What the hawk means to First Nations peoples who live in its habitat Being a bird species native to most of North America, the red-tailed hawk is a part of many First Nations cultures, most of whom view it as a symbol of courage, strength, and power. Since North America is so vast that there are bound to be discrepancies between the beliefs of different First Nations peoples, this writeup shall deal with the different meanings the hawk can have to different tribes, including some in British Columbia. In some cases, literature about the hawk’s importance to First Nations peoples have been drowned out by websites which do not appear reliable; as such, some pieces of information about the similar and much more well-documented hawk are also included in this writeup. The Cheyenne tribe from the Great Plains believe that hawks warn and protect one of impending danger from one’s enemies.…
Native Americans have endured disease, colonization, and relocation from their homes. Much of their culture was drastically changed due to mission efforts and government intervention which led to massive acculturation. However, to claim that their culture was buried with their ancestors is a rather ignorant accusation. In other words, it was transformed to fit the view of modern society, but remaining in touch with their roots. To better understand this transformation, I have focused to analyze a painting by Oscar Howe (Native American) titled Rider which creates a unique blend of Native American and Western design.…
Brian Doyle, the author of A Note on Mascots was always a sports team fan. He recalls his favorite team “The fighting Irish of the university of Notre dame”. Doyle has spent thirty years working for colleges and Universities. During these thirty years, he has heard of many animals just by team’s mascots. Doyle claims he could have a degree in zoology, from only reading sports articles.…
Racism American and Resistance to Change: Art Education’s Role in the Indian Mascot Issue. In Elizabeth De La Cruz’s’ article, the author vividly describes and to capture the feelings of Charlene Teter as well as many other Native Americans. When it comes to the lack of sensitivity and politically incorrect usage of Native American Indian Mascot is used in society, but more so, in the sports realm. Many people misuse the Native American mascot in sports and do not really think that it is harmful. However, Teter’s cultural shock when attending the University of Illinois made her aware that the Indian mascot was being misrepresented.…
The book Never Cry Wolf By: Farley Mowat came out in the 1960’s. The book is about how Mowat comes out to explore the forest of northern Canada. He calls it Wolf House Bay. Then he meets this wolf pack that he will be spying on for a couple of months. He soon gets really attached to them and starts to give them names like Lupine, Uncle Albert, Angelina, and George.…
Native Mascot Zahnive George Ever since I was a child I was always told that I was a mascot and it was an honor to be consider a mascot. I always looked at it that way. I always thought the native people loved to be consider a mascot of a popular school team, football team, basketball team, etc. As any child I was always naive and thought everything was as it seem.…
In the article “Racism American Style and Resistance to Change: Art Education’s Role in the Indian Mascot Issue,” art educator Elizabeth M. Delacruz attempts to find an explanation for the popularity of Indian mascots by selecting cases and examining the history of the issue. She states 1500 public schools in the United States use Indian mascots. While these schools continue to represent their mascots, the disturbing past of public schools’ early development of the Indian mascots hides behind closed doors. In the 1920s, Indian mascots were developed by White schools in conjunction with practices emanating from Indian Boarding Schools. Children were removed from their homes and incarcerated into American schools to learn American culture.…
Throughout the years society has become more and more sensitive to certain topics regarding feelings and emotions. The smallest action or word can trigger a person to become offended or get angry about a topic or event. One such topic is the use of Native American mascots throughout different school, universities and professional sports teams. There are two sides for this argument that most people stand on, they are either all for or all against the use of such mascots. The use of Native American mascots gives off a sense of pride and honor to those who represent the mascot by making them feel a part of something important, retains the heritage of the tribe in that community, and shows values such as leadership and bravery that many Native…
There has been many arguments about Native American sports team mascots, name and logos. It is time for sports teams to just get rid of the “racist’’ sports imagery because the protesters will not stop talking about them. some of these teams using Native American mascots include the washington Redskins, the Florida State Seminoles, the Cleveland Indians, the Atlanta Braves, the Cherokee Braves and many more. Using native american images and names in professional, colligate, and high school sports teams does not reinforce and perpetuate stereotypes because the mascots are used to represent native symbols and to not offend and its also to represent the heritage and the way they used to do things.…
Imagine having your identity being mocked and disrespected on TV daily. You probably wouldn’t be too happy. This is a constant injustice that Native Americans have had to deal with since the beginning of sports. Different variations of Native American imagery have been used as mascots for sports teams of all types and of all levels. There are countless high school, college, and professional athletic teams that label themselves as the Indians or have mascots that are known as Indians.…
Eliana Ritt Honorable or Heinous? Honorable, historical, and humble: these are all words that can be used to describe the Native Americans and their rich and fascinating culture. When we talk about Native Americans, we often talk about their struggles throughout history. Recently, there has been a new struggle with the Native Americans involving controversy of whether or not the mascots used for sports teams are offensive.…
I would like to show my family and friends the In Whose Honor video because they always make the argument that mascots aren’t hurting anyone. Additionally, I think this film would have the most impact because my high school, Maconaquah High School, still has a mascot called “the Brave” and at sports games, like football and basketball, they still wave their arms in the motion of a tomahawk chop. Watching Charlene Peters tell her story about her protest of the University of Illinois mascot, Chief Illiniwek was very moving, especially when she talked about the time she took her kids to a basketball game and they became quiet when the mascot came out. In the some of the website resources we looked at for class we learned that the American Psychological…
In the course of recent years, there has been a national civil argument with respect to whether school and professional sports organizations should utilize Native American symbolism as their mascots, monikers, and additionally logos. At a base, there are two clashing perspectives: (1) Keeping this symbolism respects Native American individuals, underpins nostalgic emotions, and spares financing; and (2) Keeping this symbolism is hostile and debasing in light of the fact that it is honored to Native Americans and propagates negative stereotypes. Supporters contend these pictures are complimentary, not "harmful," and are not disrespectful to every single Native American. Individuals in resistance refer to research that demonstrates enduring negative…
I have always imagined that there was more to the culture and history of Native Americans than just what I was taught in school; for that reason, In the Hands of the Great Spirit by Jake Page attracted me. Although I realized that a book about the twenty thousand year history of Native Americans would be like reading a textbook, which is not something I do during my free time, I considered the fact that I would actually learn more about a topic that is not “properly” taught in school. One of the biggest topics that I explored in this book was Native American culture; this is an aspect that I had never been taught anywhere else, but that Jake Page really illuminates with myths and pictures placed throughout the book. In addition to that, I…
Greetings, Class of 2023. Today, we get to celebrate the culmination of our thirteen years of hard work in school with graduation, and I have been asked to deliver this year’s commencement speech. I would like to thank all of the people that have brought us here: family members, teachers, principals, and people who would go out of their way to encourage us to keep trying hard even in the midst of failure. Without you, we would not be standing on this stage today. I would like to start by defining the word “commencement.”…