The use of Native Americans as Mascots
"Black Hawk Controversy"
-Caroline Webster
An overall repeating theme
throughout American history has enforced the subject of Native Americans and
labeling to be inspected. The authenticity and reality about the fist nations
Native Americans is now being questioned. How will later societies view Native Americans
in the future because of the scrutiny and labeling that we have caused the
tribes? If there is not a true representative logo that connects with the past I
agree that changes need to be made unless a true symbolic meaning is behind the
logo.
Today’s society discourages the
naming of Native American nicknames that are based off of a deeper meaning. The
internal rising conflict that has developed over many years is the fact that
these nicknames are an offence to Native American tribes. Sports teams such as
the Washington Redskins however cannot and shouldn’t be compared to a team such
as the Chicago Blackhawks. The reasoning behind the Blackhawk’s dodging
protests is that their name is based off a specific person instead of an entire
tribe. The community of Chicago shows respect for Black Hawk. Lorado Taft, a
sculptor in the community sculpted a 50 foot statue for remembrance of Black
Hawk, the vanished still remains a symbol of strength for the community. “Respectful
and proud” is what Jay Blunk describes his team logo. The complete nickname
comes from the founder’s military division, which brings it even more power and
reasoning. The actual Blackhawks mascot is a cartoon black hawk, with the logo
on the front. It would be different if the mascot was an Indian. A hawk is also
symbolic symbolizing a freed soul after death. Putting these two theory’s
together make the logo even more respectful. Black Hawk was definitely the type
of respected leader
Black Hawk was a Native American
seen by white Americans as a symbol of courage showing nobility for his tribe,
he was looked up to by many white Americans. The history of the nickname started
in world war 1, “Black Hawk” was given to the “Black Hawk Division” a division
of the 333rd machine gun battalion of the 86th infantry
division. In my opinion a sports team such as the Chicago Blackhawks base their
team name off of deeper situations and symbolism. The true meaning of the
Blackhawks goes deeper than being named straight from the Indian tribe itself
it was named after the “Black Hawk Division”, this however still shows respect
for Black Hawk and the Indian tribe because the division was named to symbolize
Black Hawks strength and respect. Recently more and more names of sports teams
and their mascots regarding Native American’s have been called “racially
insensitive”
Looking at our own community, these
issues are not a problem and haven’t been looked at as the sports teams have.
For example a school nearby the New Hope Indians hasn't changed their mascot
for years. If any changes are made to the logo’s it should be school names that
don’t express any respect to the community. There is not a deeper meaning
behind the title “Indians” and there is not a connecting symbol such as the
hawk. The use of the work Indians as the title is a stereotype and should be
changed if there is not a deeper meaning. The New Hope Indians don’t have a
cartoon mascot like the Blackhawk’s, which is more disrespectful.
Works Cited
"Black Hawk (Sauk and Fox
Leader)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica,
n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/67890/Black-Hawk>.
"Encyclopedia Britannica." Encyclopedia
Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.
<http://eb.pdn.ipublishcentral.com/authenticate/login>.
Keilman, John. "Black
Hawk." The Chicago Tribune. The Chicago Tribune, 19 June 2013. Web.
30 Oct. 2013.
<http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-06-19/news/ct-met-indian-mascots-20130619_1_american-indians-black-hawk-mascots>.
Metcalf, P. Richard. "The
Journal of American History." JSTOR. Organization of American
Historians, n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1899925?seq=3>.
This is a really interesting topic that I didn't really know much about! I agree about what you said about these mascots needing to have a deeper meaning. I dont really know why there has to be so much conflict over this but I understand why there is some!
ReplyDeleteI did my essay on the same topic and it was really interesting to see a someone else's view on the topic. I focused more on the Washington Redskins and I did not know there as controversy over the Chicago Blackhawks for some of the same reasons. I really liked how you incorporated the New Hope Indians because that is a team that actually relates to us. I agree that teams with meaningless names like New Hope Indians should have to change because but teams with names that actual stand for something should not have to change their names.
ReplyDeleteI like your definite opinion on this issue, and I think you used very specific examples to back it up, which was great! It's easy to see where you think the line should be drawn. It's also good how you didn't try to make it a black and white post, since it's a really a grey area topic.
ReplyDeleteI think that your comparison between a team whose mascot is showing respect (Black Hawks,) with a team whose mascot is not showing respect to a tribe or a person (New Hope Indians,) made a strong case for what you are trying to argue. I think that the approach you took that not everyone should have to change their name was not only a reasonable route, but it was also backed up well in your blog. Finally, I like that you connected this article to something that was more local by deciding to include New Hope.
ReplyDeleteCaroline, I liked how you made your opinion very apparent, instead of sticking to complete facts and giving insight on both ideas. I think you very well stated, "Looking at our own community, these issues are not a problem and haven’t been looked at as the sports teams have." I agree that we should focus on the root of the "racially insensitive" problem rather than just the name of a sports team.
ReplyDeleteI knew a little about the logos with Native Americans before reading your blog. I really liked how you did not just talk about the logos in general. You picked a specific one and went into great detail about it! I found it to be very interesting! Your blog was also very well written and it stated your opinion rather than just facts!
ReplyDeleteCaroline, I really enjoyed reading your paper. It was informative but still kept me interested. Your point was very clear and easy to understand. You made good connections with today.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting writing. I did not know much about your topic, but now I do. I really like the way that you have organized the blog. You gave your own opinion and that made the writing more cleard.You did such a good job giving the history about the Blackhawks but what's some of the history about the Redskins name?
ReplyDeleteGreat question Andrea, I should have gone into more detail on the Washington Redskins. The Washington Redskins are a major concerning factor regarding the overall controversy of team names and their influences on the native americans. The NFL team has been a discussion that has even enforced Barak Obama to speak about, which he has provided his feedback on and strongly disagreed with the way that the situation has been handled by the owner Daniel Snyder. The Washington Redskins push the situation more than other sports teams absolutely disagreeing to change the name and unlike the black hawks, the Redskins Mascot is a native american. There isn't a direct and understandable meaning behind the name.
ReplyDelete