The Pros And Cons Of Mascots

Here in America people are getting pretty good at detecting if something is racist or offensive to another culture, but when something is racist toward Native American’s and involve sports some don’t even notice or care. Even when it is displayed everywhere on TV, shirts, etc. For example, the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Indian mascots and logos. Native american mascots cause many problems and native americans can get really offended. ¨...The problem with America is that were looked at as people of the past, and were not people of the past….mascots keep us in the past. It reminds us that they were there. That was America's time then...America we are not your mascots!¨ says Nataanii Means a Native American and indigenous activist.” (Nataanii Means, MTV News, August 26, 2015) Humans or native Americans can be used as mascots if not racist or the team or school is given permission, but should not be used when it is racist and teaches people the wrong thing or idea.
The Washington Redskins are a professional football team on the NFL. There mascot is a stereotypical native american. Making it even worse their team name is a racial slur, similar to the n word toward African …show more content…
He has bright red skin and a wide grin. Actual Native Americans are not how they are displayed in the caricature. This teaches kids that wrong idea of what Native Americans actually look like. “The indian you see most often… is at a football game at the expense of real Indians, real history, real culture. The petty stereotype has become expected.” says Kevin Gover, who heads the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian. Also according to the American Psychological Association: "The continued use of American Indian mascots, symbols, images, and personalities undermines the ability of American Indian Nations to portray accurate and respectful images of their culture, spirituality, and traditions.” (APA, June