Is it offensive for sports teams to use Native American mascots?

Native American mascots damage young Native Americans' self-esteem

Question: Is it offensive for sports teams to use Native American mascots?
Position1 of 2›: Yes, it is offensive for sports teams to use Native American mascots
Argument‹5 of 6›: Native American mascots damage young Native Americans' self-esteem

Seeing their culture mocked and laughed at damages the self-esteem of young Native Americans.

The argument

Seeing oneself and one’s ethnic group portrayed in this way fosters a negative view of oneself and one’s community. It also shows society at large that it is socially acceptable to perceive Native Americans in a negative way. This can have far-reaching consequences for the next generation of Native Americans, who will not only have to deal with deep-rooted, harmful stereotypes but will be confronted by a society that deems is perfectly acceptable to harbour negative views of their race. In 2005, the American Psychological Association (APA) called for the ban of Native American mascots, images and personalities in professional and amateur sports. One of their key sticking points was that it harmed young Native people’s self-esteem and social identity. Stephanie Fryberg carried out a study on the way depictions of Native American people in popular culture impact Native American teens. She found that after being subject to images of Chief Wahoo (the Cleveland Indians' mascot) and Chief Illiniwek (mascot for the University of Illinois), Native American teens registered lower ratings of self-esteem. The next generation of Native Americans needs our support, not our mockery. They already have to grapple with issues of social identity and contend with negative stereotypes about their culture and behaviour. Within this context, sports teams using Native American mascots become highly offensive and damaging.

Context

Seeing their culture portrayed in team mascots, as bumbling clumsy entertainers with red faces and wide smiles is damaging to the self-esteem of young Native Americans.

Premises

[P1]Seeing one's ethnic group portrayed as a mascot fosters a negative self-view and signals that society finds negative views of Native Americans acceptable. [P2] The APA called for a ban in 2005, citing harm to young Native people's self-esteem and social identity. [P3] Fryberg's study found Native teens registered lower self-esteem after seeing mascots like Chief Wahoo. [C] Therefore, because Native American mascots damage young Native Americans' self-esteem, it is offensive for sports teams to use them.

Counter-arguments

Defenders of such mascots argue they are intended to honour rather than demean, invoking martial qualities like bravery, and point to some polling that reports many Native Americans do not personally find the names offensive — evidence they say complicates the claim of uniform harm. On this view intent and reception vary, so "offensive" is contested rather than settled. They also question the evidential leap: a single priming study showing lowered self-esteem immediately after exposure to specific images is a limited, laboratory finding, and critics argue it does not establish lasting, population-wide harm. The APA statement, they note, is an advocacy position rather than a neutral measurement of injury.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P2] Critics note the APA's call is an advocacy position, and that survey evidence on whether Native Americans themselves find such mascots offensive is mixed and contested. [Rejecting P3] A study showing lowered self-esteem right after exposure to specific mascots is a limited, lab-based finding; critics question whether it generalises to lasting, population-wide harm.

Proponents cited

Heather Davidson
“Mascots have been shown to have a negative impact on the self-esteem of Native children. Native students report that when they attend schools with Native mascots or team names, they are often victims of bullying.”
Chaske Spencer
“As a child, I was very confused when I saw mascots and propaganda about Native Americans. Iexperienced feelings of shame and guilt since a lot of media and propaganda portrayed us as“savages, people of ignorance and a lack of sophistication. I spent the majority of my childhoodstruggling to understand my people and identifying with a current-day role model since most ofmy Native Heroes were historical.”
Stephen Pevar
“There is no honor in being somebody’s mascot. Children grow up seeing themselves either as warriors or depicted on the back of somebody’s coat,”
Stephanie Fryberg
“American Indian mascots are harmful not only because they are often negative, but because they remind American Indians of the limited ways in which others see them. This in turn restricts the number of ways American Indians can see themselves.”
Angelique EagleWoman
“On a daily basis, American Indian youth experience negative stereotypes and microaggressions harming their self-esteem... These same youth have the highest rates of suicide, alcohol related deaths, and the lowest quality of life in the nation.”