Leave Indian Mascots Alone

Yesterday on Blog of Ages there was a post by Lyn Ellen Lacy on Should sports ban Indian mascots? It was a very well thought out and fair description of the move to wipe our the use of Indian names and images from sports programs everywhere. I recommend that everyone read it. I am about to give my opinion on why the answer should be "No."

Four hundred or so years ago when Europeans began to come to America, they found indigenous tribes of what they called "Indians" already occupying the lands here. The name "Indians" is a misnomer, of course. The ancestors of the tribes had crossed the Bering Straits some 12,000 years before from eastern Siberia, but the Europeans didn't know this, and thinking they were in or near India, the name "Indians" stuck.

The Indians, having been here for eons had developed many different languages and customs. Some were farmers, many were hunter gatherers. They had a number of different ways that they governed themselves. They had varying religious practices, war dances, diets, and so on.

As with all human migrations throughout history, as more Europeans came to these shores, the Indians were forced away from ancestral grounds. This is nothing new. It has been going on since before the Cro-Magnons forced the Neanderthals out of Europe and the Middle East, which eventually led to their extiction. It is going on now as we see almost unfettered migration into the southwestern United States across its border with Mexico.

There were lots of battles and a great deal of diseases such as smallpox and measles here in this country, which eventually led to the decimation of the Indian populations, and the movement of them to reservations. Nobody that reads about the numerous tragedies that took place in the period can be anything but sad about what happened to the Indians. They were proud people, but could not hold up against the superior forces of the European immigrants.

They are the only group in the United States that have greater rights than others.

Many geographical locations in the United States have Indian or Indian related names: states, cities, towns, streets and streams; and then there are high school, college and professional sports teams. We have Indians, Braves, Seminoles, Chiefs, Warriors, and on and on. None of this is, or should be considered and insult to our Native Americans.

Who in the world would consider that the naming of a team or its mascot after something Indian would be insulting or offensive? People name those things for something that is strong and respected, not something they wish to belittle or insult. The only college team I know of that has named its team after something less than stellar is the University of Oklahoma, who call their teams the "Sooners." Those, as you might remember, were the people who cheated to steal land when the Indian Territory in Oklahoma was opened to settlement.

I can certainly understand someone or some group being offended or insulted when names or labels are used toward them in a pejorative manner. We should all be quick to condemn that sort of thing.

But the use of Indian related images by college and other sports teams is more complimentary than anything, and is certainly not pejorative.

There are a lot of people in this country that seem to want to continue to be victims rather than join the rest of us. Many groups that have come to this country and those that were already here have certainly been victimized for some periods, and that is sad. We should certainly remove and fight unlawful discrimination that we have.

But sports mascots? Give me a break. Some folks just need to turn their energies toward working, learning, living, and being a part of this nation instead of continuing to dwell on their victimhood.