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Progress Realized? The Continuing American Indian Mascot Quandary andré douglas pond cummings* I. Introduction O n every fall Saturday in the United States, a young, white male college student goes about a deliberate ritual that stuns in its audacity. This white student will pull on buckskin leggings with fringes and an intricate bone and pearl breastplate.1 This white student will paint his face with “war” colors that represent power and tradition.2 This white student will pull onto his head an elaborate headdress complete with feathers and other sacred charms.3 Once complete, this white student will solitarily practice war whoops and “Indian” tribal dances he has learned from the previous white male student who occupied his position before him and that he will repeat hundreds of times in front of hundreds of thousands of spectators in college football stadiums across the United States.4 As this student engages in his pseudo Native American tribal dance, he encourages his adoring fans to participate in various types of mock American Indian chants, cheers, and “tomahawk chops.”5 This young, white male student has now “officially” transformed himself into a “Seminole,” or a “Fighting Sioux,” or “Chief Illiniwek.”6 He will spend the next four to six hours desecrating, mimicking, and debasing an entire tribe of American Indians and, by association, an entire race of Americans.7 The American Indian mascot continues to live, chant, dance, and desecrate on college campuses and in professional sports arenas throughout our nation.8 Rarely has a symbol, mascot, or moniker meant such completely different things to divergent groups of people. To some, American Indian mascots represent strength, power, reverence, and dignity.9 For others, Native American mascots are deeply offensive and mock ancient and sacred culture.10 Historically, professional and collegiate athletic teams have unabashedly sported American Indian mascots and monikers, and it has not been until recent decades that this issue has arisen as 327 Progress Realized? The Continuing American Indian Mascot Quandary offensive or insensitive. In the past thirty or so years, there have been many high school and university administrations that have voluntarily switched their team mascot and moniker from an American Indian to a race-neutral one.11 Still, some university administrations and many professional sports franchises strenuously eschew calls to remove these racially insensitive mascots, believing that their moniker represents tradition and honor and as such remains a vital part of school or team tradition.12 These proponents argue that the elimination of their Native American mascot at their sporting events would destroy the cultural fabric of their respective institutions.13 Therefore, the use of these mascots is justified in the minds of these proponents.14 Still, some identifiers indicate that as a society, we have entered into a period where more Americans are aware that American Indian mascots offend Native Americans and other non-native U.S. citizens alike. This enlightenment has resulted in the increasing number of sporting teams that have voluntarily changed their offensive mascot and moniker.15 When writing about this topic nine years ago in Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My or Redskins and Braves and Indians, Oh Why,16 I optimistically forecasted a day when all American universities, and perhaps even some U.S. professional sports franchises, would feel a twinge of conscience and abandon the American Indian mascot and/or team moniker to which they had historically clung.17 Much has transpired in the past nine years on the American sports frontier in connection with the Native American mascot debate—some very positive18 and some quite disheartening.19 The irony in the statement “some positive and some disheartening” is that individuals on both sides of the debate feel equally strong in their position. On one side are the proponents of American Indian mascots— those individuals that believe that a team nicknamed the “Redskins,” the “Braves,” or the “Fighting Sioux” is an honorarium for the first inhabitants of the Americas. The mascot that dresses up like an Indian chief is respectfully representing a tradition of a school, team, and people.20 On the other side are the detractors, activists, and critics of those schools, teams, and organizations that continue to employ a team moniker and/or mascot that harkens back to the days of “Cowboys and Indians.” The mascot that dresses up like an Indian chief is mocking sacred rituals, mimicking hallowed traditions, and caricaturizing a proud race in debilitating ways.21 This continues to be an issue that delves deep into...

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