NFL: The battle over Native American mascots

What is in a name?

Native American activists asked the American public and sporting world that question for the past twenty years with little resolution. They protest the use of Native American tribal names and images as sports mascots. Neither side understands the arguments of the other and this should not surprise anyone. Names mean a great deal in America and controlling names often entails influencing history.

Before beginning, I need to say a word. I am a Wailacki-Concow who grew up on the Round Valley Indian reservation in northern California. I do not speak for Native America as a whole. Indian county contains different ideas, cultures and voices, rendering mine a small one to say the least. Many Native Americans will disagree with aspects of this column, as will many non-Indians. Nevertheless, I hope that it will inform this debate and my readers will question the presumptions of both sides in this argument.

Numerous sports teams adopted Native American mascots since their inception. Teams like the Washington Redskins, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Blackhawks and the Florida State Seminoles parade (masquerade?) images of Native Americans on television and in front of live audiences. Recently, Native American activists asked and demanded that teams change these names because they disrespect Indians and do not accurately present American Indians to the American public.

Personally, I find the use of "Redskins" reprehensible as well as the grinning Chief Wahoo of the Cleveland Indians. The term "redskin" is an offensive slang used to disparage Native Americans, tantamount to the infamous n-bomb in some circles. The tractable Chief Wahoo resurrects the Sambo character in red skin and feathers. Interestingly, according to Native American activists, teams only use one ethnicity for mascots - Indians.

Critics of Native American activists defend the team names and argue that they honor Native Americans. For example, sports nicknames apparently emphasize the positive attributes of Native American culture: bravery, warlike and fortitude. This line of reasoning permeates other arguments in favor of Native American nicknames. However, these opinions possess an inherent flaw. If critics claim they honor Native Americans, but Native Americans do not feel honored but insulted, a problem exists. When mascots parody religious ceremonies, dress and racial characteristics, they do not honor Indians, they insult them.

Honoring American Indians is not central to the issue. Team names manifest the ongoing creation of American identity and the power of names in American society. Certain themes connect these two issues. Sports mascots and teams constitute a large part of people's identities. We wear our favorite team's logos on our clothes and scream at televisions when our teams lose. When Native American activists demand teams and schools to change "our" team's name, fans and alumni feel an attack on their identity. These names hold powerful meanings for people.

However, they possess powerful meanings for Native Americans too and unrelated to a team's success. As mentioned above, some Indians interpret these names as insults and acts of colonialism.

The battle concerning Native American team names transpires within the ongoing process of American identity formation. In the past, numerous people and groups used Indian names and culture to create the American past. In many cases, people felt most comfortable with Indians as long as the only Indians they "saw" acted in plays, lampooned political cartoons or emblazoned on baseball caps.

Yet, when Indians confront Americans as human beings with political and economic agendas of their own, the Native American becomes an irritating aspect of the American past and present. Since sports emphasize competitiveness and battle-like conditions, then the warrior Indian served the perfect role as a mascot.

However, Indians put down their weapons more than a century ago. Instead of searching for buffalo, Indians look for economic viability and hope to address their social problems. Most Americans still feel most comfortable when they write about Indians in the past tense or see them on a football helmet, and do not know how to deal with Indians in the present.

The contest over sports team names and mascots is another part of the long story in the formation of the American identity. Americans use Indians for their purposes and consider them part of the past. When Indians assert the political agendas in the present, especially when it concerns team names, problems occur. This story has little to do with honor - it has more to do with America's inability to come to grips with its history.