins Name Offensive|website=Buzzfeed|date=June 4, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|url=http://cips.csusb.edu/docs/PressRelease.pdf|title=Survey on Redskins team name found most American Indians believe it to be offensive and racist.|accessdate=June 22, 2014}}</ref> In a 2020 study at [[University of California, Berkeley|UC Berkeley]] 49% of self-identified Native Americans responded that the Washington Redskins name was offensive or very offensive, while only 38% were not bothered by it. However, for study participants who were heavily engaged in their native or tribal cultures, 67% said they were offended, for young people 60%, and those with tribal affiliations 52%.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/02/04/native-mascots-survey/| website=Berkeley News| title=Washington Redskins' name, Native mascots offend more than previously reported| author=Yasmin Anwar| date=February 4, 2020}}</ref> <ref>{{cite journal|last1=Fryberg| first1=Stephanie A.| first2=Arianne E. | last2=Eason| first3=Laura M.| last3=Brady| first4=Nadia| last4=Jessop| first5=Julisa J.| last5=Lopez| year=2020| title=Unpacking the Mascot Debate: Native American Identification Predicts Opposition to Native Mascots| journal=Social Psychological and Personality Science| pages=194855061989855| doi=10.1177/1948550619898556| url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OWzT1FyVMF6dKzTlipaAKyiOVErRL3r6/view}}</ref> ==Trends== <!--As in the lead section, this is a summary of the sections that follow, and thus does not include references for each statement.--> While protests began in the 1970s, national attention to the issue did not occur until widespread television coverage of college and professional games brought the behaviour of some fans to the attention of Native Americans. The appearance of the [[Atlanta Braves]] in the [[1991 World Series]] and the [[Washington Redskins]] at the 1992 [[Super Bowl XXVI|Super Bowl]] prompted the largest response because the games were played in [[Minneapolis, Minnesota]], which has a large Native American population.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://miamioh.edu/about-miami/diversity/miami-tribe-relations/mascot-story/native-mascots/index.html| title=Native Mascots Become a National Controversy | website=Miami University of Ohio| accessdate=December 19, 2016}}</ref> The documents most often cited to justify the elimination of Native mascots are the advisory opinion by the [[United States Commission on Civil Rights]] in 2001 and a resolution by the [[American Psychological Association]] in 2005.<ref name=APA/><ref name=USCCR/> Neither of these documents refer to subjective perceptions of offensiveness, but to scientific evidence of harms and legal definitions of discrimination. However, the issue is often discussed in the media in terms of feelings and opinions, and prevents full understanding of the history and context of the use of Native American names and images and why their use by sports teams should be eliminated.<ref name="handbook">{{cite book|editor=C. Richard King|title=The Native American Mascot Controversy: A Handbook|url=https://archive.org/details/nativeamericanma00king|url-access=limited|publisher=Scarecrow Press|location=Lanham, Maryland|year=2010|isbn=978-0-8108-6731-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/nativeamericanma00king/page/n15 1]| chapter=Introduction}}</ref> Individual school districts have responded to complaints by local Native American individuals and tribes, or have made changes due to an increased awareness of the issue among educators and students. New Native mascots have not been proposed in recent decades, or are withdrawn before becoming official due to public opposition. For example, in 2016 when one of the teams in the [[National College Prospects Hockey League]] (NCPHL) was announced as the Lake Erie Warriors with a caricature Mohawk logo<ref>{{cite web |url=http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/07/28/social-media-blasts-lake-erie-warriors-over-racist-logo-165302| title=Social Media Blasts Lake Erie Warriors Over Racist Logo| first=Vincent| last=Schilling| date=July 28, 2016| website=Indian Country Today}}</ref> it was immediate changed to the Lake Erie Eagles.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.uni-watch.com/2016/07/30/lake-erie-warriors-renamed-lake-erie-eagles-probably/ |title=Lake Erie Warriors Renamed Lake Erie Eagles (probably)| first=Paul| last=Lukas| date=July 30, 2016| website=Uni-Watch}}</ref> [[Little League International]] has updated its 2019 rulebook to include a statement prohibiting "the use of team names, mascots, nicknames or logos that are racially insensitive, derogatory or discriminatory in nature."<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.littleleague.org/playing-rules/rulebook-updates/| title=Rulebook Update| accessdate=January 11, 2019| website=Little League International}}</ref> This decision has been applauded by the National Congress of American Indians.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://alaska-native-news.com/ncai-applauds-decision-by-little-league-international-to-ban-racially-offensive-team-names-and-mascots/39551/| title=NCAI Applauds Decision by Little League International to Ban Racially Offensive Team Names and Mascots| date=January 11, 2019| website=Alaska Native News}}</ref> In February, 2019 [[US Lacrosse]] issued a position statement which said in part "As the sport’s national governing body, US Lacrosse believes that the misuse of Native American nicknames, logos, and mascots reflect and promote misleading stereotypes that are degrading and harmful to Native Americans. We will make every effort to assure that offensive or stereotypical mascots and logos will not be visible or promoted at events that US Lacrosse controls."<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.uslacrosse.org/blog/us-lacrosse-position-statement-on-native-american-mascots| title=US Lacrosse Position Statement on Native American Mascots| author=Paul Ohanian| date=February 7, 2019| accessdate=February 8, 2019| website=US Lacrosse}}</ref> ===Legal and administrative action=== {{main|Native American mascot laws and regulations}} Statewide laws or school board decisions regarding team names and mascots have passed in states with significant Native American populations; including California (2015),<ref>{{cite web| url=http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB30| title=AB-30 School or athletic team names: California Racial Mascots Act. | accessdate=September 9, 2015| website=California Legislative Information}}</ref> Colorado (2014),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://coloradopolitics.com/995638-american-indian-mascot-bill-dies-committee/ | title=American Indian mascot bill dies in committee| author=Vic Vela| date=May 1, 2015| website=Colorado Politics}}</ref> Oregon (2012),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=3575|title=State Board of Education Bans Use of Native American Mascots|website=Oregon State Department of Education|accessdate=February 10, 2013}}</ref> and Michigan (2012).<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/Use_of_American_Indian_Mascots_329421_7.pdf| title=USE OF AMERICAN INDIAN MASCOTS, NICKNAMES, AND LOGOS| accessdate=December 12, 2016 | website=Michigan Board of Education}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://sbe.wa.gov/documents/2012.09.26%20Native%20American%20Mascots%20Resolution.pdf|title=2012 Native American Mascot Resolution|accessdate=2013-09-17|website=Washington State Board of Education|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819024440/http://www.sbe.wa.gov/documents/2012.09.26%20Native%20American%20Mascots%20Resolution.pdf|archive-date=August 19, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, opposing the trend for change, in response to the [[Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs]] seeking a ban though the Tennessee Human Rights Commission, the [[Tennessee Senate]] passed a law allowing only elected officials to take any action banning school teams using American Indian names and symbols.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timesnews.net/News/2007/05/10/Tennessee-Senate-approves-measure-that-would-protect-Indian-mascots |title=Tennessee Senate approves measure that would protect Indian mascots |date=May 10, 2007 |first=Hank |last=Hayes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220151558/http://www.timesnews.net/News/2007/05/10/Tennessee-Senate-approves-measure-that-would-protect-Indian-mascots |archivedate=December 20, 2016 |df= |website=Times-News}}</ref> The Wisconsin law passed in 2010 meant to eliminate "race-based nicknames, logos and mascots" was revised in 2013 making change much more difficult. In the original law, a single individual could file a complaint with the burden of proof on the school to defend their mascot, in the new law a petition signed by 10% of the school district residents is needed, and the petitioners need to prove discrimination.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://wislawjournal.com/2013/11/17/opponents-urge-walker-to-veto-mascots-bill/|title=Opponents urge Walker to veto mascots bill|date=November 17, 2013|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=Wisconsin Law Journal}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://cdcgamingreports.com/menominee-leader-criticizes-wis-school-mascot-law/|title=Menominee leader criticizes Wis. school mascot law|first=TODD|last=RICHMOND|publisher=Associated Press|date=February 13, 2014| website=CDC Gaming Reports}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.wrn.com/2015/03/sokoagan-chair-changes-to-mascot-law-a-mockery-of-indigenous-people/| title=Sokaogon chair: changes to mascot law 'a mockery of indigenous people'| date=March 5, 2015| first=Bob| last=Hague| website=Wisconsin Radio Network}}</ref> ===Secondary schools and youth leagues=== {{further|Sports teams named Redskins|List of secondary school sports team names and mascots derived from the indigenous peoples of North America|l1=Sports teams named Redskins|l2=List of secondary schools using Native American names or mascots}} [[Secondary schools]] in both the United States and Canada have had histories similar to colleges, some changing voluntarily while others maintain their current mascots. An analysis of a database in 2013 indicates that there are currently more than 2,000 high schools with mascots that reference Native American culture,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Munguia|first1=Hayley|title=The 2,128 Native American Mascots People Aren't Talking About|url=http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-2128-native-american-mascots-people-arent-talking-about/|website=fivethirtyeight.com|accessdate=6 November 2015}}</ref> compared to around 3,000 fifty years ago.<ref name="NCAI"/> ====Canada==== The Department of Educational Foundations at the [[University of Saskatchewan]] passed a resolution calling for the retirement of all school mascots and logos that depict [[First Nations]] people.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/staff-at-saskatchewan-university-calls-for-end-of-first-nations-logos-mascots-1.1546812|title=Staff at Saskatchewan university calls for end of First Nations logos, mascots|website=CTV News |date=November 16, 2013|accessdate=January 14, 2014}}</ref> In addition to moving to changing their own mascots, school boards in Ontario are also considering a ban on students wearing any articles bearing offensive names or logos, be they professional or local teams.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.thestar.com/yourtoronto/education/2016/02/24/school-boards-onside-with-move-to-ban-racist-logos.html| title=School boards onside with move to ban 'racist logos'| first=Kristin| last=Rushowy| date=February 24, 2016| newspaper=The Toronto Star}}</ref> [[A Tribe Called Red|Ian Campeau]], an [[Ojibway]] musician and activist in [[Ottawa]], Ontario, filed a human rights complaint against the Nepean Redskins Football Club on behalf of his five-year-old daughter in an effort to get the team to change its name. "How are they going to differentiate the playing field from the school yard? What's going to stop them from calling my daughter a redskin in the school yard? That's as offensive as using the [[Nigger#The N-word euphemism|n-word]]." [[Assembly of First Nations]] National Chief [[Shawn Atleo]] said he supports the move because the word ''Redskin'' is "offensive and hurtful and completely inappropriate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/09/04/redskins-human-rights-complaint-a-tribe-called-red_n_3866220.html|title=Nepean Redskins Human Rights Complaint: A Tribe Called Red Member Takes Football To Tribunal| website=HuffPost Canada Music| first=Jason| last=MacNeil| date=September 4, 2013}}</ref> The team was changed to the "Nepean Eagles", chosen from 70 suggestions submitted.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/sports/archives/2014/01/20140114-112929.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213035125/http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/sports/archives/2014/01/20140114-112929.html| archivedate=February 13, 2015||title=Nepean Redskins says changing its 'controversial' name to cost about $100Gs|date=January 14, 2014|newspaper=Sun News}}</ref> Niigaan Sinclair ([[Anishinaabe]]), a writer and assistant professor at the [[University of Manitoba]], applauded the decision and contrasted it to the decision of [[Daniel Snyder]], the Washington team owner.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/no-honour-in-native-names-238687531.html|title=No 'honour' in native names|first=Niigaan|last=Sinclair|date=January 4, 2014|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press}}</ref> In 2017, the Swift Current Indians baseball club became the [[Swift Current 57's]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://globalnews.ca/news/3173209/swift-current-baseball-team-changes-name-from-indians-to-57s/ |title=Swift Current baseball team changes name from "Indians" to "57's" |last=Huffman |first=Alexa |date=January 10, 2017 |website=Global News |access-date=February 28, 2017 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301093515/http://globalnews.ca/news/3173209/swift-current-baseball-team-changes-name-from-indians-to-57s/ |archivedate=March 1, 2017 |df= }}</ref> ====United States==== In January, 2020 the school board of [[Killingly High School]], [[Killingly, Connecticut]], now with a Republican majority, voted to reinstate the Redmen mascot.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/01/10/redmen-mascot-killingly/| title=Getting rid of 'Redmen' sparked an uproar. So school officials voted to reinstate the 'demeaning' team name| author=Antonia Noori Farzan| date=January 10, 2020| newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> The vote reflects a generational split, the new school board members representing mainly older alumni, while current students, faculty and Native Americans support changing the mascot. A senior active in the debate stated “We look racist...this is not what I want our school to be known for.”<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/11/nyregion/killingly-redmen-mascot.html| title=Officials Called 'Redmen' a Racist Mascot. Then Voters Weighed In| author=By Aaron Randle| date=January 11, 2020| newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> The mascot had been removed after input from the [[Nipmuc]] Tribal Council that no Native mascots are flattering.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.norwichbulletin.com/news/20190726/native-american-tribe-reiterates-opposition-to-killingly-redmen-symbol-mascot-will-be-changed| title=Native American tribe reiterates opposition to Killingly Redmen symbol; mascot will be changed| author=John Penney| publisher=Norwich Bulletin| accessdate=July 26, 2019}}</ref> In October, "Red Hawks" was chosen initially as the new mascot,<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.norwichbulletin.com/news/20191008/mascot-pick-sent-to-boe| title=Mascot pick sent to BOE| author=Stephen Beale| date=October 8, 2019| newspaper=The Bulletin}}</ref> but after a contentious meeting in December the Board decided to have no mascot.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.wfsb.com/news/killingly-high-school-is-mascot-less-following-meeting/article_a962adca-1c5a-11ea-a627-ffa5e9f545d0.html| title= Killingly High School is mascot-less following meeting| author1=Shawnte Passmore| author2=Courtney Zieller| author3=Caitlin Nuclo| author4=Rob Polansky| website=WFSB| date=December 10, 2019}}</ref> Renewed discussion of whether the mascot is offensive had begun in June 2019, prompted by a student initiative.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.norwichbulletin.com/news/20190611/redmen-mascot-racist-community-weighs-in| title=Redmen mascot racist? Community weighs in| author=Anna Maria Della Costa | newspaper=Norwich Bulletin| date=June 11, 2019}}</ref> However, the name change became an issue in the 2019 municipal elections, leading to record turnout and Republican victories.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-killingly-mascot-election-20191201-xhtnyyum6jbffkiwewaizyhsyy-story.html| title=In Killingly, a debate over the high school mascot leads to a political reckoning| author=Eliza Fawcett| newspaper=Hartford Courant| date=December 1, 2019}}</ref> After receiving statements in opposition to the "Indians" name from the [[Penobscot]] Nation and the [[American Civil Liberties Union|ACLU]] of [[Maine]], the school board voted in March 2019 to eliminate the mascot at [[Skowhegan, Maine|Skowhegan]] Area High School.<ref name="Skowhegan">{{cite news| url=https://www.pressherald.com/2019/03/07/skowhegan-school-board-votes-to-retire-indians-nickname/| title=Skowhegan schools become last in Maine to retire 'Indians' nickname|author=Doug Harlow| newspaper=Portland Press Herald| date=March 7, 2019}}</ref> With the removal of Native American imagery associated with the "Warriors" name at other high schools, Maine becomes the first state to eliminate indigenous mascots in all secondary schools.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/03/08/last-maine-high-school-to-use-indians-retires-the-nickname/| title=Last Maine high school to use 'Indians' retires the nickname | author=The Associated Press| newspaper=The Boston Herald| date=March 8, 2019}}</ref> A bill to ban Native American mascots in all public schools passed the Maine [[Maine House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] and [[Maine Senate|Senate]]<ref>{{cite web| url=http://legislature.maine.gov/LawMakerWeb/summary.asp?ID=280072004| title=State of Maine Legislature - Summary of LD 944| accessdate=May 2, 2019| website=State of Maine Legislature}}</ref> and was signed into law by Governor [[Janet Mills]] in May, 2019.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://bangordailynews.com/2019/05/16/politics/mills-signs-bill-to-make-maine-the-first-state-to-ban-native-american-school-mascots/| title =Mills signs bill to make Maine the first state to ban Native American school mascots| author=Alex Acquisto| date=May 16, 2019| newspaper=Bangor Daily News}}</ref> Due to the media coverage of the Washington Redskins, high schools with the name Redskins have received particular attention, including three which have a majority of Native American students. Advocates for the name conclude that because some Native Americans use the name to refer to themselves, it is not insulting.<ref name=Spoken>{{cite web|first=Rick |last=Reilly |title=Have the people spoken? |url=http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9689220/redskins-name-change-not-easy-sounds/ |website=ESPN |accessdate=October 15, 2013 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130919035546/http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9689220/redskins-name-change-not-easy-sounds |archivedate=September 19, 2013 | date=September 18, 2013 |df= }}</ref> However, the principal of one of these, [[Red Mesa High School]] in [[Teec Nos Pos, Arizona]], said that use of the word outside American Indian communities should be avoided because it could perpetuate "the legacy of negativity that the term has created."<ref name="Michelle Peirano">{{cite web|url=http://cronkitenewsonline.com/2013/05/in-debate-over-redskins-name-is-the-r-word-for-racism-or-respect/|title=In debate over Redskins name, is the 'R-word' for racism or respect?|date=May 1, 2013|first=Michelle|last=Peirano|website=Cronkite News|accessdate=2014-02-06}}</ref> Relationships with tribes to retain Native names have been established at the high school level. [[Arapahoe High School (Centennial, Colorado)]] now uses a logo provided by the [[Arapaho]] Tribe of Wyoming, which initially included an agreement that the image would not be placed on the gym floor or any article of clothing. The latter provision has not always been observed, but the logo does not appear on the team uniforms. The agreement also includes tribal participation in school events. A similar agreement has been worked out between the Northern Arapahoe Tribe and the Strasburg High School " Indians" in [[Strasburg, Colorado]].<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.theblaze.com/news/2018/05/14/indian-mascot-at-hs-gets-blessing-from-tribe-and-without-cultural-controversy-im-honored| title= Indian mascot at HS gets blessing from tribe — and without cultural controversy: 'I'm honored' | date=May 14, 2018| author=Dave Urbanski| website=KCNC-TV}}</ref> An exceptional case is the Salamanca Central High School "Warriors" in the city of [[Salamanca (city), New York|Salamanca, New York]]. The city is within the boundaries of the [[Allegany Indian Reservation]] of the [[Seneca Nation of Indians]], and 26% of the high school students are Native American. In 2001, when the commissioner of the New York State Education Department sent a letter to all New York school boards calling for the elimination of Native American mascots, the Seneca Nation Tribal Council joined with other members of the community in seeking to retain the Warrior imagery, although with individual differences of opinion. Salamanca may be unique in having a mixed but not fully integrated community, with the Warrior identity combining elements negotiated between the Seneca and non-Seneca population. For example, the school logo now depicts a Seneca man, replacing the stereotypical [[Plains Indian]] warrior image that was used prior to 1978.<ref>{{cite journal| last=Taylor| first=Michael| title=THE SALAMANCA WARRIORS: A Case Study of an 'Exception to the Rule.'| journal=Journal of Anthropological Research| volume=67| issue=2| year=2011| pages=245–265| jstor=41303285| doi=10.3998/jar.0521004.0067.205}}</ref> ===Colleges and universities=== {{see|List of college sports team names and mascots derived from indigenous peoples|l1=List of colleges using Native American names or mascots}} [[File:Ticket Washington vs Stanford 1930 side1.jpg|right|thumb|250px|1930 football ticket stub depicting the former Stanford Indian mascot]] Some college teams voluntarily changed their names and mascots. [[Stanford University]] had "The Stanford Indian" as its mascot from 1930 to 1972. Today Stanford's athletic team identity is built around the "[[Stanford Cardinal]]", reflecting the primary [[school colors|school color]] that has been used from the earliest days, while the unofficial mascot shown on its primary logo is the [[Stanford Tree]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Color: Stanford Identity Toolkit|url=http://identity.stanford.edu/color.html|accessdate=7 October 2017| website=Stanford University}}</ref> Another early change was the "[[Saltine Warrior#Mascot|Saltine Warrior]]" that represented [[Syracuse University]] from 1931 until 1978. After a brief attempt to use a Roman warrior, the mascot became [[Otto the Orange]] for the school color. [[Miami University]] began discussion regarding the propriety of the Redskins name and images in 1972, and changed its team nickname to [[Miami RedHawks|RedHawks]] in 1996.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.miami.muohio.edu/about-miami/diversity/miami-tribe-relations/mascot-story/index.html|title=Mascot Story|accessdate=February 5, 2013|website=Miami University}}</ref> Although [[Dartmouth College]] had not used an Indian mascot for many years, [[Yale University]] printed a program for the 2016 game commemorating its 100th game against Dartmouth showing historical program covers featuring depictions of Native Americans that are now viewed as racist.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2016/10/10/football-programs-criticized-for-racist-imagery/| title=Football programs criticized for racist imagery| first=Manasa| last=Rao| date=October 10, 2016| newspaper=Yale Daily News}}</ref> The [[Florida State Seminoles]] of [[Florida State University]] use names and images associated with the [[Seminole]] people. The use is officially sanctioned by the [[Seminole Tribe of Florida]] even though the NCAA "continues to believe the stereotyping of Native Americans is wrong."<ref>{{cite news |last=Wieberg|first=Steve|title=NCAA allowing Florida State to use its Seminole mascot|url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/2005-08-23-fsu-mascot-approved_x.htm| newspaper=USA Today| accessdate=November 21, 2011|date=August 23, 2005}}</ref> ====National Collegiate Athletic Association==== {{main|NCAA Native American mascot decision}} The [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]] (NCAA) distributed a "self evaluation" to 31 colleges in 2005, for teams to examine the use of potentially offensive imagery with their mascot choice. Nineteen teams were cited as having potentially "hostile or abusive" names, mascots, or images, that would be banned from displaying them during post-season play, and prohibited from hosting tournaments.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.ncaa.org/static/champion/where-pride-meets-prejudice/index.php| title=Where Pride Meets Prejudice| first=Amy| last=Schwarb| website=National Collegiate Athletic Association| accessdate=December 9, 2016}}</ref> Subsequently, all of the colleges previously using Native American imagery changed except for those granted waivers when they obtained official support from individual tribes based upon the principle of [[Tribal sovereignty in the United States|tribal sovereignty]].<ref name="NCAI"/> [[San Diego State University]] (SDSU) was not cited by the NCAA in 2005 due to a decision that the Aztecs were not a Native American tribe with any living descendants.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://legacy.sandiegouniontribune.com/uniontrib/20050806/news_1s6mascots.html| title=NCAA puts limited ban on Indian mascots: Postseason policy doesn't hit Aztecs| first=Brent| last=Schrotenboer| date=August 6, 2005| newspaper=San Diego Union-Tribune| access-date=October 24, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025050855/http://legacy.sandiegouniontribune.com/uniontrib/20050806/news_1s6mascots.html| archive-date=October 25, 2016| url-status=dead}}</ref> However, in February 2017 the SDSU Native American Student Alliance (NASA) supported removal of the mascot, calling its continued use "[[institutional racism]]" in its official statement to the Committee on Diversity, Equity and Outreach.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.thedailyaztec.com/81677/news/native-american-student-alliance-proposes-removal-of-aztec-mascot/| title=Native American Student Alliance proposes removal of Aztec mascot| author=Allyson Myers| date=February 27, 2017| newspaper=The Daily Aztec}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwEYVqMcYGJOOF8xb0FxVFFwR0NqQldPN1BzbVR0aTRyZ1Fz/view| title=NASA 2016-2017 Mascot Statement| accessdate=February 28, 2017| website=Native American Student Alliance}}</ref> A task force of students, faculty, and alumni was appointed to study the issue and make a recommendation by April, 2018.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/aztecs/sd-sp-aztecs-mascot-nickname-task-force-0120-story.html| title=SDSU president assembling task force to review Aztec mascot, moniker| date=January 19, 2018| accessdate=January 20, 2018| newspaper=The San Diego Union-Tribune| author=Kirk Kenney}}</ref> The recommendation was to keep the mascot but take steps to use only respectful references to Aztec culture, however there are few signs of this being implemented.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://thedailyaztec.com/96391/opinion/aztec-warrior-sdsu-mascot-identity-culture/| title=SDSU should celebrate Aztec culture| author=Peyton Antil | date=October 23, 2019| newspaper=The Daily Aztec}}</ref> ===Professional teams=== {{see also|List_of_sports_team_names_and_mascots_derived_from_indigenous_peoples#Prior_pro_usage|label 1=List of prior names and mascots}} Few professional teams using Native names and imagery remain, several changing when they moved to other cities, while others went out of business. The [[Atlanta Hawks]] were originally the [[Quad Cities|Tri-Cities]] Blackhawks (using an "Indian" logo),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nba/tri/tricities.html | website=Sports Ecyclopedia |title=Tri-Cities Blackhawks (1946–1951) |accessdate=November 14, 2014 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120054903/http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nba/tri/tricities.html |archivedate=January 20, 2015 |df= }}</ref> and the [[Los Angeles Clippers|Clippers]] were originally the [[Buffalo Braves]]. The [[Golden State Warriors]] eliminated Native American imagery in 1971.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/history/uniforms_warriors.html|title=Going Retro: Golden State Warriors|website=NBA|accessdate=February 12, 2013}}</ref> The [[United States national rugby league team]] was known as the Tomahawks until 2015, when [[USA Rugby League]] replaced the [[American National Rugby League]] as the sport's governing body in the U.S. and chose the simpler Hawks as the new name for the team.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.usarl.com/2015/05/hawks-swoop-in-for-new-usa-national-team-name/| website=USA Rugby League| title=Hawks swoop in for new USA National Team Name| accessdate=December 9, 2016| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529173837/http://www.usarl.com/2015/05/hawks-swoop-in-for-new-usa-national-team-name/| archivedate=May 29, 2015| df=}}</ref> ====Atlanta Braves==== [[File:Atlanta Braves fan with tomahawk.jpg|thumb|The Braves's "Tomahawk Chop," inspired by the tradition of the same name at Florida State University, is often encouraged through the dissemination of foam tomahawks at games and other events.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2012/09/origins-of-the-tomahawk-chop-scott-browns-staffers-mocking-elizabeth-warren-are-continuing-a-long-tradition.html|title=Where Did the Tomahawk Chop Come From?|last=Anderson|first=L. V.|date=2012-09-26|website=Slate Magazine|language=en|access-date=2019-10-10}}</ref>]] The [[Atlanta Braves]] remain the home of the [[tomahawk chop]] (although it began at [[Florida State University]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://m.mlb.com/atl/video/v21042257/this-is-why-we-chop-the-history-of-the-tomahawk-chop|title=The history of the tomahawk chop| accessdate=October 21, 2014| website=Major League Baseball}}</ref> The logo has changed through the years from an Indian in full headdress to an Indian with a [[Mohawk hairstyle]] and single feather (described as either laughing or shouting), then to the Braves name in script over a tomahawk. The mascot [[Chief Noc-A-Homa]] was replaced in 1986 by a baseball-headed "Homer the Brave",<ref>{{cite web| url=http://lastwordonbaseball.com/2017/01/19/homer-braves-alternative-mascot/| title=Homer is a Fraud: A Look at Braves Alternative Mascot Ideas | author=Jordan Campbell| date=January 19, 2017| accessdate=January 27, 2018| website=Last Word on Baseball}}</ref> and in 2018 by "Blooper".<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/look-braves-new-mascot-blooper-bears-a-striking-resemblance-to-phillie-phanatic/| title=Braves' new mascot 'Blooper' bears a striking resemblance to Phillie Phanatic| author=Mike Axisa | date=January 27, 2018| accessdate=January 27, 2018| website=CBS Sports}}</ref> The tomahawk chop and the accompanying chant has not been without controversy. In February, 2019 after the removal of the Cleveland Indians' Chief Wahoo logo, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said "The Braves have taken steps to take out the tomahawk chop". In October, [[St. Louis Cardinals]] pitcher [[Ryan Helsley]], a member of the Cherokee Nation, stated his belief that the tomahawk chop and chant misrepresents Native Americans.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/10/05/cardinals-pitcher-calls-braves-tomahawk-chop-disappointing-disrespectful/| title=Cardinals pitcher calls Braves' tomahawk chop 'disappointing' and 'disrespectful'| newspaper=The Washington Post| author1=Jake Russell| author2=Jacob Bogage| date=October 5, 2019}}</ref> In response to this complaint, the Atlanta Braves, in their October 9 game against the Cardinals, did not provide fans with foam tomahawks, although the music accompanying the chant was played while fans performed the arm gesture.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/10/09/braves-shelve-foam-tomahawks-out-respect-cardinals-pitcher/| title=Braves shelve foam tomahawks 'out of respect' for Cardinals pitcher| author=Des Bieler| date=October 9, 2019| newspaper=The Washington Post| accessdate=October 10, 2013}}</ref> When the Braves lost to the Cardinals 13-1, the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] Fox affiliate used the headline "Braves Scalped", drawing criticism as an example of why most Native Americans oppose the use of American Indian imagery and mascots in sports.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/sf-bay-area-fox-station-on-atlanta-loss-braves-scalped/| title=SF Bay Area FOX Station on Atlanta Loss: "Braves Scalped"| author=Levi Rickert| date=October 10, 2019| website=Native News Online}}</ref> The station soon apologized.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://nypost.com/2019/10/10/news-station-apologizes-after-racially-insensitive-braves-headline-after-loss-to-cardinals/| title= News station apologizes for 'racially insensitive' Braves headline after loss to Cardinals| author=Natalie O'Neill| date=October 10, 2019| newspaper=The New York Post}}</ref> The team front office has stated that there will be talks with Native Americans during the off-season regarding the tomahawk chop tradition, while leaders of two tribes that once inhabited Georgia, the [[Cherokee]] and the [[Muscogee (Creek) Nation]] agree that the tradition is inappropriate.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.ajc.com/news/chiefs-georgia-native-tribes-call-tomahawk-chop-inappropriate/7SHzrtpEHXuPdOP03xpz1N/| date=October 13, 2019| author=Johnny Edwards| newspaper=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution | title=Braves team to talk with Native Americans about future of ritual}}</ref> ====Chicago Blackhawks==== {{main|Chicago Blackhawks name and logo controversy}} Native American rights advocate [[Suzan Shown Harjo]] ([[Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes|Cheyenne]] and Hodulgee [[Muscogee (Creek) Nation|Muscogee]]) says the [[Chicago Blackhawks]] have escaped the scrutiny given to other teams using Native imagery because [[Ice hockey|hockey]] is not a cultural force on the level of [[American football|football]]. But she says national American Indian organizations have called for an end to all Indian-related mascots and that she found the hockey team's name and Indian head symbol to be offensive. "It lacks dignity," she said. "There's dignity in a school being named after a person or a people. There's dignity in a health clinic or hospital. There's nothing dignified in something being so named (that is used for) recreation or entertainment or fun." The National Congress of American Indians also opposes the Blackhawks' logo, as it does all Native American mascots.<ref name=Keilman.2013>{{cite news| url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-06-19/news/ct-met-indian-mascots-20130619_1_american-indians-black-hawk-mascots| title=Protests rare over Blackhawks' name, logo: While critics say use of Indian mascots perpetuates outdated image, hockey club says it has mutually beneficial ties with local community| date=June 19, 2013| first=John| last=Keilman| newspaper=Chicago Tribune}}</ref> In 2019, the [[American Indian Center]] of Chicago ended all ties to the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation, stating they will no longer affiliate "with organizations that perpetuate stereotypes through the use of "Indian" mascots." The AIC noted in its statement that they "previously held a relationship with the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation with the intention of educating the general public about American Indians and the use of logos and mascots. The AIC, along with members of the community have since decided to end this relationship" and stated that "going forward, AIC will have no professional ties with the Blackhawks, or any other organization that perpetuates harmful stereotypes."<ref>https://aicchicago.org/statement-aic-ends-ties-with-chicago-blackhawks-foundation/</ref><ref>https://aicchicago.org/statement-on-blackhawks/</ref> ====Cleveland Indians==== {{main|Cleveland Indians name and logo controversy}} [[File:Vizquel96.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Former Cleveland Indians player [[Venezuelan people|Venezuelan]] [[Omar Vizquel]] wearing a baseball cap showing the image of [[Chief Wahoo]]]] The [[Cleveland Indians]] acknowledged that they are ready to discuss changing their team name in the wake of news that the Washington Redskins will review theirs.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/07/03/cleveland-indians-announce-plans-consider-name-change/| title=Cleveland Indians announce plans to consider name change| author=Jake Russell| date=July 3, 2020| newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.mlb.com/indians/news/statement-from-the-indians| title=Indians weigh 'best path forward' for team name | website=MLB.com/Indians| author=Mandy Bell| date=July 3, 2020 }}</ref> Starting in the 2019 season, the [[Chief Wahoo]] logo will not appear on uniforms nor on stadium signs, although it will still be licensed for team merchandise within the Cleveland area.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/29/sports/baseball/cleveland-indians-chief-wahoo-logo.html|title=Cleveland Indians Will Abandon Chief Wahoo Logo Next Year|last=Waldstein|first=David|date=2018|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2018-01-29|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Local groups say they will continue to advocate for a change of the team name, and object to the continued sale outside the stadium of merchandise with the Wahoo image.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2019/07/09/as-the-all-star-game-goes-on-without-chief-wahoo-local-groups-say-theyll-continue-pushing-for-indians-to-change-name| website=The Cleveland Scene| title= As the All-Star Game Goes on Without Chief Wahoo, Local Groups Say They'll Continue Pushing for Indians to Change Name| author=Nick Pedone| date=July 9, 2019| accessdate=October 10, 2019}}</ref> Chief Wahoo is part of an exhibit at the [[Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia]] maintained by [[Ferris State University]] in Michigan. For Dr. David Pilgrim, a sociology professor at Ferris State and an expert in racial imagery, the symbol is a "red Sambo" that hardly differs from the caricatures of blacks popular in the Jim Crow era in which Wahoo was created, when such depictions of minority races were popularly used to inflame prejudice and justify discriminatory laws and behavior. Pilgrim explains how the exaggerated features serve their discriminatory purpose by emphasizing the differences of the depicted race, thereby reinforcing the idea that the caricatured race is inferior.<ref name=Pattakos.2012>{{cite web|last=Pattakos|first=Peter|title=The Curse of Chief Wahoo: Are we paying the price for embracing America's last acceptable racist symbol?|url=http://www.clevescene.com/gyrobase/the-curse-of-chief-wahoo/Content?oid=2954423&showFullText=true|accessdate=May 17, 2013|website=The Cleveland Scene|date=April 25, 2012|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120062629/http://www.clevescene.com/gyrobase/the-curse-of-chief-wahoo/Content?oid=2954423&showFullText=true|archivedate=January 20, 2013}}</ref> ====Edmonton Eskimos==== {{further|Edmonton Eskimos#Origins of the name and controversy}} In part because they do not use any native imagery, the [[Edmonton Eskimos]] are rarely mentioned with regard to the controversy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/washington-redskins-fight-could-put-pressure-on-edmonton-eskimos-1.2680161|title=Washington Redskins fight could put pressure on Edmonton Inuit|first=Matt|last=Kwong|website=CBC|date=June 20, 2014}}</ref> However [[Natan Obed]], the President of [[Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami]], Canada's national Inuit organization, has stated that "''Eskimo'' is not only outdated, it is now largely considered a derogatory term" and is a "relic of colonial power".<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/attention-edmonton-eskimos-inuit-are-not-mascots/article27512855/|title=Attention Edmonton Eskimos: Inuit are not mascots| first=Natan| last=Obed| newspaper=The Globe and Mail| date=November 27, 2015}}</ref> The editorial board of the Toronto Star sees a name change as the inevitable result of social evolution, and reflecting respect for indigenous peoples.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2017/11/26/edmontons-eskimos-should-get-with-the-times-and-change-their-name.html| title=Edmonton's Eskimos should get with the times and change their name| author=Star Editorial Board| newspaper=Toronto Star| date=November 26, 2017| accessdate=November 27, 2017}}</ref> However, after a year of considering alternatives, the team decided in 2020 to retain the name finding no consensus among Native groups including the Inuit.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://edmontonsun.com/sports/football/cfl/edmonton-eskimos/edmonton-eskimos-decide-to-keep-nickname-in-wake-of-calls-to-change-it/wcm/ee5d21bf-515d-45cb-b824-d114d58d5666| title=Eskimos decide to keep name in wake of calls to change it| newspaper=Edmonton Sun| date=February 14, 2020 }}</ref> ====Kansas City Chiefs==== {{main|Kansas City Chiefs name controversy}} In 1963 the [[Kansas City Chiefs]] adopted their new name when the Dallas Texans (AFL) relocated. "Chiefs" was not a direct reference to Native Americans, but was in honor of Kansas City mayor [[Harold Roe Bartle]] who was instrumental in bringing the Texans to [[Kansas City, Missouri]].<ref>https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/how-the-kansas-city-chiefs-got-their-name-and-the-boy-scout-tribe-of-mic-o-say-rKgOKV-x5E6z5GQAUoxxUA</ref><ref>https://www.forbes.com/sites/davecaldwell/2020/02/01/the-true-tale-of-the-original-kansas-city-chief/</ref> Bartle earned his nickname as founder of a [[Boy Scouts of America|Boy Scouts]] honor camping society, [[Tribe of Mic-O-Say]], in which he was "Chief" Lone Bear.<ref name=chiefbartle /> Kansas City residents were also familiar with Bartle's "Chief" nickname as well, which led to "Chiefs" being selected as the new name for the Texans in a local rename the team contest.<ref name=chiefbartle>https://www.businessinsider.com/chiefs-name-from-kansas-city-mayor-chief-2020-1</ref><ref>https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article54955480.html</ref> In 1989 the Chiefs switched from [[Warpaint (mascot)|Warpaint]], a [[Pinto horse]] ridden by a man in a feathered headdress, to their current mascot [[K. C. Wolf]]. Warpaint returned in 2009, but is ridden by a [[Cheerleading|cheerleader]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kcchiefs.com/cheerleaders/warpaint.html|title=Warpaint|publisher=Kansas City Chiefs|accessdate=November 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214185654/http://www.kcchiefs.com/cheerleaders/warpaint.html|archive-date=December 14, 2014| website=Kansas City Chiefs}}</ref> The Chiefs drew little attention compared to other teams until 2013, when photographs of fans in "Indian" dress appeared in the [[Kansas City Star]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.kansascity.com/2013/10/27/4577055/fans-indian-dress-is-problematic.html|title=Chiefs fans' 'Indian' dress is problematic|date=October 27, 2013|first=DEREK|last=DONOVAN|newspaper=The Kansas City Star}}</ref> In 2014 the Star reported that the team's management planned discussions with some Native American groups to find a non-confrontational way to eliminate, or at least reduce, offensive behavior.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/sam-mellinger/article1161612.html|title= To avoid a cultural free-for-all, Chiefs form alliance with American Indian groups|first=SAM|last=MELLINGER|newspaper=The Kansas City Star|date=August 6, 2014}}</ref> Achieving greater visibility by reaching the playoffs in 2016, Native Americans at [[Haskell Indian Nations University]] in [[Lawrence, Kansas]] are asking the Chiefs to stop behavior that invokes stereotypes, such as wearing headdresses and doing the "tomahawk chop".<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.kshb.com/sports/football/chiefs/kansas-indigenous-group-asking-kansas-city-chiefs-fans-to-stop-the-tomahawk-chop| title=Kansas indigenous group asking Kansas City Chiefs fans to stop the Tomahawk chop| first=Ariel| last=Rothfield| date=January 15, 2016| website=KSHB Kansas City| access-date=January 16, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228081915/http://www.kshb.com/sports/football/chiefs/kansas-indigenous-group-asking-kansas-city-chiefs-fans-to-stop-the-tomahawk-chop| archive-date=December 28, 2016}}</ref> In a statistical analysis of social media comments ([[Twitter#Tweets|tweets]]) leading up to [[Super Bowl LIV]], researchers found many more negative terms associated with the Kansas City team compared to San Francisco. While both teams were referred to in terms related to violence, the Chiefs were much more likely to receive insults related to intelligence (being called stupid) and many insults were specific references to negative Native American stereotypes, such as drunkenness ("firewater"), and being inbred or extinct. The conclusion drawn was support for Natives being insulted, rather than honored, by Native American mascots.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://indigenous.engineering/projects/Not_Your_Mascot.html| title=Not Your Mascot: Opinions vs Data| accessdate=February 18, 2020| website=Indigenous Engineering}}</ref> ====Washington Redskins==== {{main|Washington Redskins name controversy}} {{also|Washington Redskins trademark dispute}} The [[Washington Redskins]] receives the most public attention due to the prominence of the team being located in the [[Washington, D.C.|nation's capital]], and the name itself being defined in current dictionaries of American English as "usually offensive",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/redskin|title=Definition of REDSKIN|website=Merriam-Webster| quote=Definition of REDSKIN (usually offensive): american indian| accessdate=November 7, 2014}}</ref> "disparaging",<ref>{{cite book|url=http://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=redskin| title=The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition| year=2011| website=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company| quote=n. ''Offensive Slang'' Used as a disparaging term for a Native American.| accessdate=November 7, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/redskin|title=Redskin|website=Dictionary.com| quote=noun, ''Slang: Often Disparaging and Offensive.'' 1. a North American Indian.| accessdate=November 7, 2014}}</ref> "insulting",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kdictionaries-online.com/DictionaryPage.aspx?ApplicationCode=18#&&DictionaryEntry=redskin&SearchMode=Entry|title=definition of redskin|website=RANDOM HOUSE KERNERMAN WEBSTER'S College Dictionary|accessdate=November 7, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006084452/http://www.kdictionaries-online.com/DictionaryPage.aspx?ApplicationCode=18#&&DictionaryEntry=redskin&SearchMode=Entry|archive-date=October 6, 2014}}</ref> and "taboo".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/redskin?|title=Definition of redskin|website=Collins English Dictionary}}</ref> Native American opposition to the name began in the early 1970s with letters to the owner of the team<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/fred-hiatt-moving-beyond-the-imaginary-indians-perception/2014/09/21/ea1ee614-3f3b-11e4-9587-5dafd96295f0_story.html| title=Moving beyond the 'imaginary Indians' perception| first=Fred| last=Hiatt| date=September 21, 2014| newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> and the editors of ''[[The Washington Post]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/wp/2014/06/03/the-great-redskins-name-debate-of-1972/|title=The Great Redskins Name Debate of&nbsp;... 1972?|first=Dan|last=Steinberg|date=June 3, 2014|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> National protests began in 1988, after the team's [[Super Bowl XXII]] victory, and again when the [[Super Bowl XXVI|1992 Super Bowl]] between the Redskins and the [[Buffalo Bills]] was held in [[Minnesota]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1665&dat=19920127&id=iTMaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ACYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5240,6002498|title=2,000 at Metrodome protest Indian mascots|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 27, 1992}}</ref> Those officially censuring and/or demanding the name be changed include more than 80 organizations that represent various groups of Native Americans.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.changethemascot.org/supporters-of-change/| website=Change the Mascot| title=Supporters of Change| accessdate=November 13, 2014}}</ref> When the Redskins participated in "[[Blackout Tuesday]]" on June 2, 2020, [[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez]] responded "Want to really stand for racial justice? Change your name."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newsweek.com/aoc-slams-washington-redskins-says-change-your-name-if-team-wants-really-stand-racial-justice-1508247| title=AOC Slams Washington Redskins, Says 'Change Your Name' if Team Wants to 'Really Stand For Racial Justice'| author=Scott McDonald| date=June 2, 2020| magazine=Newsweek}}</ref> Subsequently, Mayor [[Muriel Bowser]] interrelated her position that the name is an impediment to the team's return to a stadium in the District of Columbia.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/redskins/dc-mayor-muriel-bowser-redskins-need-change-team-name| title= D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser: Redskins need to change team name| website=NBC Sports Washington | date=June 12, 2020}}</ref> A statue of the team's founder, [[George Preston Marshall]] has been removed from the grounds of [[RFK Stadium]] after being spray painted with the words "Change the Name". The management of the stadium stated that the statue would not return, and that its removal was long overdue.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/503601-change-the-name-spray-painted-on-monument-to-redskins-football-team| title='Change the name' spray-painted on monument to Redskins football team founder| author=Rachel Scully| date=June 19, 2020| newspaper=The Hill}}</ref> In the following week, the team removed all mention of Marshall from the team's other facilities and website.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/24/sports/football/redskins-ring-of-fame-marshall.html| title=Redskins Cling to Team’s Name but Erase Former Owner’s| author=Ken Belson| date=June 24, 2020| newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> In July 2020, amidst [[List of name changes due to the George Floyd protests|the removal of many names and images]] as part of the [[George Floyd protests]], a group of investors worth $620 billion wrote letters to major sponsors [[Nike, Inc.|Nike]], [[FedEx]] and [[PepsiCo]] encouraging pressure on the Redskins to change their name.<ref name="McDonald.Newsweek.2020">{{cite magazine|last=McDonald|first=Scott|title=Washington Redskins Urged to Lose Name, or Millions in Sponsorships|url=https://www.newsweek.com/washington-redskins-urged-lose-name-millions-sponsorships-1514894|magazine=[[Newsweek]]|date=July 1, 2020|access-date=July 3, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|title=First Peoples Worldwide Leads Investors’ Call for NFL Washington Team Name Change|url=https://www.colorado.edu/program/fpw/2020/06/30/first-peoples-worldwide-leads-investors-call-nfl-washington-team-name-change|website=Colorado.edu|date=June 30, 2020|access-date=July 3, 2020}}</ref> FedEx called on the team to change its name on July 2, 2020.<ref>{{cite news|title=FedEx requests Washington Redskins to change team name|url=https://www.nfl.com/news/fedex-requests-washington-redskins-to-change-team-name|publisher=NFL Enterprises|website=NFL.com|date=July 2, 2020|access-date=July 3, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Clarke |first1=Liz |title=FedEx calls on Redskins to change name following investors’ demands on sponsors |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/07/02/fedex-redskins-name-change/ |work=Washington Post |date=July 2, 2020 |language=en}}</ref> The same day, Nike removed Redskins apparel from its website.<ref>{{cite news |title=Nike pulls Washington Redskins apparel from its website amid team name controversy |url=https://fox6now.com/2020/07/03/nike-pulls-washington-redskins-apparel-from-its-website-amid-team-name-controversy/ |work=[[WITI (TV)]] |date=July 3, 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Grimes|first1=Prince J.|title=Nike removes Redskins name, apparel from its website|url=https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/redskins/nike-removes-redskins-name-apparel-its-website|website=NBCSports.com|date=July 2, 2020|access-date=July 3, 2020}}</ref> On July 3, the league and the franchise announced that it was "undergoing a thorough review of the team name."<ref>{{cite news|title=Washington Redskins to undergo thorough review of team's name|url=https://www.nfl.com/news/washington-redskins-to-undergo-thorough-review-of-team-s-name|publisher=NFL Enterprises|website=NFL.com|date=July 3, 2020|access-date=July 3, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Lantry|first=Lauren|title=Washington Redskins, under pressure from corporate sponsors, reviewing name|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/washington-redskins-pressure-corporate-sponsors-reviewing/story?id=71596724|website=ABCNews.go.com|date=July 3, 2020|access-date=July 3, 2020|language=en}}</ref> On July 7, it was acknowledged that the Redskins were not in contact with a group of Native Americans who petitioned the NFL to force a name change and that Redskins head coach Ron Rivera also stated the team wanted to continue “honoring and supporting Native Americans and our Military.”<ref name="WaPo.2020.7.7">{{cite news| title=As Redskins conduct name review, Native American groups say they haven’t heard from team| author=Roman Stubbs| date=July 7, 2020| newspaper=The Washington Post| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/07/07/redskins-conduct-name-review-native-american-groups-say-they-havent-heard-team/}}</ref> ==Other issues== ===Stereotyping by rival fans=== In addition to the behavior of the teams that have Native American names or mascots, their rivals often invoke racist stereotypes. In December 2013 when the Washington Redskins played the [[Kansas City Chiefs]] an employee of a [[Sonic Drive-In]] in Missouri placed a message outside that used [[scalping]], [[Indian reservation|reservations]] and [[Whisky|whiskey]] to disparage the "Redskins". It was quickly removed with the owner's apologies.<ref>{{cite magazine| url=https://www.washingtonian.com/2013/12/09/sonic-drive-in-apologizes-for-incredibly-racist-redskins-sign/| title=Sonic Drive-In Apologizes for Incredibly Racist “Redskins” Sign: A roadside sign even more awful than the team's on-field performance| author=Benjamin Freed| date=December 9, 2013| magazine=Washingtonian| accessdate=June 7, 2020}}</ref> A rubber severed "Indian" head impaled on a knife has been used by a sports fan in [[Philadelphia]] to taunt rival teams with Native American mascots.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nativeappropriations.com/2010/06/thanks-for-the-severed-head-youve-proved-my-point.html|author=Adrienne J. Keene| title=Thanks for the severed head. You proved my point|accessdate=December 8, 2016| website=Native Appropriations}}</ref> There have been a number of incidents of rival high school teams displaying banners or signs referencing the ''[[Trail of Tears]]'', which have been criticized for both insensitivity and ignorance of history.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/Blog/2013/11/19/McAdory-High-School-in-Alabama-apologizes-for-Trail-of-Tears-sign/5471384871891/|title=McAdory High School in Alabama apologizes for 'Trail of Tears' sign|first=Evan|last=Bleier|date=November 19, 2013|website=UPI}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/11/heres-another-high-school-football-team-promoting-trail-tears|title=Here's Another High School Football Team Promoting the "Trail of Tears"|first=Tim|last=Murphy|date=November 21, 2013|website=Mother Jones}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://newsok.com/osu-football-trail-of-tears-college-gameday-sign-condemned-by-university/article/5337476?custom_click=rss|title=OSU football: 'Trail of Tears' College GameDay sign condemned by university|first=Erik|last=Horne|date=August 30, 2014|website=News OK}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://deadspin.com/cheerleaders-display-trail-of-tears-banner-before-gam-1788354107| title=Cheerleaders Display "Trail Of Tears" Banner Before Game Against Team With Indian Mascot| first=Timothy| last=Burk| date=October 29, 2016| website=Deadspin}}</ref> Although the [[Central Michigan Chippewas]] have the support of the [[Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Nation]] of [[Michigan]], a student at rival [[Western Michigan University]] designed a T-shirt showing a Native American behind bars with the legend "Caught a Chippewa about a week ago". It was quickly condemned by both university presidents, who agreed that anyone wearing the shirt at a game would be ejected.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.wwmt.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/WMU-CMU-presidents-offer-swift-action-following-t-shirt-controversy-59232.shtml#.VHacPtab2Q4| title=WMU, CMU presidents offer swift action following t-shirt controversy| date=November 22, 2014| website=WWMT-TV}}</ref> In spite of the [[University of North Dakota]] changing their nickname from the Fighting Sioux to the [[North Dakota Fighting Hawks|Fighting Hawks]], students at rival [[North Dakota State University]] (NDSU) continue to chant "Sioux suck shit" whenever their football team makes a first down. The NDSU president, along with the presidents of the student body and faculty senates, have called for an end to the practice, which they describe as hateful, and coming from a misplaced sense of tradition.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4138709-ndsu-president-calls-end-hateful-sioux-chant-bison-football-games#.WAWqJt0tDBY.facebook| title=NDSU president calls for end of 'hateful' Sioux chant at Bison football games| author=Patrick Springer | date=October 17, 2016| newspaper=Grand Forks Herald}}</ref> Some NDSU fans also wear T-shirts with graphics depicting variations on the "Sioux suck" theme.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/11/19/offensive-t-shirt-shows-ndsu-fans-cant-let-go-sioux-suck-chant-lives-166519| title=Offensive T-Shirt Shows NDSU Fans Can't Let Go: 'Sioux Suck' Chant Lives On| author=Konnie LeMay| date=November 19, 2016| website=Indian Country Today Network}}</ref> ===Varying degrees of offensiveness=== To further complicate this controversy, many feel that there are varying levels of offensiveness with team names and mascots. The nature and degree of stereotyping varies depending upon the name of the team, the logo, the mascot, and the behavior of fans. The greatest offense is taken when the logo and mascot are caricatures viewed as insulting, such as the [[Cleveland Indians]]' [[Chief Wahoo]];<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholicculture.org/news/features/index.cfm?recnum=5437|title=Coalition Of Religious Investors Fight Baseball Team Logo|date=July 10, 1997|accessdate=January 18, 2013|website=Catholic Culture}}</ref> the name of the team is often regarded as a racial slur, such as [[Redskin]]s or [[Squaw]]s;<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.dodgecountynews.com/archives/7311-Squaws-are-region-runner-upshost-first-round-of-state-Friday.html| title=Squaws are region runner-ups:host first round of state Friday| date=February 15, 2017 | accessdate=March 6, 2017| website=The Dodge County News Online}}</ref> or the behavior of the mascot or fans is based upon popular images of Indians which trivialize authentic native cultures, such as the tomahawk chop.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2013/5/1/4292152/yeah-the-tomahawk-chop-bugs-me-heres-why| title=Yeah, the "Tomahawk Chop" bugs me. Here's why| first=Mike| last=Bates| date=May 1, 2013| website=SB Nation}}</ref> The practices of individual schools and teams have changed in response to the controversy. A local example is [[Washington High School (Sioux Falls, South Dakota)|Washington High School]] in [[Sioux Falls, South Dakota]]. Many Native American images have been removed, and the "Warriors" nickname is now claimed to be generic. The school now has a "circle of courage" logo with eagle feathers and has also "updated" the murals of Chief [[Hollow Horn Bear]] in the gym. Duane Hollow Horn Bear, the chief's great-grandson, who teaches Lakota language and history at [[Sinte Gleska University]] in Mission, stated: "We had no objection to their utilizing those pictures as long as my great-grandfather was represented with honor and dignity." However, not all Native Americans are happy with the presence of any such images.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.argusleader.com/story/opinion/columnists/stu-whitney/2015/01/17/whitney-sioux-falls-team-indian-nickname/21925163/| title=Does Washington High have nickname problem?| first=Stu| last=Whitney| date=January 17, 2015| website=Argus Leader}}</ref> ===Teams outside the Americas=== {{further|List of sports team names and mascots derived from indigenous peoples|l1=Native American mascots of teams outside the US and Canada}} Native American names and images are used by teams in other countries, generally those playing American-style sports and copying the imagery of American teams. Several are in countries that also have a tradition of [[Native American hobbyism in Germany|Native American hobbyists]] often associated with the popularity of the stories written by German author [[Karl May]].<ref name="NYTimes.2018.05.07">{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/07/sports/native-american-mascots-europe.html| title=Tomahawk Chops and Indian Mascots: In Europe, Teams Don't See a Problem| author=Andrew Keh| newspaper=The New York Times| date=May 7, 2018}}</ref> ==See also== *[[List of ethnic sports team and mascot names]] (all ethnicities) *[[Charlene Teters]] *[[Chief Zee]] *[[Robert Roche (activist)|Robert Roche]] *[[Sundance (activist)|Sundance]] *[[Pekin, Illinois#Primary and secondary schools|Pekin High School Chinks]] *[[Fighting Whites]] *[[Tribal sovereignty in the United States]] ==References== {{reflist|30em}} ==Further reading== {{refbegin}} * Guiliano, Jennifer (2015). ''Indian Spectacle: Mascots and the Anxiety of Modern America.'' New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. * King, C. Richard, guest editor. "Re/claiming Indianness: Critical Perspectives on Native American Mascots." Journal of Sport and Social Issues 28, no. 1 (February 2004). www.sagepub.com/ejournals * King, C. Richard, and Charles Fruehling Springwood (2001). ''Beyond the Cheers: Race as Spectacle in College Sport''. SUNY Series on Sport, Culture, and Social Relations. State University of New York Press. * King, C. Richard, and Charles Fruehling Springwood, eds. (2001). ''Team Spirits: The Native American Mascots Controversy''. Foreword by Vine Deloria Jr. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. * Remillard, Arthur. "Holy War on the Football Field: Religion and the Florida State University Mascot Controversy." ''Horsehide, Pigskin, Oval Tracks, and Apple Pie: Essays on Sports and American Culture''. Edited by James Vlasich. McFarland, 2005. * {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/?id=8erXAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA219 |title = American Indians at Risk &#91;2 volumes&#93;|isbn = 9780313397653|last1 = Jeffrey Ian Ross Ph|first1 = D.|date = October 28, 2013}} {{refend}} ==External links== * [http://www.changethemascot.org/ Change the Mascot - Focuses on the Washington NFL team] * [https://www.mascotdb.com/lists/native-american-related-mascots Native American-related mascots] * [http://nativeappropriations.com/ Native Appropriations] by [[Adrienne Keene]] ===Films=== * ''[http://www.inwhosehonor.com/ In Whose Honor?]'' (1997). Written and produced by Jay Rosenstein. [[Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey]]: New Day Films. * ''[http://morethanawordfilm.com/ More Than a Word]'' (2017). Directed by John Little and Kenn Little ([[Standing Rock]] Sioux tribe): Black Tongue Dakota Media. {{Native American mascot controversy}} [[Category:Native American topics]] [[Category:Native American-related controversies]] [[Category:Controversies in Canada]] [[Category:Ethnic and racial stereotypes]] [[Category:Sports mascots in the United States]] [[Category:College mascots in the United States| ]] [[Category:Cultural appropriation]] [[Category:Sports controversies]] [[Category:American football controversies]] [[Category:Baseball controversies]] [[Category:Basketball controversies]] [[Category:Ice hockey controversies]] [[Category:Atlanta Braves]] [[Category:Chicago Blackhawks]] [[Category:Cleveland Indians]] [[Category:Florida State Seminoles]] [[Category:Kansas City Chiefs]] [[Category:Washington Redskins]] [[Category:College football controversies]] [[Category:National Football League controversies]] [[Category:Major League Baseball controversies]]'