Using Native Americans as Mascots

I do not think that we should be able to name mascots after Native Americans. I understand that some people think that we are “honoring” the Native Americans by using them as mascots, but I disagree. When we first started using the Native American as mascots we used it as an insult. We were taking the Native Americans and forcing them to live on reservations, then we took their culture and turned it into something we poke fun at. Native Americans were considered violent and threatening to the American society. We were taking certain parts their culture and mocking them, such as their dances, their “red skin”, and their clothes.  I don’t think that we should forget that. We may not be as hostile as we once were towards Native Americans, but it doesn’t mean that we can just try to replace the negativity by claiming that it’s something positive. When we use the Native American as a mascot I believe that we are mocking the proud culture that Native Americans have come from. I agree with the editor who said that we (Americans) wouldn’t use any other race as a mascot because it would be extremely offensive, we would never allow it. This proves the racism we still exhibit for the people of Native American culture. In my opinion a mascot is something that is usually fictional or not animal that we rally behind. When one dresses up as an Indian and parades around an auditorium, it seems to be mocking their culture. I think the Americans view the Native Americans as these people with feathers in their hair, who still live in teepees, dance around screaming and chanting, but really they are just Americans looking for their place in society like everyone else. Singling them out as mascots is not right.

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