Time To Change With Time Essay Research

Time To Change With Time Essay, Research Paper

Time To Change With Time

“Change starts when someone sees the next step.”

~William Drayton

Native Americans are trying to take that next step. For the past 100 years Americans have stolen their sacred names and used them for mascots of high school, college, and professional sports teams. The National Education Association is one of the first to step to the plate by passing, Article I-41, which advises use of Prejudicial Terms and Symbols “The National Education Association deplores prejudice based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, age, disability, size, marital status, or economic status and rejects the use of names, symbols, caricatures, emblems, logos, and mascots that promote such prejudice. (92,94)” By having these practices they believe the rights of Native Americans are protected. Native American Mascots in sports need to change to protect and uphold the rights that are granted to them from the constitution.

If we started all over before any names were made and altered these names towards other races how would people react? Lets take the Cleveland Indians for example. What would happen if we had used the Jews, Blacks or Chinese as this political cartoon suggests. Every race involved would have been in an uproar when the caricature came out. They would feel that their constitutional rights were being ignored. But, when “Chief Wahoo of the Cleveland Indians, runs about drunkenly at baseball games”1 they feel that it is ok to disregards the Indian name, heritage, and ritual. Taking in the psychological considerations for the Native Americans “dehumanization, as the word implies, is a psychological process that reduces a person or group to a sub-human level. One way in which this process is deployed is by suggesting the subject of the dehumanization is like an animal. Because animals of various types and “Indians” related mascots are those most frequently used, it can be observed that this practice places Native Peoples on a par with wild beasts.”2 The people or person who decided to use the name the Indians was not thinking of the long-term controversy it was going to cause. “As a group of professional mental health providers, we are in agreement that using images of American Indians as mascots?is damaging to the self-identity, self-concept and self-esteem of our people.” These names might seem powerful and forceful but in the long run they have put a culture down and made the fell less of a person. Not only using the name of Indian is wrong but using Redskin is also degrading.

The Washington Redskins have used the name “redskins” for the last 67 years, and maybe the sports fans have just been accustom to the word. Maybe they should just learn what the word means. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines the word redskins in the following manner: “American Indian, usually taken to be offensive.” The word originated in the 1600’s when bounty hunters exchanged the dead bodies of Native women, children and men for money. Since the bodies were too much trouble to transport, the bounty hunters started skinning their victims and exchanging the skins for money. Thus the term redskins were invented. “The unified voice of American Indians has been effective. Most recently, a federal trademark panel ruled to revoke the Washington Redskins’ federal trademark protection, because the trademark was considered “disparaging” to the American Indian people?”3 When the Redskins have to change their name maybe they will think about the Yellowskins. Since most of the population is Caucasian why couldn’t we have the name changed. If we have been using the Redskins, which degrade the American Indians, while we don’t think so, why shouldn’t we use the Washington Yellowskins? This change would not only cause uproar in society, but may even cause a major boycott. But why should this change of name cause a boycott? Because Americans only care about one person and that is themselves. Americans believe in protecting their own constitutional and or civil rights, not to help smaller minorities. Lame Deer hits the nail on the head when he states” Desire killed that man, as desire has killed many before and after him. If this earth should ever be destroyed, it will be by desire, by lust of pleasure and self-gratification, by greed.” The earth that is going to be destroyed is the Indian culture while Americans sit on the side watching the slow and painful death. The desire will be the deaf ears the complaints are falling upon. And the lust of pleasure and self-gratification will be the not allowing the mascot to change, because the new mascot might not bring as much power or fear to the opponent. And the greed finishes it off with the demise of one culture to benefit with money and not thinking about another’s beliefs. “Native people are saying that they don’t feel honored by this symbolism. We experience it as no less than mockery of our cultures. We see objects sacred to us- such as the drum, eagle feathers, face painting and traditional dress – being used, not in sacred ceremony, or in any culture setting, but in another’s game.” The Atlanta Braves are also causing controversy within the Native American community.

Hank Aaron, a hall of fame, ex-professional baseball player, states “if the name “Braves” that he wore on his chest for decades was hurtful to many Native Americans,