Running Head: NATIVE AMERICAN MASCOTS

Native American Mascots: Negative Effect on Native American Youth

Alek Timm

December 1, 2017
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Native American Mascots: Negative Effect on Native American Youth

“Native Americans have the highest levels of violent victimization of any group in the

country, twice the national average with the highest rate of sustained physical injury during an

attack” (Phillips, Stegman, 2014, p. 3). Often times, Native Americans are victims of these crimes

because non-Natives develop untrue stereotypes towards Native Americans that cause them to act

out. (Friedman, 2013, p. 5) In most cases, those stereotypical biases are developed when people are

young and seeing Native American culture used as a mascot. Public high schools utilizing mascots

such as “Indians,” “Redskins,” “Chiefs,” etc. are teaching students, in what is supposed to be an

all-inclusive learning environment, a poor representation of Native American culture. In turn,

students behave with poor taste at events by mocking Native American culture with headdresses,

war cries, or other racially insensitive gestures. This creates an unwelcoming environment for Native

Americans students, leading to lowered self-esteem and a high suicide rate. Publicly-funded schools

must change their racially demeaning mascots to create a positive, welcoming learning environment.

Teaching Racial Stereotypes

Usage of Native American imagery as mascots for publicly-funded institutions teaches

students negative stereotypes and contributes to the oppression of Native Americans in the United

States. Institutional racism - the teaching of racial stereotypes in public or social institutions

regardless of implicit or explicit expression - continues to affect the self esteem of Native Americans

and non-Native’s perception of Native Americans. Angle (2016) writes that people living in towns

with a public school using a Native American mascot were more likely to associate Native

Americans with negative stereotypes characterized by savagery (para. 12). Native American mascots
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teach students negative racial stereotypes that will continue to have a serious effect on the health and

safety of Native Americans.

Many of these institutions claim that their mascot does not teach negative stereotypes;

instead, they portray Native Americans positively. Friedman studied the psychological effect

mascots had the self esteem of Native Americans. Friedman (2013) discovered that, “stereotypical

representations of Native Americans resulted in lower self-esteem, even if the images were labeled

as positive by a previous Native American group” (p. 10). This claim is further supported by

associations such as the National Collegiate Athletic Association, American Psychological

Association, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Education

Association, and numerous other prominent organizations devoted to the well-being of students and

Native Americans all calling for the end of Native American mascot usage citing that they teach

racial stereotypes (Friedman, 2013, p. 6).

The evidence is clear; the presence of a Native American mascot subconsciously causes

people to stereotype. Friedman (2013) summarizes the effect by writing that,

In addition to causing negative self-concept in Native Americans, studies demonstrate that

exposure to stereotypical, outdated Native American mascots is also associated with negative

attitudes towards Native Americans by others. Further, these effects exist regardless of

whether the image of Native Americans portrayed is considered non-offensive or even

positive (p. 11).

Schools with both predominant Native American population and schools with a smaller Native

American population are affected by racial stereotypes. This lowering of the self esteem of Native
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Americans by teaching the stereotypes in public schools has become a nationwide health epidemic

that must come to a stop.

Constitutes Bullying

By teaching stereotypes in public schools, usage of Native American mascots contributes to

offensive acts carried out at school events and the occurrence of other social injustices. According to

Munson (2008), Native American mascots support the mockery of Native American culture at

school events, constituting institutional racism (p. 1). Traditional celebrations and honors, such as a

sacred Pow Wow or the earning of an eagle’s feather, are used as acts for student sections to display

school pride. Contrary to the belief of those involved, these acts mock prestigious honors and

ceremonies, creating a hostile environment where Native American students do not feel accepted

due to this behavior (Munson, 2008, p. 2).

Native American students are unable to speak out against culturally abusive behavior

because they often receive backlash for not supporting the school. Thus, Terkel (2014) writes that

self esteem is lowered as Native American students are exposed to this harassment daily. This

lowered self esteem is a considerable factor when identifying that “the Native American suicide rate

is among the highest in the country and has risen by an alarming 65% in the last decade alone”

(Friedman, 2013, p. 3).

It is proven that Native American students are treated without fairness at public high schools.

The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) definition of workplace

harassment constitutes, "racial slurs, offensive or derogatory remarks about a person's race…or the

display of racially offensive symbols” (EEOC, para. 6). Friedman (2013) writes that, “Repetition of
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the offensive act is critical to the definition of harassment” (p. 7). The EEOC (2013) continues to

write that, "Harassment is illegal when it is so frequent…that it creates a hostile or offensive work

environment" (para. 6). Further, the National Criminal Justice Reference System (NCJRS) (2012)

includes as part of its definition of bullying as, "repeated harmful acts" and, "name-calling” (p. 1).

By using these interpretations of harassment and bullying, it is clear to see that Native American

mascots provoke bullying because of their constant exposure to students; therefore, Native American

mascots should be removed to combat bullying and unfair treatment.

Disrupted Learning Environment

Native American mascots create an “unwelcome and hostile learning environment” (Terkel,

2014, para. 4). According to the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) (2013), these

mascots “were born in an era when racism and bigotry were accepted by the dominant culture” (p.

2). As the country has progressed towards reaching equality amongst all ethnicities, mascots that

constitute bullying and a hostile environment for Native Americans should be abolished to remove

those ideas from current society.

The purpose of public education is to help all students become productive members of

society. Native American mascots cause the opposite. The NCAI (2013) argues that these images

create an, “inaccurate portrayal of Native peoples and their contributions to society. Creating

positive images and role models is essential in helping Native youth more fully and fairly establish

themselves in today’s society” (p. 5). As Phillips and Stegman (2014) write, public schools with

Native American mascots undermine education and contribute to the development of cultural biases

and an unwelcoming educational environment. Native American students’ success would require
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schools to eliminate harassment towards their race and ethnicity by eliminating Native American

mascots (p. 7).

Native American students commonly start in a difficult place as Native Americans are the

most impoverished of all ethnicities in the United States. As the NCAI (2013) writes, attending

school, their opportunity to improve their lives, becomes significantly more difficult when they face

abuse from other students, putting Native American students at an unfair disadvantage. Generations

of Native Americans have continued to have higher rates of substance abuse, suicide, and poverty (p.

6). Much of this could be prevented if public schools were more welcoming and created inspirational

learning environments for Native American students, thereby lifting the self esteem of Native

Americans and giving them a better opportunity to lead a more successful future.

Removal of Native American Mascots

Public schools should be a place free of boundaries where one is not profiled by the color of

their skin. Allowing the usage of Native American mascots is causing public schools to fail in their

mission of creating an equal, welcoming environment for everyone to learn. Three states and dozens

of human rights organizations have called for the end of Native American culture being used as the

mascot or logo of a sports team. Specifically, Wisconsin has removed usage of the word “Redskins”

noting that the logo is “contributing to prejudice and discrimination against Native Americans in this

country by persistently using a dictionary-defined racial slur” (Munson, 2008, p. 1). All states and

high schools should follow this pursuit. There is clear reasoning behind it; Native Americans face

racism and unfair treatment largely based on stereotypes developed when students are young and are

seeing sports teams with Native American culture serving not as an educational lesson, but as a poor
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portrayal of culture being used as a logo. The well-being of Native Americans must take precedence

over the imagery of a high school sports team.

References

Angle, J. (2016, September 12). New research shows how Native American mascots reinforce

stereotypes. The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/

new-research-shows-how-native-american-mascots-reinforce-stereotypes-63861

Friedman, M. A. (2013, October). The harmful psychological effects of the Washington football

mascot. Retrieved from Change the Mascot website http://www.changethemascot.org/

wp-content/uploads/2013/10/DrFriedmanReport.pdf

Munson, B. E. (2008). Common themes and questions about the use of “Indian” logos. Retrieved

from Wisconsin Indian Education Education Association “Indian” Mascot and Logo

Taskforce website http://legis.wisconsin.gov/lc/committees/study/2008/STR08/

files/munsonhandout.pdf

National Congress of American Indians (2013, October). Ending the legacy of racism in sports & the

era of harmful “Indian” mascots. Retrieved from http://www.ncai.org/attachments

/policypaper_mijapmouwdbjqftjayzqwlqldrwzvsyfakbwthpmatcoroyolpn_ncai_
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Harmful_mascots_report_ending_the_legacy_of_racism_10_2013.pdf

National Criminal Justice Reference Service (2012, May). Bullying in schools. Retrieved from

National Criminal Justice Revenue Service website https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/

Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=249426

Phillips, V., & Stegman, E. (2014, July). Missing the point: The real impact of native mascots and

team names on American Indian and Alaska Native youth. Retrieved from American

University Washington College of Law website http://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/

cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=fasch_rpt

Terkel, A. (2014, July 22). How Washington’s football team creates a hostile environment for Native

American students. Huffington Post. Retrieved from

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/22/washington-redskins-native-americans_n_

5607082.html

United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (n.d.). Race/Color Discrimination.

Retrieved from United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission website

https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/race_color.cfm