English 11 – Opinion Essay – Nighina R-1k9sixn
Once upon a time, there were Indians… or what explorers thought were Indians. Tribes of people that lived on this country before us are all stuck in the past and crammed under the world “Indian” or “Native.” It is as if we wanted to erase the fact of their tribal individuality and enforce them into our culture. As if these people haven’t gone through enough damage from urbanization, culture assimilation, and appropriation, we have been literally comparing them to animals for years as the false portray of them is used as logos along side logos of grizzly bears or hawks.
News Flash: Cleveland Indians and Washington Redskins have racist and offensive logos. If you don’t see why, you must be blind to the privilege you hold; you probably are able to paint your face red and chant at sports games without feeling offensive towards indigenous tribes.
This may be sounding critical of these amazing sports teams that have had long history with their logos for more years than I have been alive. Though, these teams will not be losing their players, fans, or successful reputation if they change a tiny logo or name. Moreover, names like “redskin” is just downright ignorant to use. I might as well make a team called “cracker,” but honestly that doesn’t hold the same racist slander. Redskin is just another slur that continues to remind the Indigenous people had been killed and skinned; therefore, the redskin from the skinned scalp was taken to prove they had been killed. Graphic, I know, but it is the history behind a team’s name that has still not been removed.
If you don’t see the problems with the name, I repeat, you must be privileged. You must have privilege to not realize that stereotyping many different people of different tribes and cultures as reskinned men with a feather in their hair is destroying their identity. This privilege is not letting you see the problem because it does not affect you at all. I hope you are comfortable in your status because indigenous kids currently struggle to feel like they belong because they may not fit your perception of an “Indian.”
Rita Pyrillis writes from her experiences of being a Native Women and states that “[Indigenous people’s] very existence seems to be in question.” (Rita Pyrillis, Manataka.org) No matter what they may do, if the upper hand can only accept them in stereotypes, they will never be able to fully express themselves. These stereotypes have created a transparency towards these groups of people. Logos of feathered hair men with red skin and chants preformed at game times in attempts to display savagery does nothing but promote the stereotype of barbarity, brutality, and depravity. This is a stereotype for so many tribes. Everything they might be is condensed under the idea that they wear feathers in their hair and use a tomahawk; therefore, letting that idea replace any individuality they may have, culturally or personally.
In the end, these logos can seem like such a tiny problem, but the result can be severe. If we don’t start by changing this perspective of people, Indigenous people will never feel truly accepted as effect. If stereotypes can stop being promoted, it may end making people in a multicultural society feel left out. Something small as a logo that represents a negative depict should not be allowed to be used. My final thought is that a group of people don’t deserve to be represented falsely and cruelly, whether that be in the form of a logo or a name.
“Why Is the Chicago Blackhawks Logo Okay but Washington Redskins Racist?” Indian Country Media Network, 10 Apr. 2017, indiancountrymedianetwork.com/culture/sports/why-is-the-chicago-blackhawks-logo-okay-but-washington-redskins-racist/.
“The History of the Chicago Blackhawks Logo.” Sports Mockery, 6 Nov. 2014, sportsmockery.com/2014/11/history-chicago-blackhawks-logo/.
Release, C. B. (2008, August 07). Blackhawks Logo Voted #1 In NHL. Retrieved December 19, 2017, from https://www.nhl.com/blackhawks/news/blackhawks-logo-voted-1-in-nhl/c-476429
P. (2013, January 30). Winona Linn – Knock-Off Native. Retrieved December 20, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_zFOsd_pqA
Rita Pyrillis, Sorry for Not Being A Stereotype, www.manataka.org/page392.html.
Holmes, Baxter. “Update: Yes, A ‘Redskin’ Does, In Fact, Mean the Scalped Head of a Native American, Sold for Cash.” Esquire, Esquire, 7 Oct. 2017, www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a29318/redskin-name-update/.