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(Google Images- Osceola and Renegade, Florida State)

Corrin Motyka

ENW 100

Native American Mascots

When fans of Major League Baseball’ s The Atlanta Braves perform the cheer known as

the “Tomahawk Chop,” they are participating in a shared experience that many of them say

builds unity and a sense of pride in their team and in the city of Atlanta (Koma, Karma.

“Tomahawk Chop - Atlanta Braves vs L.A. Dodgers - NLDS - Game 3.”). The Tomahawk Chop

is performed not only by fans of the Atlanta Braves, but also by fans of Florida State’s Seminoles

and the National Football League’s Kansas City Chiefs. The chant is catchy and exciting.

Recently, however, Ryan Helsley, a pitcher for the rival Saint Louis Cardinals who is also a

member of the Cherokee Nation, complained about the practice, stating that the cheer was a

“misrepresentation of Native Americans in general” and that it “Just depicts them in this kind of

caveman-type people way who aren’t intellectual.” Helsley added, “…it devalues us and how
we’re perceived in that way, or used as mascots.” As a result, the Braves agreed not to play the

music that accompanies the chant whenever Helsley might enter the game. The Braves also

stopped distributing red foam tomahawks for fans to wave from their seats (ESPN, “Cardinals’

Ryan Helsley Calls Braves' Use of Tomahawk Chop ‘Disrespectful’.”). Across the world of

sports, at both the college and the professional level, the use of Native American imagery and

stereotyping is being challenged. Defenders of the practice say that no harm is being done and

that banning these kinds of symbols is an overreaction, but not only is stereotyping harmful to

any ethnic group, it can also create misunderstanding and animosity among peoples. Fortunately,

there are some compromises available that can potentially satisfy both sides.

The history of Native Americans is not a happy one. In early American history, as settlers

and colonists began to spread from the East Coast across the interior of the United States,

conflict erupted between Europeans and the Native Americans. Most often, this resulted in brutal

defeat for the Native Americans who were pushed off their native lands and confined to

reservations policed by the US Government. Our history is full of terrible events such as the

Sand Creek and Wounded Knee Massacres. Even more terrible was the introduction of new

diseases for which Native Americans had no natural immunity. Measles and Smallpox brought

by European colonists are thought to have wiped out between 80% and 90% of the native

population. (Patterson, Kristine B., and Thomas Runge. “Smallpox and the Native American.”)

If we think of that in terms of America today, that would mean the death of over 300 Million

people. Loss of life, of territory, and of equal opportunity for education and participation in

society have left Native Americans looking at the American Dream from the outside.
 Statistics show that Native Americans currently experience significantly higher poverty

and dropout rates than the general population. For example, according to the US Census Bureau,

the poverty rate at the Standing Rock Reservation in the Dakotas is 43.2%, nearly triple the

national average (Diamant, Jeff, “Fact Tank - News In Numbers.”). When I drive to Syracuse,

New York, on Interstate 81, just outside the city I pass by the Onondaga Indian Reservation.

Visible from the Interstate is a desolate diner and gas station, a few rundown shacks, and an

American Flag flying upside down, an international symbol of distress, on a flagpole by the

roadside.

(Google Images-Diner outside Nedrow, NY)

Americans love their sports teams and the teams are often named after animals or humans

who are perceived to be warlike or aggressive. That’s how we end up with Eagles, Panthers,

Tigers and Bears. But we also end up with Vikings, Warriors, Pirates, Spartans, Trojans,

Fighting Irish, and Fighting Sioux. It’s less clear how we ever ended up with Red Men or

Redskins, but in those cases, the names are still supposed to project savagery and a warlike

personality. Vikings, Spartans, and Trojans no longer exist (although the Irish certainly do), but
Native Americans are still here and they represent about 2.5 million persons in the United States

according to the US Census Bureau (Diamant, Jeff, “Fact Tank - News In Numbers.”).

Studies conducted by a team of psychologists led by Melissa Burkley and published in

The Journal of Social Psychology (Burkley, Melissa, “Symbols of Pride or Prejudice? Examining

the Impact of Native American Sports Mascots on Stereotype Application.”), found that exposure

to Native American mascots in some people provoked negative stereotypes about Native

Americans being warlike and violent. That’s why, according to a report in the Harvard Law

Review, “more than 500 Indian nations have voiced unified opposition to mascots through

representative organizations including the National Congress of American Indians, the National

Indian Education Association, and the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council” (Wolburg, Joyce M.

“The Demise of Native American Mascots: It’s Time to Do the Right Thing.”). Just like the

baseball player Ryan Helsley, many people of Native American descent feel that “Indian”

mascots misrepresent their culture and feed negative stereotypes. With respect to the Washington

Redskins, just imagine if the word “Redskins” was substituted with “Blackskins,” “Whiteskins,”

or “Yellowskins.” It is hard to imagine that there would not be a major outcry and an immediate

change.

Does this mean that all Native Americans are opposed to the use of “Indian” related

mascots? Not necessarily. There have been agreements reached between certain sports teams

and Native Americans that allow for the use of “Indian” mascots and imagery. For example,

Florida State reached an agreement with the Seminole Tribe that allows the Florida State teams

to call themselves “Seminoles” and to use the imagery of a warrior on horseback to motivate

their athletes, fans, and alumni (Culpepper, Chuck. “Florida State's Unusual Bond with Seminole
Tribe Puts Mascot Debate in a Different Light.”). In Cleveland, the Cleveland Indians have done

away with a comic character image known as “Chief Wahoo” and remain the Indians, with no

real opposition from anyone. In contrast, the University of North Dakota was unable to reach an

agreement with all members of the Sioux Tribe to keep the “Fighting Sioux” and imagery. The

team is now known as Fighting Hawks.

Using the Survey Monkey platform, I recently conducted a study in which participants

were asked a series of questions about the use of Native American names as sports symbols.

When asked if they considered the term “Redskin” to be offensive, ten indicated yes and nine

indicated no. When asked if they considered the term “Seminole” to be offensive, four indicated

yes and fifteen said no. Clearly, there was a significant difference in how the two terms were

viewed. Even though the use of the term “Redskin” was only opposed by a very slight majority,

the use of the term “Seminole,” was favored by a very large majority. This indicates that there is

an important difference in many people’s minds between using the name of an actual tribe as

opposed to using a racial stereotype as a sports symbol.

American society is becoming increasingly diverse. For our society to thrive, it is

important that all backgrounds be respected so as to reduce friction and to promote unity and

belief in American values. We do not have to do away with all Native American mascots and

sports symbols, only those that are deeply offensive. Florida State sports fans are fiercely proud

of their Seminoles, or ‘Noles, and their athletes certainly do not hold back on the football or

soccer fields. It is time to retire the term Washington Redskins and come up with something that

unifies us instead of divides us.

 WORKS CITED

Burkley, Melissa, et al. “Symbols of Pride or Prejudice? Examining the Impact of Native

American Sports Mascots on Stereotype Application.” The Journal of Social Psychology, vol.

157, no. 2, Routledge, Mar. 2017, pp. 223–35, doi:10.1080/00224545.2016.1208142.

“Cardinals' Ryan Helsley Calls Braves' Use of Tomahawk Chop 'Disrespectful'.” ESPN,

ESPN Internet Ventures, 4 Oct. 2019, https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/27769140/st-louis-

cardinals-ryan-helsley-calls-atlanta-braves-use-tomahawk-chop-disrespectful.

Culpepper, Chuck. “Florida State's Unusual Bond with Seminole Tribe Puts Mascot Debate in a

Different Light.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 29 Dec. 2014, www.washingtonpost.com/

sports/colleges/florida-states-unusual-bond-with-seminole-tribe-puts-mascot-debate-in-a-

different-light/2014/12/29/5386841a-8eea-11e4-ba53-a477d66580ed_story.html.

Diamant, Jeff, et al. “Fact Tank - News In Numbers.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research

Center, 10 Dec. 2019, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/.

Koma, Karma. “Tomahawk Chop - Atlanta Braves vs L.A. Dodgers - NLDS - Game 3.”

YouTube, YouTube, 8 Oct. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7-7rQF_3Q4&feature=youtu.be.

 Patterson, Kristine B., and Thomas Runge. “Smallpox and the Native American.” The

American Journal of the Medical Sciences, Elsevier, 16 Dec. 2015, https://

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002962915344815.

Wolburg, Joyce M. “The Demise of Native American Mascots: It’s Time to Do the Right

Thing.” Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 23, no. 1, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Jan.

2006, pp. 4–5, doi:10.1108/07363760610641109.