1. SHOULD THERE BE NATIVE
AMEICAN CULTURE IN
SPORTS?
A Review of the Literature
Brady Gagnon
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Thispaperwas preparedforSportsAdministration462, section1 taughtby Dr. Jon Lim

2. 1
Native American Culture in Sports
Native American rights have been a major trend in the sports world. The U.S.
Commission on Civil Rights called for “an end to the use of Native American images and team
names by non-Native schools.” (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights 2001) The Commission released
this advisory opinion calling for that action in 2001. The opinion made several points that
include that insensitive images and nicknames of Native Americans should be avoided as they
can be discriminating and may even violate laws against discrimination. This was said to be
more insensitive in light of the long history of assimilation that Native Americans have been
through. A major issue with the use of these names and logos is that they use stereotypical
images and exhibit harmful stereotypes and are also inaccurate representations. (U.S.
Commission on Civil Rights 2001) Since this opinion, use of Native images and nicknames has
become the center of the attention to the media. The debate is still whether or not the use of
Native American culture in sports is honoring their culture or discriminating it. I will look at the
history of Native culture in sports as well as a few current issues. I will also present arguments
in favor and against banning the use of Native images and nicknames. Use of Native American
images and nicknames has a long history, but just as in judging a person, this debate is not
simply just black and white.
The first recorded school to use the nickname “Indian” was in 1894 when Carlisle Indian
School used the name to praise their football performances. (Pewewardy 2004) But the school
didn’t choose this, opposing schools and the media nicknamed the schools’ team the Carlisle
“Indians”. Now some teams continue to use the generic Indian names such as Indians, Redskins,
Braves, Warriors, or Chiefs. They now also use specific tribal names such as the Seminoles, Illini,

3. 2
and the Sioux. (Pewewardy 2004) Professional teams origins come from 1912, when Boston
Braves were created. The success of the Braves led to the founding of a Cleveland based team
which would go on to adopt the nickname the Indians. The name is claimed to be in honor of
Louis Sockalexis, the first Native American to play professional baseball in the MLB. This claim
has no historical proof however. (Staurowsky 1998) The Washington Redskins origin comes
from the Boston Braves actually. Football and baseball teams that shared a stadium would
traditionally use the same nickname. When the Boston Braves moved to Fenway Park in 1933,
the nickname of the football team was changed to the Redskins. This was done in honor of then
head coach WilliamHenry “Lone Star” Dietz, who had claimed that he was part Sioux. From
there, at its peak, the use of Native images and nicknames reached to over 3000 high school,
university, and professional teams. (Pollin 2013)
From that peak, current estimates are around 1000 teams that still use Native American
mascots with almost all the changes happening at the college and high school level. Some
current issues include the University of North Dakota, formerly the home of the Fighting Sioux
and the Washington Redskins.
The University of North Dakota, in Grand Forks, North Dakota, has a high Native American
enrollment compared to other universities which makes it a unique place to look at the issue on
Native American mascots. Native Americans still only make up 3% of student enrollment at
UND, 5% of the population of North Dakota, and less than 1% of the US population in 2005.
(Williams 2007) The school is white dominated and used a Native American nickname, but the
question is why would a white population support this nickname? Supporters say, “It’s intended
as an honor because Native people were brave fighters.” (Williams 2007) This creates the

4. 3
stereotype that all Native Americans were brave and were fighters. Adding the word “Fighting”
to it makes them sound more barbaric rather than peaceful. Implying that all Natives did was
fight. The article points to this as justification of attacks by the US Army on Native Americans as
well as white settler incursions into Native territory. It creates the image of the army taming a
group of barbaric savages. The argument for why the university chose the nickname includes
points such as “Sioux are a good exterminating agent for the Bison (Nickname for UND rival
North Dakota State University).” And “The word Sioux is easily rhymed for yells and songs.”
(Williams 2007) It’s important to note that in 1930, when the school adopted the name, no
Native American students attended UND. Incidents that involved the school’s nickname go back
to 1972 when an ice sculpture of a topless Native American woman with the words “Lick ‘em
Sioux” across her breasts was placed in front of a fraternity house and was later asked to be
taken down by Native students. (Williams 2007) During a homecoming parade in 1992, Native
children were mocked and told by white students to “go back to the reservation”. Opposing
team’s fans have also used racist and insulting chants directed at Native Americans, even death
threats were made to opposition of the nickname. (Williams 2007) After many years of resisting
a change of the nickname, the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education announced on
April 8, 2010, that the Fighting Sioux nickname would be retired after the 2010–2011 athletic
season. (Mador 2010) On June 14, 2012 the Board voted to get rid of the University’s nickname
and Indian head logo. The university is prohibited from selecting a new team name until 2015.
Next we look at a professional team, The Washington Redskins. “If I were the owner of the
team and I knew that there was a name of my team-even if it had a storied history- that was
offending a sizable group of people, I’d think about changing it.” President Barack Obama said

5. 4
these words on the topic of the Washington Redskins. (Gregory 2013) The Redskins
organization has recently hired Lanny Davis, a veteran crisis manager, to help defend the
nickname. Redskins’ owner Dan Snyder had this to say, “We’ll never change the name. It’s that
simple. NEVER – you can use caps.” (Gregory 2013) Davis sat down with Holden Kushner for an
interview to discuss the team nickname. Note that Kushner and Davis are both Jewish for the
reason that Kushner had asked Davis a question concerning Jewish persecution. Kushner had
asked Davis how he couldn’t be sympathetic to the Native Americans while being Jewish, given
the discrimination Jews had been through. Davis replied saying how it doesn’t matter how
many people are offended but you should be sorry for offending one person. He goes on to say
“Shame on American history, what we did to Native Americans…” (Gregory 2013) This man is
defending using the name “Redskin” yet feels that if one person is offended, they should be
sorry for it. Davis argues that the nickname isn’t the problem but things such as the tomahawk
chop are the real issue. Overall Davis just goes on to say how the history of the Redskins (80
years) is too much to change the name. Paraphrasing a man speaking for the Redskins
organization, we have to be sensitive to the offended people, but sorry offended people, we
love the name too much for too long. (Gregory 2013) Currently, petitions are being filed with
the FCC that claimthat the name Redskins violates rules against indecent content on television.
The chief of the FCC said he personally finds the term to be offensive and should be changed
but he did not release the ruling on legality of the name. A Redskins website supports the name
by saying the name “epitomizes all the noble qualities we admire about Native Americans.”
(Sasso 2014)

6. 5
The Native American mascot controversy like many debates, has two sides to the story.
There are those who favor the use of Native images and nicknames, and those against the use.
Those against the use range from social sciences, school boards, and even civil rights
organizations. In 1999, the NAACP passed a resolution. This resolution called for the end of the
use of Native American images, mascots, and names in athletic and educational settings.
(NAACP 1999) We now return to the 2001 advisory opinion released by the U.S. Commission on
Civil Rights. This opinion remember also called for the end of use of Native American images
and team names but only by non-Native schools.(U.S. Commission on Civil Rights 2001)
Traditionally Native American schools would be exempt from this advisory opinion. In 2005, a
resolution called “Recommending the Immediate Retirement of American Indian Mascots,
Symbols, Images, and Personalities by Schools, Colleges, Universities, Athletic Teams, and
Organizations” was issued by the American Psychological Association. This was done cited the
harm done by creating environments of hostility and the negative effects on American Indian
children as well as discrimination laws. The APA also claimed that the use of Native images and
personalities led to reinforcement of mainstream stereotypes of Natives rather than learning
about their culture. (American Psychological Association 2005) Also in 2005, the National
Education Association included the elimination of Indian mascots and team names as a
recommendation in one of its reports. (Trujillo & Alston 2005) Lastly, in 2010, Wisconsin passed
a law to eliminate all race-based nicknames, logos, and mascots in schools. The law did also
schools to keep their name and logos with permission of local Native American tribes. (Keen
2010) These are just a few of the many movements against the use of Native American culture
in schooling and in the world of sports. There are psychological organizations, civil rights

7. 6
groups, United States commissions, education associations, and even state legislatures involved
in this movement. This shows the significance that this debate carries with it.
There is another side to this debate though. There are those that want to keep these
nicknames and the Native culture in sports. There isn’t much more to the argument than the
fact that some people do not believe it is racismor discrimination but a show of honor and
respect. Some teams have even gained support from Native tribes to keep the nickname.
Florida State University, the Seminoles, is the best example of this support. In 1947 students at
FSU voted to adopt the nickname. (DeSlatte 2005) The school originally did use stereotypical
images of Native Americans. In 1972 leaders of the Seminole Tribe of Florida brought up issues
with the schools use of the images. The school agreed with the tribe and began using more
tradition Seminole images. The tribe now officially sanctions the use of the Seminole as FSU’s
nickname. Seminole tribes in Oklahoma did initially oppose the use of the Seminole name but
later voted against opposition. (DeSlatte 2005)
Civil rights have been a major part of the United States since its founding. Native Americans
have suffered their fair share at the hands of civil injustice. I believe that unsanctioned use of
Native American tribal names and culture is an unfair representation of a proud people. Team
names like Warriors, Braves, and Indians are harder to argue against but to me they are terms
to wrongly describe Natives. Like any person, a Native American should not be bound to being
known as a warrior or a redskin. These terms point at a single group of people but do not
property describe them. Native American culture has a long history in sports and continues to
be a hot debate with the University of North Dakota and the Washington Redskins among many
other schools and teams. This issue also brings with it two sides that firmly believe in their

8. 7
values and ideals of those who support and oppose the use. This issue will not be solved easily
nor will it be over quickly. It truly has become a civil rights issue. The biggest question is
whether this is honoring Natives, or are we making mascots of out people?

9. 8
Works Cited
American Psychological Association, (2005). "Summary of the Resolution Recommending
Retirement of American Indian Mascots".
DeSlatte, Aaron (2005). "FSU worked to cultivate better image of Seminole". Florida Today
Gregory, S. (2013). A Mysterious Defense of the Washington Redskins Name. Time.Com, 1.
Keen, Judy (2010). "Wis. law lets residents challenge race-based mascots". USA Today.
Mador, Jessica (2010). "ND board: Fighting Sioux nickname is retired". Minnesota Public
Radio.
NAACP, (1999). 1999 Resolution in Opposition to Native American Mascots.
Pewewardy, C. D. (2004). Playing Indian at Halftime the Controversy over American Indian
Mascots, Logos, and Nicknames in School-Related Events. Clearing House, 77(5),
180-185.
Pollin, Tom (2013). "Dropping Back In NFL History: Lone Star and the Redskins".
Sasso, B. (2014). FCC Mulls Banning Redskins Name. National Journal.
Staurowsky, Ellen (1998). "An Act of Honor or Exploitation? The Cleveland Indians' Use of
the Louis Francis Sockalexis Story". Sociology of Sports Journal. 15(4): 299.
Trujillo, Octaviana, Alston, Denise (2005), A Report on the Status of American Indians and
Alaska Natives in Education, National Education Association
The United States Commission on Civil Rights. (2001). "Statement of the U.S. Commission on
Civil Rights on the Use of Native American Images and Nicknames as Sports
Symbols".
Williams, D. M. (2007). Where's the Honor? Attitudes Toward the "Fighting Sioux"
Nickname and Logo. Sociology of Sport Journal, 24(4), 437-456