There is no denying that society can hold us to almost unrealistic standards. Whether it is beauty expectations for women, toxic masculinity for men, or over-involvement for college students; we all must grapple with society’s unreachable expectations. However, imagine facing another level of expectations on top of these, expectations that demean your mere existence: the standards set by the demeaning representations of Native Americans as sports mascots. In Kevin Bruyneel’s essay “Race, Colonialism, and the Politics of Indian Sports Names and Mascots: The Washington Football Team Case”, he explains how these expectations create a culture where modern existence as a Native American does not exist. Depictions only present the story of an antiquated
…show more content…
Settler-colonialism consists of three pillars: the appropriation of territory, violence toward and forced assimilation of Indigenous people, and the appropriation of Indigenous identity and culture (Bruyneel 6). Which, ironically, does the exact opposite of what proponents of these mascots claim they do: bringing honor to indigenous peoples. The basis of this defense is rooted in the pillar of settler-colonialism that forwards the “replacement narrative”, the idea that “noble Indigenous people have tragically disappeared and we, the settlers, honor them by taking up their name as our own in contemporary settler form” (Bruyneel 24). Much like how the American government attempted to erase Native American identity through the allotment era, Native American mascots are used to promote a negative view of indigenous peoples. The mascots paint indigenous people as savages, warriors, and brutes; people unable to assimilate into “civilized” culture. Mascots depict an incomplete and antiquated depiction of Native Americans, not a culture of varied people from across the country who are very much members of everyday American life. It is similar to portrayals of Native Americans in Westerns during the 1950’s and 1960’s. The “Hollywood Indian” featured in these films portrayed a narrow view of what Native Americans could be, an …show more content…
Despite the positive and culturally accepting upbringing some Native American youth might encounter within their family, the possibilities for acceptance in larger society can often seem grim. When Dr. Stephanie Fryberg, a professor at the University of Arizona, conducted a study on the effect of Native American imagery for sports teams, the effects reached much further than initial disdain. Her study concluded that “American Indian mascots are harmful not only because they are often negative, but because they remind American Indians of the limited ways in which others see them. This, in turn, restricts the number of ways American Indians can see themselves” (Fryberg 208). Without positive representation in popular culture, young indigenous people only witness the negative connotations of their identity. Not wanting to be subjected to abject discrimination, many often abandon accepting their culture, allowing settler-colonialism to succeed. For example, a close friend of mine, who is a Cherokee Indian feels constantly torn between the two identities she has formed in the settler colonialism framework. She feels distant from her inauthentic culture while constantly being asked to serve as a representative of the false Native American identity in popular culture. This feeling of “double
Settler-colonialism consists of three pillars: the appropriation of territory, violence toward and forced assimilation of Indigenous people, and the appropriation of Indigenous identity and culture (Bruyneel 6). Which, ironically, does the exact opposite of what proponents of these mascots claim they do: bringing honor to indigenous peoples. The basis of this defense is rooted in the pillar of settler-colonialism that forwards the “replacement narrative”, the idea that “noble Indigenous people have tragically disappeared and we, the settlers, honor them by taking up their name as our own in contemporary settler form” (Bruyneel 24). Much like how the American government attempted to erase Native American identity through the allotment era, Native American mascots are used to promote a negative view of indigenous peoples. The mascots paint indigenous people as savages, warriors, and brutes; people unable to assimilate into “civilized” culture. Mascots depict an incomplete and antiquated depiction of Native Americans, not a culture of varied people from across the country who are very much members of everyday American life. It is similar to portrayals of Native Americans in Westerns during the 1950’s and 1960’s. The “Hollywood Indian” featured in these films portrayed a narrow view of what Native Americans could be, an …show more content…
Despite the positive and culturally accepting upbringing some Native American youth might encounter within their family, the possibilities for acceptance in larger society can often seem grim. When Dr. Stephanie Fryberg, a professor at the University of Arizona, conducted a study on the effect of Native American imagery for sports teams, the effects reached much further than initial disdain. Her study concluded that “American Indian mascots are harmful not only because they are often negative, but because they remind American Indians of the limited ways in which others see them. This, in turn, restricts the number of ways American Indians can see themselves” (Fryberg 208). Without positive representation in popular culture, young indigenous people only witness the negative connotations of their identity. Not wanting to be subjected to abject discrimination, many often abandon accepting their culture, allowing settler-colonialism to succeed. For example, a close friend of mine, who is a Cherokee Indian feels constantly torn between the two identities she has formed in the settler colonialism framework. She feels distant from her inauthentic culture while constantly being asked to serve as a representative of the false Native American identity in popular culture. This feeling of “double