Use of Native American Imagery in Sports

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Flamenspiel

I always liked the old basketball name the “Bullets” and was a fan of that team lead by Hayes and Unseld, getting rid of that was the worst rebranding in history and continues to ba a failure. Perhaps the football team can take that name.

That name was dropped because of the appalling level of gun violence in DC. Right call IMO.

[getbak]

Apparently, Cleveland still sells a limited amount of merchandise in their team shop at the stadium with the offensive logo on it just to maintain the trademark so no one else can start slapping it on merchandise. Otherwise, it has been completely phased out by the team.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

...The difference between, say, the Fighting Illini and the Irish is that America didn’t wipe the Irish off the map, they were just ####ty to them when they arrived in New York...

These points are helpful, but this particular one has me wondering about the extent of ethnic caricatures geographically. While you posit that "Fighting Irish" is acceptable in North America by virtue of the specifics in their immigration history, would the same hold in the UK where Ireland was occupied and marginalized by the English for centuries? Or does the treatment of the Irish at the hands of the English preclude the same usage in the UK?

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

These points are helpful, but this particular one has me wondering about the extent of ethnic caricatures geographically. While you posit that "Fighting Irish" is acceptable in North America by virtue of the specifics in their immigration history, would the same hold in the UK where Ireland was occupied and marginalized by the English for centuries? Or does the treatment of the Irish at the hands of the English preclude the same usage in the UK?

I think if your state didn’t do the oppressing, it makes it different. I know that’s a cop out, and there are limits to it of course, but still. There’s things that a more offensive in certain parts of the world than others. It is what it is.

It’s inarguable the Irish and English have a very contentious past, and I suspect trying to having a cartoonish Irish mascot when you’re in Liverpool or Leeds doesn’t go over well.

[getbak]

[Itse]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

These points are helpful, but this particular one has me wondering about the extent of ethnic caricatures geographically. While you posit that "Fighting Irish" is acceptable in North America by virtue of the specifics in their immigration history, would the same hold in the UK where Ireland was occupied and marginalized by the English for centuries? Or does the treatment of the Irish at the hands of the English preclude the same usage in the UK?

Without getting into insulting, just think how absurd it would be to have an English team called the Irish (without them having Irish roots.) And yeah, if it had an Irish caricature logo, it would probably be considered pretty offensive... but it would definitely be extremely weird. Because you know, the Irish exist, and the team aren't Irish or in Ireland, so why are they called the Irish..? It would be confusing.

Or how bizarre it would be to have a Californian team called the Texans, without any actual Texas connection. Or a German team called the French.

The way native American imagery and names have been used speaks most of all of the fact that native Americans aren't, or weren't, considered people the way Texans or French are people. They were semi-mythical Others. Nobody would ever have thought that a team called "the Indians" could be "actual Indians". They weren't a part of the society.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Why do they keep releasing green font and yellow background news releases???

[FlamesAddiction]

I asked someone from the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami about the use of the word "Eskimo" when I was working up north, and he did tell me that whether or not it is offensive does depend on whom you ask. He personally said that he would "prefer" people not use it because it is not what they call themselves and it has colonial implications.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

I asked someone from the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami about the use of the word "Eskimo" when I was working up north, and he did tell me that whether or not it is offensive does depend on whom you ask. He personally said that he would "prefer" people not use it because it is not what they call themselves and it has colonial implications.

So with regard to the Eskimos in particular, what if they were called the Edmonton Inuit?

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Scroopy Noopers

Why do they keep releasing green font and yellow background news releases???

Probably because dark fonts are easier to read. Yellow fonts can be tougher to decipher.

[Sandman]

I'm a big Fightin'Irish fan, and I'm of Irish heritage-I wear ND gear,etc, and I'm proud of it. They named the school team that because of the large number of Irish Catholics in that region, and the fact that it's a Catholic school. At one point many years ago, they announced that they would be dropping the "Fighting" in "Fighting Irish", and just going with "Notre Dame Irish", but it never happened. Perhaps there was an outcry....

[sureLoss]

Nike pulling all redskins gear from their website until name is changed:

https://twitter.com/user/status/1279217096497467393

[Tsawwassen]

Originally Posted by Flamenspiel

I always liked the old basketball name the “Bullets” and was a fan of that team lead by Hayes and Unseld, getting rid of that was the worst rebranding in history and continues to ba a failure. Perhaps the football team can take that name.

Originally Posted by troutman

That name was dropped because of the appalling level of gun violence in DC. Right call IMO.

Right call for getting rid of the Bullets name as Washington DC was the murder capital of the USA for a while. It is the worst rebranding on changing to the Wizards name. That was a bad call because Wizards is a high rank in the Ku Klux Klan.

[Barnet Flame]

What about the Washington Swamp Monsters?


Home

Away

[BigErnSalute_16]

Originally Posted by Yamer

Just speaking from my perspective, Red Skins and Indians just have a more viscerally uncomfortable feeling when I see or say them, specifically Red Skins. Braves seems more honorary and the Blackhawks have a more complex context for their name. And while the iconography of all teams' logos and images can be debated (and the Indians at least dropped that caricature from their merchandise), I've always thought the Blackhawks logo looked so beautifully elegant and elaborate. One of the best in sports, IMO. I don't see how it's offensive, but that's not my call to make.

I agree with the name Braves and Blackhawks not sounding quite as bad but as much as I've always liked Chicago's jerseys I can see why there is a problem with it. It is essentially using a first nations person as a mascot, which isn't cool.

I did see a while ago a mock logo that eliminates the problem which I thought was pretty cool and doesn't take away from overall look of the jersey here is the link to it.

https://indiancountrytoday.com/archi...X0-cFZj68BnPJg

[BigErnSalute_16]

deleted

[BigErnSalute_16]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

So with regard to the Eskimos in particular, what if they were called the Edmonton Inuit?

While it would be a step in the right direction using a proper name and would be similar to the Florida State Seminoles, I still think it is problematic.

While I view the seminoles name as having pride in the local first nations culture I'm not so sure it would come across the same way if Edmonton changed their name to the Inuit because they are nowhere near inuit territory.

It's like someone mentioned above, you wouldn't have a California team named the texans because it just doesn't make sense. And I think it would be viewed as using an actual group of people as your mascot when there isn't even a connection to those people in your area.

[Crown Royal]

I think Tar Heels actually is worse than Eskimos, Chiefs, Braves, Seminoles, Blackhawks... etc.

A Tar Heel is a nickname for confederate soldiers from NC that fought to preserve slavery.

[mikephoen]

Originally Posted by BigErnSalute_16

I agree with the name Braves and Blackhawks not sounding quite as bad but as much as I've always liked Chicago's jerseys I can see why there is a problem with it. It is essentially using a first nations person as a mascot, which isn't cool.

I did see a while ago a mock logo that eliminates the problem which I thought was pretty cool and doesn't take away from overall look of the jersey here is the link to it.

https://indiancountrytoday.com/archi...X0-cFZj68BnPJg

That new ‘hawks logo is excellent! And since the NHL is always financially motivated, rolling out merchandise with that logo in this social climate would be a huge windfall.

[getbak]

It looks like Cleveland's baseball team is looking for a new name...



As one comment I read said, you can't really put out a statement like this and then come out later and say "turns out everyone is fine with the name, so we're going to keep it", so the outcome of this is almost-certainly a new name.