Argumentative Writing

Content:

We were asked to answer the question, "Is the use of Native American mascots a source of pride and honor for Native Americans, or is it racist and detrimental to Native American culture?" We were asked to do this by righting a five-paragraph essay.

Evidence of work:

Cassie Rees

Mrs. Muñoz-Matheny

English 9, Period 6

8 November 2019

Sports Teams and Fun? Or Racism and Belittling?

Baseball, football, and hockey are all the sports that have a part in this topic of conversation. Each sport has its assortment of teams with mascots referring to Native American culture. Many Native American rights activists have protested the derogatory use of these names. They target sports teams like the Washington “Redskins” and the Cleveland “Indians”. Since this controversy became more mainstream after several protests, many teams have changed their logos, names, and merchandise. Some Americans assume what American Indians should look like. This causes controversial images of Native Americans to surface in mascots and huge franchises. Not all Indians live on Reservations, some live in cities where you would least expect it. Reservation Indians live with stereotyping all of their lives and they have started to defend their culture. The use of Native American mascots is hurtful and detrimental to Native American culture because it negatively stereotypes and depersonalizes Native Americans, it does not honor American Indian culture and community, and primarily, Native Americans don’t want to be mascots.

First, the use of Native American mascots is racist to Native American culture because the logos are depersonalizing, inaccurate, and offensive to people of Native American descent. This is true because in the article, “A slur or term of honor? Controversy heightens about Washington Redskin,” It states that American Indians find it suspicious that a major sports franchise neglects to see the offensiveness of the mascot name “the Redskins.” In her 2014 article, “Sorry for not being a stereotype,” free-lance journalist Rita Pyrillis explains, “While Little Black Sambo and the Frito Bandito have gone the way of minstrel shows, Indians are still battling a red-faced, big-nosed Chief Wahoo and other stereotypes” (Pyrillis). This suggests that Native Americans feel misrepresented by these mascots being used by sports teams and feel that these franchises oversee the reality of how the stereotyping of Indian Americans make that community feel. Although some people say that Native American mascots aren't offensive and show an accurate representation of Native Americans, they are wrong because most people of Native America descent don't walk around in full Native American headdresses like Chief Wahoo, nor is their skin as red as fire trucks. To sum it up, modern-day use of Native American mascots are racist to Native American culture because the logos used are depersonalizing, inaccurate, and offensive to people of Native American.

Second, the use of American Indians used in mascots is harmful to American Indians because it does not honor American Indian culture and community. The article “The Great Failure of the Indian mascot debate? Thinking of it only as Racism” discusses how American Indians deal with the difficulty of having an abundance of Americans continue to be ignorant towards Indian culture. In an article by Sterling HolyWhiteMountain to ESPN.com he states, “What remains unaddressed is the true history of Indian Country, which is to say the true history of the United States: a story of abrogated treaties, of tribal sovereignty limited by Congressional law and of specious Supreme Court decisions, all of which have either hampered or destroyed the ability of tribal people to govern themselves as political sovereigns on their own land.” (HolyWhiteMountain) This shows the real origins of how Americans originally came up with these slurs. In her 2018 article, “School Board Votes to Abolish Logos for Napa High Indiana and Redwood Warriors,” Napa Valley Register reporter Noel Brinkerhoff explains, “there is no honor in being stereotyped,” said Lim DeOcampo. “ if you want to honor us, honor our treaties” and “protect our secret places” (Brinkerhoff). This means that Native Americans do not feel honored, but outrage and disrespected because American Indians aren’t being honored, rather depreciated by these shameful mascots. Although some people feel that the mascots honor American Indians and show they have the deepest respect and warmth for Native people, they are wrong because the use of these disrespectful names, images, and mascots are offensive and racist towards American Indians. These sports teams think they are honoring Native Americans by making them their mascots, but in reality, it causes arguments and feelings to be hurt. Native Americans did not originally ask to be mascots, so why go against their wishes if they ask to not be a team mascot? Because of this evidence, the use of American Indian names and images is a sign of disrespect because it does not honor American Indian culture and community.

Finally, above all of the other reasons why the use of Native American mascots is hurtful and detrimental to Native American culture, is because Native Americans don’t want to be mascots. This is true because is the Youtube video by “Comedy Central” called “The Daily - Redskin’s Name”, when Jason Jones (an interviewer from “The Daily Show”) interviewed Native American activists about the name of the football team the “Washington Redskins”, one activist states, “The most popular mascots in the country of Indians and Animals… we’re not animals.” (The Daily Show) Therefore, Native Americans don’t want to be mascots for sports teams. Though some people may say that Native Americans should want to be mascots and are being sensitive they are wrong because the names are derogatory and make Native Americans feel small. In the Youtube video by “Comedy Central” called “The Daily - Redskin’s Name”, when Jason Jones (an interviewer from “The Daily Show”) says to Native American activists, “When you put it like that it sounds terrible. Put into context on Sundays…” In regards to how the diminishing names make them feel on a daily basis. One activist them replies, “Do you know what it’s like to be a Native in this town (Washington D.C.)? To walk down the street every single day and be surrounded by that imagery, and being told to get over it?” This shows that Natives feel diminished by these slurs and don’t want to be mascots. Because of these activists who have represented their people, this shows that Native Americans don’t want to be mascots.

In conclusion, because Native American mascots negatively stereotype and depersonalizes Native Americans, do not honor American Indian culture and community, and Native Americans don’t want to be mascots, these mascots should be banned from all sports teams. At the end of the day, the goal is to end racism and stereotyping of all kinds. Which is why smaller problems like a team mascot are a big deal and needs to be brought to attention for any change to occur. It is unacceptable for these things to remain.

Work Cited

Brinkerhoff, Noel. “School Board Votes to Abolish Logos for Napa High Indiana and Redwood Warriors,” Napa Valley Register 22 March, 2018.

HolyWhiteMountain, Sterling. “The Great Failure of the Indian mascot debate? Thinking of it only as Racism” Special to ESPN.com 25 October, 2016.

Martinez, Michael. “A slur or term of honor? Controversy heightens about Washington Redskin,” CNN 12 October, 2013.

Pyrillis, Rita. “Sorry for Not Being a Stereotype.” Chicago Sun-Times, 24 April, 2004. Smith, Bob and Jones, Bill.

The Daily Show. “The Daily Show - The Redskins’ Name - Catching Racism” YouTube, uploaded by Comedy Central, 26 September, 2014, The Daily Show. “The Daily Show - The Redskins' Name - Catching Racism” YouTube, uploaded by Comedy Central, 26 September, 2014 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loK2DRBnk24

Reflection

While writing this essay, I had to try and out myself in the mindset of a Native American who may be offended by these mascots. I tried to do this to really feel this cultures anger towards this topic. I stayed relatively organized throughout this process by keeping all the noting I had made about this topic from videos and articles in my English 9 folder. This helped me stay organized by knowing where all the information I needed to compete this essay was. But when it came to time management, there were some long nights writing which could have been avoided if I didn't procrastinate , I pulled it together towards the end and got it in on time. The C in the 6 C's I feel like I grew upon during this essay is definitely, "Cultural Competence". I feel like I grew in this C because I got to learn a lot and become aware of some of the struggles cultures (Native Americans) go through in everyday life.