Andrew Roche—Albion College

Questionable Mascots in American Sports

Topic: Morality of Mascots in American Sports

Rationale

Why is this important to learn? Why did you choose this topic and these objectives?

Objectives

Students will understand:

  • The historical meaning behind some well-known mascots, names, and logos;
  • That many Native American individuals and groups oppose the use of these mascots because of their stereotypical nature and the effects they can have on non-natives' understanding of Native Americans;
  • The issue is a current, controversial one that involves a variety of options (change the name/logo/mascot entirely, change just one of those elements, not changing any of them, give them time to change, etc.)

Introduction/Inquiry Question(s)

  • Think about your school's mascot.
  • Why do you think this mascot and name were chosen?
  • What is it supposed to convey about our school?
  • List as many sports teams that you can think of that use Native American names, logos, and/or mascots.
  • Logo—A recognizable image used by an organization (company, team, etc.)
  • Mascot—A person, animal, or object adopted by a group as a symbolic figure meant to bring them luck

Sequence of Activities

  1. Introduction—Talk about some well-known teams that use Native American names, logos, and/or mascots
  2. Observations and Analysis: Why were these names/logos/mascots chosen?
  3. What do you think these names and logos are supposed to convey about the team?
  4. Tomahawk—Braves logo and tomahawk chop (weapon, for fighting)to show strength, ferocity
  5. Video for tomahawk chop
  6. Chief (leader, in charge)—to show they're the #1 team
  7. Braves (term for a young warrior)—the players are fierce fighters
  8. The Redskins logo (serious face)—don't mess with the team, take them seriously
  1. Discussion questions:
  2. Are some ok and others not? Where do you draw the line?
  3. Showslideshow from NY Timesabout the shift that some teams have made:
  4. Why is this issue important? You could easily say "they're just sports mascots," and many people point to the life-or-death issues that face Indians today (suicide rates, poverty, crime rates, etc.)
  5. Who has the right to create these mascots, or any mascots?
  6. What about whenbranches of tribes are divided on the issue, as with the Fighting Siouxand the Florida State Seminoles?
  7. What might be challenging about a team changing its name?
  8. If it's becoming more widely accepted that some or all of these mascots/names/logos are offensive, why don't more teams change? (Loyal fan base? Financial burdens of changing all the paraphernalia? Who has the power to change these mascots?)
  9. Once we break down the stereotypes, what do we do? Do we not watch those games anymore? Do we write letters to the owners? Boycott? What could we do?

Closure/Assessment

  1. Write a letter to a team owner to try to get him or her to change the logo/name/mascot (choose from the major teams we discussed, like the Washington Redskins, the Atlanta Braves, etc.)

Structure: Argumentative letter with two paragraphs:

  • One paragraph on the recommendation you're making
  • Change the name, logo, and/or mascot immediately or by a certain date?
  • Change only the name, logo, or mascot?
  • Check with a specific tribe or branch of the tribe for approval, etc.)
  • One paragraph on the reasons you're making this recommendation

Materials/Resources

  • Article—Native American imagery as sports mascots: A new problem
  • Article—In Twist, Tribe Fights for College Nickname
  • Internet Connection if possible

Andrew Roche—American Material Culture

Questionable Mascots in American Sports