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The practice of deriving sports team names, imagery, and mascots from Indigenous peoples of North America is a significant phenomenon in the United States and Canada. The popularity of stereotypical representations of American Indians in global culture has led to a number of teams in Europe also adopting team names derived from Native Americans. While there are team names in North America derived from other ethnic groups, such as the Boston Celtics, the New York Yankees, the Montreal Canadiens, and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, these are names selected by groups to represent themselves.
Globally, there are teams in Africa and Europe that use Native American images and logos, while in South America there are a number of teams that reference the Guaraní people. In Brazil, these teams may be referred to using the derogatory term bugre. [1] However, the adoption of Indigenous names in Asia, Africa, Australia and South America may indicate that the team members are themselves Indigenous.
The rise of Indigenous rights movements has led to controversy regarding the continuation of practices rooted in colonialism. [2] Such practices maintain the power relationship between the dominant culture and the Indigenous culture, and can be seen as a form of cultural imperialism. [3] Such practices are seen as particularly harmful in schools and universities, which have the stated purpose of promoting ethnic diversity and inclusion. [4] In recognition of the responsibility of higher education to eliminate behaviors that creates a hostile environment for education, in 2005 the NCAA initiated a policy against "hostile and abusive" names and mascots that led to the change of many derived from Native American culture, with the exception of those that established an agreement with particular tribes for the use of their specific names. Other schools retain their names because they were founded for the education of Native Americans, and continue to have a significant number of Indigenous students.
The trend towards the elimination of Indigenous names and mascots in local schools has been steady, with two thirds having been eliminated over the past 50 years according to the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI). [5] In a few states with significant Native American populations, change has been mandated by law, such in Maine, [6] Wisconsin, [7] Oregon, [8] and Washington. [9] [10]
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." [11] This decision has been applauded by the National Congress of American Indians. [12]
Belgium
Brazil
Chile
Ecuador
Paraguay
South Africa
All of these teams are composed of Indigenous Australians.
A Minor league team in Innisfail, Alberta, the "Indians", has made a decision to become the "Trappers". [16] The Danville Braves are changing names for 2021 season in the Appalachian League. [17]
Affiliates of the Atlanta Braves:
Affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates:
Affiliate of the Colorado Rockies:
All three existing National Basketball Association teams that previously used Indigenous imagery have stopped doing so. (See Prior usage list below).
Many professional teams changed because they moved to another city, or went out of business ("Defunct" in table below).
Redskin is a slang term for Native Americans in the United States and First Nations in Canada. The term redskin underwent pejoration through the 19th to early 20th centuries and in contemporary dictionaries of American English it is labeled as offensive, disparaging, or insulting. Although the term has almost disappeared from contemporary use, it remains as the name of many sports teams. The most prominent was the Washington NFL team. After decades of resistance to change by the owners, management, and fans, major sponsors responded to calls to end systemic racism in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by advocating a name change. The new name Washington Commanders was announced on February 2, 2022. While the usage by other teams has been declining steadily, 37 high schools in the United States continue to be Redskins. School administrators and alumni assert that their use of the name is honoring their local tradition and not insulting to Native Americans.
The Ontario Lacrosse Association is a not-for-profit sport organization and a member association of the Canadian Lacrosse Association, the national governing body for lacrosse in Canada. The Ontario Lacrosse Association is the largest provincial lacrosse governing body within Canada. The mission of the OLA is to govern, improve, foster, and perpetuate the sport of lacrosse in Ontario. It was established in 1897.
Guarani, Guaraní or Guarany may refer to
Manhasset Secondary School, also referred to as Manhasset Junior/Senior High School or simply Manhasset High School, is a six-year comprehensive public middle and high school in Manhasset, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. The 7–12 school is the only secondary school in the Manhasset Union Free School District.
The Whitley Warriors are an ice hockey team based in Whitley Bay in the north east of England. Founded in 1957 as the Bees, they changed their name to the Whitley Warriors in 1964. The Warriors played at the highest level of British ice hockey for much of their history but currently play in the third tier, National Ice Hockey League North Division 1.
Stereotypes of Indigenous peoples of Canada and the United States of America include many ethnic stereotypes found worldwide which include historical misrepresentations and the oversimplification of hundreds of Indigenous cultures. Negative stereotypes are associated with prejudice and discrimination that continue to affect the lives of Indigenous peoples.
Since the 1960s, the issue of Native American and First Nations names and images being used by sports teams as mascots has been the subject of increasing public controversy in the United States and Canada. This has been a period of rising Indigenous civil rights movements, and Native Americans and their supporters object to the use of images and names in a manner and context they consider derogatory. They have conducted numerous protests and tried to educate the public on this issue.
Zema Williams, better known as Chief Zee, was a well-known fan and unofficial mascot of the franchise then known as the Washington Redskins, which has since been renamed the Washington Commanders of the National Football League. Dressed in a faux Native American war bonnet, rimmed glasses, and red jacket, Chief Zee began attending Redskins games in 1978.
The Washington Redskins name controversy involved the name and logo previously used by the Washington Commanders, a National Football League (NFL) franchise located in the Washington metropolitan area. In the 1960s, the team's longtime name—the Redskins—and the associated logo began to draw criticism from Native American groups and individuals. The topic, part of the larger Native American mascot controversy, began receiving widespread public attention in the 1990s. In 2020, the team responded to economic pressure in the wake of widespread recognition of systemic racism by retiring the name and logo. The team called itself the "Washington Football Team" before rebranding as the Commanders in 2022.
Sports teams named Redskins are part of the larger controversy regarding the use of Native American names, images and symbols by non-native sports teams. Teams of this name have received particular public attention because the term redskin is now generally regarded as disparaging and offensive.
In 2005 the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) distributed a "self evaluation" to its member institutions for teams to examine the use of potentially offensive imagery with their mascot choice. This examination was done in accordance with NCAA policy that requires each member institution to maintain an "atmosphere of respect for and sensitivity to the dignity of every person." Fourteen schools either removed all references to Native American culture or were deemed not to have references to Native American culture as part of their athletics programs. Subsequently, 19 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.
The Cleveland Indians name and logo controversy referred to the controversy surrounding the club name and logo previously used by Major League Baseball's Cleveland Guardians, an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio.
The use of terms and images referring to Native Americans/First Nations as the name or mascot for a sports team is a topic of public controversy in the United States and in Canada, arising as part of the Native American/First Nations civil rights movements. The retirement of the Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Indians has tipped public opinion in favor of eliminating Native mascots by public school, more states considering or passing legislation to do so, heeding tribal leaders who have advocating for change for decades.
The tomahawk chop is a sports celebration most popularly used by fans of the American Florida State Seminoles, Atlanta Braves baseball team, the Kansas City Chiefs American football team, and the English Exeter Chiefs rugby union team. The tomahawk chop involves moving the forearm forwards and backwards repeatedly with an open palm to simulate a tomahawk chopping, and is often accompanied by a distinctive cheer. The Atlanta Braves also developed a foam tomahawk to complement the fan actions.
The Chicago Blackhawks name and logo controversy refers to the controversy surrounding the name and logo of the Chicago Blackhawks, a National Hockey League (NHL) ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. The use of terms and images referring to Native Americans/First Nations as the name or mascot for a sports team without permissions from or consultations with local Indigenous communities, is a topic of public controversy in the United States and Canada. Since the 1960s, as part of the indigenous civil rights movements, there have been a number of protests and other actions by Native Americans and their supporters targeting the more prominent use of such names and images by professional franchises such as the Cleveland Guardians formerly known as the "Indians" of Major League Baseball (MLB) that was officially discontinued in 2016; the Washington Commanders formerly known as the "Redskins" of the National Football League (NFL), the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs and MLB's Atlanta Braves, the latter two attracting criticism of "the tomahawk chop" often performed by their fans. Like other teams with tribal mascots, there are calls from Indigenous activists and organizations to change the Blackhawks' name and logo and eliminate tribal mascots and imagery throughout sports. In contrast to generic names used by other teams, Blackhawks refers to a World War I-era U.S. Army division which was named for prominent Illinois-based Native American chief Black Hawk.
The Kansas City Chiefs is one of the professional sports teams involved in the controversy regarding the use of Native American names and imagery, but received less attention than other teams until 2013 when fan behavior at games, including stereotypical headdresses, face paint, performing a "war chant" and tomahawk chop became more publicly known. Protests by change advocates intensified following the name changes of the Washington Commanders and Cleveland Guardians. In addition, the Chiefs have been highly visible due to their participation in the Super Bowl in 2019, 2020, and 2022. Native American groups once again demonstrated outside the stadium hosting Super Bowl LVII.
The Atlanta Braves tomahawk chop and name controversy involves the name and tomahawk chop tradition by the Atlanta Braves, an American Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise. Native Americans have been questioning the Braves' mascot choices since the 1970s. Native American objections to the tomahawk chop received much attention during the 1990s and have continued into the 2020s. The Atlanta Braves and their fans continue their overwhelming support of the team name and chop tradition.