Indian Mascots

I would be offended, also. Very offended...

ugh. that is offensive..

This stuff makes me cringe...........

I attended college at a state university with an Indian mascot. I was an editor of the school newspaper, and we worked hard the entire time I was there to keep this issue in the limelight, and lobbied for a mascot change. Many years later, the debate there is still going strong. The Other Side always manages to find one or two Native Americans to speak out on their behalf, about how it's an "honor." No matter that many tribes tell them over and over that it's offensive and not even remotely honorable...

Unfortunately, for many people $$ is the driving force.

My kids attend a school whose mascott is an Indian, so I have actually seen some of the outfits(chief sitting bull and the full headress) in the above add. I guess I can not understand how this mascot makes some cringe. Maybe because when I saw them they were worn with true team spirit, not to be mocked. When the kid who has the sitting bull outfit enters the student section the students go wild! We really are proud of our teams. The school pride my kids have is outstanding, we have T-shirts that read "once a brave always a brave" I guess I couldnt imagine my kids being so proud to be the tigers, or the lions.
In our school braves means many things "loyality-commitment-unity-bravery" We have pictures of Indians all through out our school and our town.
We refer to the boys teams as the braves and the girls teams as the squaws.
We are blessed to live in a state that is rich in native american history--our kids attend Native American camp as 3rd graders, every fall the KDG has a Native American feast. I really feel by the time our kids get into the High School they really do feel honored to be "one of the braves".
I had a sign in my yard this year that read "home of a brave" during football season.

I will add that the costumes on the 2nd row are more cartoonish and I would take those as offensive.

Ugh. I would be offended were any of those caricatures my team's mascot.

Our main football rival made t-shirts of our mascot (a Sioux Indian) performing indecent acts on their school mascot (a bison). They were told they had to turn them inside out, but many refused and had to be forcibly removed from the premises (which of course was all over the news, along with descriptions of these acts).

At many games, the (usually drunk) rivals would chant "Sioux Suck," over and over. Try being a member of a Sioux tribe sitting with your children at the game - how do you explain that? How can that be interpreted as honor?

There is also the issue that this team is not just the Sioux but the Fighting Sioux. This perpetuates the myth that Native Americans are and always have been violent.

These are just a few examples - I could give many more from the four years I attended this university.

Members of the Sioux Nation have repeatedly asked for the mascot to be retired. The continued use of the mascot by this college cannot be deemed an honor when the group they are attempting to honor has openly said that it is offensive and they want it to stop. Using a race or an ethnicity as a mascot is never an honor, in my opinion. I understand that there is dissent about this, and that many people have no problem with it (and I am guessing that a middle/high school has less of the problems that I mentioned above), but I really believe that it is a practice that should be ended. There is NO other race that could be made into a mascot without public leaders throwing a huge fit - why is it okay to have native mascots?

I knew this thread would get very passionate either you are for it or against it. I know I will not change any ones mind. I just want to state that not ALL Indian mascots are how someone described of slaying the buffalo. Our mascot is an elder Indian man somber face full of wrinkles and a full head dress on. That image is what is through out our school and on our t-shirt/sweatshirts/hats. The girls team also has an image and is that is of a young squaw with a long braid over her shoulder. Our chant is "we are the braves" and we say it with pride.

Each and every one of my kids at some point or another has dressed up like a little Indian for Halloween. Does that image offend you, a 6 year old happy to be a pretend Indian?

No, it does not. It brings about happy images. Personally, it makes me smile.

This, however, makes me extremely sad. The word, "squaw", is objectionable to Indian...