The Native American Mascot Controversy: A Handbook

by C. Richard King

Overview

Sports mascots have been a tradition for decades. Along with the usual lions and tigers, many schools are represented by Native American images. Once considered a benign practice, numerous studies have proved just the opposite: that the use of Native American mascots in educational institutions has perpetuated a shameful history of racial insensitivity. The Native American Mascot Controversy provides an overview of the issues that have been associated with this topic for the past 40 years.

The book provides a comprehensive and critical account of the issues surrounding the controversy, explicating the importance of anti-Indian racism in education and how it might be challenged. A collection of important primary documents and an extensive list of resources for further study are also included. Expounding the dangers and damages associated with their continued use, The Native American Mascot Controversy is a useful guide for anyone with an interest in race relations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810867314
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	10/11/2010
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	290
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

C. Richard King is associate professor of Comparative Ethnic Studies at Washington State University. He is also the author or editor of several books, including Native American Athletes in Sport and Society (2006), Native Americans in Sports (2003), and Animating Difference (2010).

Table of Contents

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xv

Part I Background 1

1 Chiefs, Braves, and Tomahawks: The Use of American Indians as University Mascots Robert Longwell-Grice Hope Longwell-Grice 3

2 Teach Them Respect Not Racism: Common Themes and Questions about the Use of "Indian" Logos Barbara E. Munson 13

3 Native Americans as Sports Mascots Sharon Pray Muir 19

4 The Problems with Native American Mascots Laurel R. Davis 23

5 What the "Fighting Sioux" Tells Us about White People Robert Jensen 33

6 Gendered Discourse: Higher Education, Mascots, and Race Jennifer Guiliano 41

Part II Educational Issues 47

7 A Letter from the Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign to the University of Illinois Board of Trustees Regarding the Use of Chief Illiniwek 49

8 On the Use of American Indian Mascots: A Presentation to the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee Roy H. Saigo 57

9 American Indian Imagery and the Miseducation of America Ellen J. Staurowsky 63

10 Native foliages in Schools and the Racially Hostile Environment Lawrence R. Baca 79

11 Native Mascots and Ethnic Fraud in Higher Education: Using Tribal Critical Race Theory and the Interest Convergence Principle as an Analytic Tool Angelina E. Castagno Stacey J. Lee 89

12 Mascots and Meaning: How One District Worked Through the Emotional Issue of Changing Team Logos Terry Grier 111

13 Strategies for Making Team Identity Change David Carl Wahlberg 117

14 Native American Mascots and Alumni Giving Patrick J. McEwan Clive R. Belfield 127

Part III Reform and Resistance 143

15 Defensive Dialogues: Native American Mascots, Anti-Indianism, and Educational Institutions C. Richard King 145

16 Putting the Moccasin on the Other Foot: A Media History of the "Fighting Whities" Bruce E. Johansen 163

17 Note to Congress: Stop Shielding "Indian" Mascots and Start Defending Indian People Suzan Shawn Harjo 179

18 The Resurrection of the Chief Dave Zirin 183

19 Tribe Approval of Mascots Not Enough Daily Cardinal Editorial Board, University of Wisconsin 187

Part IV Documents: Policies, Resolutions, and Legislation 189

20 Statement on the Use of Native American Images and Nicknames as Sports Symbols (2001): U.S. Commission on Civil Rights 191

21 The Five Civilized Tribes Intertribal Council Mascot Resolution (July 14, 2001): Five Civilized Tribes Intertribal Council 195

22 Opposition to the University of North Dakota's Use of the Fighting Sioux Name and Logo (2002) Governing Body of the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation 197

23 Denouncement of the Use of Any American Indian Name or Artifice Associated with Team Mascots by Any Professional/ Nonprofessional Sport Teams (1993): National Congress of American Indians 199

24 Resolution in Opposition to Native American Mascots (1999): National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 201

25 Statement on Team Names (1993): American Jewish Committee 203

26 Statement on the Use of American Indian Sports Mascots (January 27, 1999): Society of Indian Psychologists 205

27 Resolution Recommending the Immediate Retirement of American Indian Mascots, Symbols, Images, and Personalities by Schools, Colleges, Universities. Athletic Teams, and Organizations (2005): American Psychological Association 209

28 Native American Imagery Resolution (2005): North American Society for the Sociology of Sport 217

29 Policy on Native American Logos and Names (1993): University of Wisconsin Athletic Department 219

30 Competition and Anti-Discriminahon Policy (2002): Advisory Committee on Athletics, University of Minnesota 221

31 Guideline for Use of Native American Mascots (2005): National Collegiate Athletic Association 223

32 Resolution on the Elimination of American Indian Mascots (1997): Los Angeles City Board of Education 225

33 Resolution Condemning Use of Derogatory Sports Team Names, Mascots, and Symbols (1999): Hutchinson Human Relations Commission 227

34 Resolution on Native American Mascots (1998): Governors' Interstate Indian Council 229

35 Resolution on Native American Mascots (2002): New Hampshire State Board of Education 231

36 Resolution of the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs (1999): Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs 233

37 Report on Use of Nicknames, Logos, and Mascots Depicting: Native American People in Michigan Education Institutions (1988): Michigan Civil Rights Commission 237

38 California Racial Mascots Act AB 858 (2004): State of California 239

39 Oklahoma Racial Mascots Act, Senate Bill 567 (2005): Bill Introduced in the Oklahoma State Senate 241

40 Tennessee Mascot Act (2007): State of Tennessee 245

41 U.S. House Resolution 1933 (2005): 109th Congress. US, House of Representatives 247

42 Protection of University Governance Act of 2006: Bill Introduced in the US. House of Representatives 251

Part V Additional Resources 253

43 Organizations Advocating Change 255

44 American Indian Mascot and Nickname Changes: A Chronology 259

References 265

Index 271

About the Editor 275

Editorial Reviews

The contributors link the history and significance of Native American mascots to ongoing struggles for social justice. Rejecting the idea that mascots are limited to sporting events, the authors persuasively argue that they are instead representative of dominant attitudes that both distance and dehumanize Native people. Hardly seeing mascots as an "honor," the authors trace how Native American mascots are based on an idea of a savage male opponent that will be vilified and humiliated by opposing teams. The book is aimed squarely at those working in higher education, for a school that endorses inaccurate, ahistorical images of Native Americans is hardly a safe space for Native students. The text compiles speeches, articles, policies, and resolutions that have been previously published, usually for a specific targeted audience. The value of this text is that it details both the scope and diversity of the opposition to Native American sports mascots. Oriented toward directing action on the part of readers to both educate and resist, the book can be viewed as a supplement to other sources, such as the Jay Rosenstein film In Whose Honor? (1997). Summing Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries.

Choice Reviews

The contributors link the history and significance of Native American mascots to ongoing struggles for social justice. Rejecting the idea that mascots are limited to sporting events, the authors persuasively argue that they are instead representative of dominant attitudes that both distance and dehumanize Native people. Hardly seeing mascots as an "honor," the authors trace how Native American mascots are based on an idea of a savage male opponent that will be vilified and humiliated by opposing teams. The book is aimed squarely at those working in higher education, for a school that endorses inaccurate, ahistorical images of Native Americans is hardly a safe space for Native students. The text compiles speeches, articles, policies, and resolutions that have been previously published, usually for a specific targeted audience. The value of this text is that it details both the scope and diversity of the opposition to Native American sports mascots. Oriented toward directing action on the part of readers to both educate and resist, the book can be viewed as a supplement to other sources, such as the Jay Rosenstein film In Whose Honor? (1997). Summing Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries.--CHOICE

From the Publisher

The contributors link the history and significance of Native American mascots to ongoing struggles for social justice. Rejecting the idea that mascots are limited to sporting events, the authors persuasively argue that they are instead representative of dominant attitudes that both distance and dehumanize Native people. Hardly seeing mascots as an "honor," the authors trace how Native American mascots are based on an idea of a savage male opponent that will be vilified and humiliated by opposing teams. The book is aimed squarely at those working in higher education, for a school that endorses inaccurate, ahistorical images of Native Americans is hardly a safe space for Native students. The text compiles speeches, articles, policies, and resolutions that have been previously published, usually for a specific targeted audience. The value of this text is that it details both the scope and diversity of the opposition to Native American sports mascots. Oriented toward directing action on the part of readers to both educate and resist, the book can be viewed as a supplement to other sources, such as the Jay Rosenstein film In Whose Honor? (1997). Summing Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries.

CHOICE

The contributors link the history and significance of Native American mascots to ongoing struggles for social justice. Rejecting the idea that mascots are limited to sporting events, the authors persuasively argue that they are instead representative of dominant attitudes that both distance and dehumanize Native people. Hardly seeing mascots as an "honor," the authors trace how Native American mascots are based on an idea of a savage male opponent that will be vilified and humiliated by opposing teams. The book is aimed squarely at those working in higher education, for a school that endorses inaccurate, ahistorical images of Native Americans is hardly a safe space for Native students. The text compiles speeches, articles, policies, and resolutions that have been previously published, usually for a specific targeted audience. The value of this text is that it details both the scope and diversity of the opposition to Native American sports mascots. Oriented toward directing action on the part of readers to both educate and resist, the book can be viewed as a supplement to other sources, such as the Jay Rosenstein film In Whose Honor? (1997). Summing Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries.

Choice

Blaxploitation films were an outgrowth of the racial and political upheavals of the 1960s and offered black actors exposure they had not previously enjoyed. The first successful film in the cycle is generally considered to have been Melvin Van Peebles's Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song(1971). Walker (ed., BadAzz MoFo magazine), Andrew J. Rausch (Making Movies with Orson Welles), and director Chris Watson collect variably enlightening interviews with 22 participants in the blaxploitation era, a few now deceased. Both trained actors (e.g., William Marshall, Glynn Turman) and charismatic sports figures like Jim Brown and Fred Williamson starred in these often-superviolent movies, while white directors like Ralph Bakshi and Larry Cohen were frequently at the helm. Only a single woman, Gloria Hendry, is included. (See Stephane Dunn's "Baad Bitches" and Sassy Supermamas for more on female characters in blaxploitation films.) Given the relative paucity of writings on these films, any additional source is worthwhile. Although there's not complete agreement on what should be considered part of this briefly popular subgenre, the lengthy filmography here should prove useful. Recommended for cinema collections.
—Roy Liebman

Library Journal