Content

During our argumentative writing, we learned many skills of how to write a persuasive argumentative essay. At the end of the unit, we were asked to choose a side on a topic and write a five-paragraph essay about what side you were on and why. The topic was, "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?" I personally chose that it was racist and detrimental.

My Essay

The use of Native American mascots is racist and detrimental because the logos are stereotypical, some names are racial slurs, and most depict Natives as savages.

One reason that using Natives as mascots is racist is that the logos are stereotypical. They logos are stereotypical because they add unnecessary and racist pieces to the logos, like coloring the Natives red. In the video “Native Americans Review ‘Indian’ Mascots,” one person says, “Native American people don’t look like this.” This means that the logo they are talking about is stereotypical as they say it looks nothing like them. Similarly, “For many reservation people, the truth of the Wahoo image has been slow to arrive” (HolyWhiteMountain). This suggests that the logos were stereotypical because they say the new image is slowly starting to arrive. This all shows that most to all logos showing Natives in them are stereotypical.

Another reason that using Natives as mascots is racist is that the mascots usually depict Natives as savages. They depict natives as savages by the logos being weapons. During the video “Native Americans Review ‘Indian’ Mascots,” someone says, “It bothers me that one of the symbols people recognize about our people is a weapon.” Therefore, the logo shows that people know the Natives by a weapon. Although some people think that weapons show that the are strong and courageous, they are wrong because they do not use weapons. Why do they need to use weapons? Both things stated show that using Natives as mascots usually means they’re depicted as savages.

Reflection

We practiced many skills during this unit. The most important were planning, organization, and time management. We had to plan out our entire essay so when we came to the final draft, we had everything ready to go. We practiced organization by organizing our evidence and our essays into certain sections. We also practiced time management by planning out when we wanted to do our essay of the span of a week.