by: Michael Schuman

When done correctly, honoring a group or culture can be a powerful and respectful act, but why are Native Americans being “honored” in sports with racist terms and ignorance? This issue has been all over the media in the last few years, especially surrounding the Washington Redskins in the NFL.

A “redskin” is not only a derogatory term for a Native American, it literally means a human scalp. When settlers first came to America, some eradicated the native population. The best way to prove that someone had killed a native was to bring back the cowlick from the top of their head, or their scalp. These were known as “redskins.”

There are no other NFL teams using racist terms for their team’s mascot, so why are Native Americans being singled out? Using the term “redskins” to refer to a Native American is just as racist as using any other derogatory term.

John Bear Mitchell, professor of Native American and ethnic studies at the Wabanaki Center at the University of Maine and member of the Penobscot tribe, says the problem is only confined to Native Americans.

“It’s very racist. We don’t talk about anybody else’s skin…We’re not talking about a people. You don’t have yellow, white or black skins. You don’t see that,” Mitchell said.

So why Native Americans? Many claim that these team names honor them, but if members of the Native American community have spoken out against it, why are there still teams with offensive mascots?

Like so many other things in this world, money drives all decisions. This happens on the professional level more than anything, with teams like the Redskins, the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, the MLB’s Cleveland Indians and the Atlanta Braves, and even at the college level with the Florida State Seminoles. The Braves, for example, have so many items used as props at games, like the foam tomahawk used for the “Tomahawk Chop,” that are made by a company owned by Cherokees in North Carolina.

The same goes for the Seminoles and Blackhawks, whose Native American sponsors receive monetary benefits from the team’s name, and will not change it to continue making money, despite the protests of the rest of the tribe.

“It’s very simple. If something is going to honor someone, I’m going to ask if it honors you. Millions of natives have said ‘no this doesn’t honor me,’ change it,” Mitchell said.

The issue of Native American mascots has made strides towards change at the high school level in Maine. Only 10 years ago, there were 38 schools with native inspired mascots in the state, now there is only one (Skowhegan). Maine is one of the only states in the union to make this happen, according to Mitchell.

Many schools have even kept names like “warriors” and removed any Native American caricatures or symbol from their uniforms. The key to this new trend is education, according to Mitchell, who says that by understanding the group that is being discriminated, they can be humanized and far less likely to be made into mascots.

There are 15 million Native Americans living in the United States today. They have spoken out against the use of mascots that dishonor their culture and people, from the NFL to high school sports. If the majority of the people in this nation can be educated on this issue, perhaps more of them will see the harm in using these derogatory mascots and logos in the name of “honor.” There is no honor in racism.