Native American Imagery Used In Sports Today
Photo Credit: Brenda Zapata
In the fall of 2013 I had finished wrapping up my Associates Degree at Malcolm X Community College and decided to come to Columbia College Chicago and follow my newly obtained passion for journalism. Specifically, I wanted to be a sports journalist because my passion for sports is through the roof and hey I was a pretty OK writer to boot.
Something that never really entered my thought process in sports was the usage of Native American imagery. From teams like the Washington Redskins or even one of my favorite teams, the Chicago Blackhawks, I never stopped and took a long look at what these logos were representing.
A red faced Native American in our Nation's capital, a cartoon-y mascot named Chief Wahoo in Cleveland and tons of people in Kansas City chopping the air while chanting assumed Native American war cries, it was everywhere.
Being a lifelong Green Bay Packers fan, I must admit that through sports I was oblivious to the improper usage of Native American imagery and how disrespectful Native Americans were being treated without millions of fans noticing.
Showing up to stadiums dressed in Native American garments and painting your face red could understandably be seen as harmless fandom for the team of choice. When we pick our teams, whether it's passed down through family or through natural selection, our team is our bond. Our family and for some, our family.
It's the lack of education and awareness that causes us to disrespect Native American tribes that were here long before any of us thought ball plus hoop equals FUN. It's up to us as fans of the sport that we love to properly be aware of how Chief Wahoo offends Native American communities. How dressing in Native American garbs is a blatant disrespect towards people who have sweated blood and tears to become who they are.
And yet if you turn on the TV on a Sunday to watch NFL games, look at the crowd. I guarantee you people who are oblivious are wearing Native American apparel, or maybe they are aware and still choose to. It's a difficult position to be in because more often than not it's hard to convince someone of changing their ways when they're not personally affected my hate crimes or cultural disrespect.
According to an articled titled “Beyond 'Redskins': A Source-Based Framework for Analyzing Disparaging Trademarks and Native American Sports Logos” published by The Federal Circuit Bar Journal by Ingrid Messbauer, the issue of Native American imagery in U.S. Sports has been a battle for years.
“The petitioners' victory in Pro-Football has reopened in the debate over the use of Native American team mascots at a time when Native American imagery has begin to fall out of favor in sports,” Messbauer writes. “While some professional teams, notably the Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball, have begun to roll back offensive mascots, progress has been slow.”
Messbauer writes that Pro-Football has taken steps towards embracing that the term “Redskin” is offensive and is instrumental in using Native American input to avoid disparaging usage in the future.
“Native American imagery in sports has persisted since the early 1900s, when teams adopted names and imagery not from authentic Native sources,” Messbauer writes. “but from non-Native imaginings of what Native symbolism looked like.”
In 1933, the Boston Braves moved to Fenway Park and was renamed the Boston Red Sox and as custom in those times, all same city teams shared the same nicknames. Not wanting to be identical to the Boston Red Sox, the name was changed to “Redskins” in order to keep using the Braves logo. The team kept the name when they moved to Washington in 1937.
It was speculated that they kept the nickname “Redskins: due to the hiring of William “Lone Star” Dietz, who may have been part Sioux and was seen as supporting Native American imagery.
“Coach Dietz was certainly not present when the team played under the moniker “Braves,” which is itself a term for referring to Native Americans,” Messbauer wrote. “Thus, neither the teams initial name nor the change to the name “Redskins” were intended to honor Native American players or staff.”
Steve Wulf, a senior writer for ESPN, who refers the Redskins as the Washington football team, writes that 1.5 billion acres of land has been taken from Native Americans including the Piscataway tribe where Washington plays.
“Each of the five prominent Big Four sports teams that use Native American imagery and mascotry is essentially a visitor,” Wulf writes. “As Saunt wrote, "In light of the manifold struggles that America's first inhabitants have faced, attaching any Indian name to a multimillion-dollar sports franchise seems the most incongruous of honors.””
In leagues that make billions of dollars per year and well established by “white men in Manhattan,” it makes the fight for removing offensive Native American depictions nearly impossible in today's market even though it may take other issues of lesser impact more seriously.
“These teams now find themselves clinging to names and images and traditions while the winds of change are howling around them,” Wulf writes. “What makes it especially problematic for the NFL is that while the league is trying to claim the high ground on other issues -- domestic violence, marijuana use, racial slurs on the field -- it has condoned the use of an ethnic slur off the field.”
Tessa Sayers, a Native American woman of Ojibwea ancestry, said that Native Americans are portrayed blatantly obvious in sports today because of teams like the Redskins and Indians.
“For us, these words if you look back at history, they are very derogatory. There's nothing that is positive,” Sayers said. “I know it's a heated issue because a lot of these communities and schools say we're honoring Native Americans. But when you actually go to a sports game, you will see people wearing head dresses. Which is something that you do not just wear. It's something that is gifted to you.”
Sayers believes that it is possible for teams to use Native American imagery properly by getting consent and involving Native Americans in decisions that will respect and uphold their culture.
“With permission. I think it's the Seminole nation of Florida has given to the university to use that logo. And it's done in a proper way,” Sayers said. “It was an image that was approved by the tribe. Unfortunately a lot of these logos are very generic. It's not very specific to a tribal community so that's what it gets gray.”
For Joe Podlasek, CEO of Trickster Gallery, a non-profit Native American Multi-Culture Art Gallery, it begins with educating people to be aware of discriminating Native American imagery in sports and to help spread awareness on a global level.
“Some are straight out wrong, but there are some that can be worked with,shaped and turned into a positive,” Podlasek said on sports teams using Native logos. “There has to be a balance that comes with that. One is the acceptance of hearing our first voice and there's a couple that is making that change. The Chicago Blackhawks are doing a tremendous education program based on Native American perspective and art educational programs.”
When it comes to righting the ship, Podlasek says that the goal isn't to remove all negative imagery, but to collectively reshape them for better appropriation.
“The Cleveland Indians? That's just gotta go, that's just a cartoon character,” Podlasek said. “There are wide ranges of imagery in sports, my goal is not to remove it all, but those that are reachable, in the future to have a balance that tells the story appropriately.
Emily Farr, a media specialist, says that the trend of using negative Native logos can come to an end if teams are willing to put in the effort in educating themselves with proper Native imagery usage.
“I feel like there are some teams going the more respectful route. I think the Blackhawks definitely are doing a better job than many other teams because they've approached the Native American community to make sure they're doing things respectfully and correctly,” Farr said. “They've invited native veterans onto the ice to honor them. They've learned the history about chief Blackhawk and respected that he was a real person. They don't walk on the face of the logo. They listen to the native community and listen to the problems they have.
Having taken Culture, Race and Media I'm more educated on that matters that Native Americans have been suffering for decades now. For someone like the owner of the Washington Redskins, Dan Synder, to be so uncooperative with the Native American society is absolutely absurd.
Unfortunately, the state of Native American imagery isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Cleveland will still have Chief Wahoo, Washington will have red-faced fans and Chicago will still have Chief Blackhawk on red and black sweaters; however, if people can unite and educate the uneducated on why this is still a pressing issue in 2016, then the U.S. Can begin healing people they've stamped on for so long.