Yesterday on "Mitakuye Oyasin" we had another call in.
One of the issues we talked about was racism through mascots. I believe mascots to be a form of dehumanization in which it makes it easier to do inhuman things to your fellow human beings. Some folk believe this type of racism to be honoring. Why don't white people want to be honored? Why aren't there teams like the Washington Whities or the Cleveland Caucasians? What? Aren't you proud to be white?
Shusli called in and mentioned that folk saying things like "Native Americans did it this way." She mentioned how folk co-opt Native spirituality and tokenize it for their own gain. They call this honoring, but it is really racist, as not all Native Americans believe the same way.
These methods of dehumanization make it easier to do inhuman things to their fellow human beings. For example:
71 of the 72 declared Superfund sites in the U.S. are on Indian reservations.
Garbage dumps and chemical waste dumps are put on reservations because they are not as regulated. Makes it cheaper for industry to dump their waste there. Cancer rates skyrocket, but who cares, just a bunch of Indians. Not like we're really human beings. We're being honored by teams like the Washington Redskins. We should just get over it.
If you would like to read a fella who gets it who isn't Indian, I suggest this post by Urban Scout on his blog.
Next week on "Mitakuye Oyasin," we will be interviewing Iokepa about issues surrounding Hawaiians and his Return Voyage project. Iokepa and his wife, Inette, have started their third journey of Return Voyage. They travel the U.S. without any money, and usually get enough in donations as they talk around the states to get them to their next destination. More on that later, but you can check out their website.
"Mitakuye Oyasin" airs every Thursday from 6-7pm on KBOO, 90.7fm in Portland, or on the web at kboo.fm.
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You're right, Amerindian-depicting mascots ARE racist. But for what it's worth, I have seen some 'white' mascots. Even if they don't belong to popular teams like Cleaveland, Kansas City, Washington, or Atlanta, they're common in Oklahoma High Schools
ReplyDelete"Miners" (OMG, stripping the landbase)
"Knights" (feudal repression!)
"Pirates" (when not fighting ninjas, pirates are generally unsavory folk)
"Cowboys" (I don't have to comment on this one)
"Trojans" (okay, Homeric Greece is reaching, I admit)
"Patriots" (depicted in Revolutionary War garb)
"Millers" (as in, people who work in a mill?)
"Outlaws" (there's one negative one, at least! And yes, the mascot portrayed seems very Caucasian)
Now, this doesn't excuse the offensive nature of Amerindian mascots, or anything. If anything it makes the situation worse. As the "white" mascots seem more mellow and respectful than "native" ones.
But there's some slow progress. Oklahoma City University was "the Cheifs" when my father played Basketball there. Now they are "the Stars." Seemed kind of random replacement, but as it's a christian school, there was some scripture to
Have you heard the view that Native Americans are happy because they don't have to pay taxes? I was taken aback to hear it expressed to me and quickly countered it. It makes me wonder how prevalent this misinformation is.
ReplyDeleteDaisy
Brother I always think of how we met when I posted you a link to story about a fast food chain in South Africa (Spur) that uses an Indian mascot.
ReplyDeleteFolks here have made that restaurant one of the most popular without even paying mind to the racist image. The owner, a white South African, refuses to remove the image or explain what an image from the US racist imagination is doing on a food chain here.
I also often think of our conversation when I see post-apartheid black executives driving Jeep Cherokees without any mind to the history of naming that brand after a people.
The problem with not standing up is that it becomes commonsense in the manner Gramsci meant.
For that reason I have had folks here ask me if I know any 'red' Indians. In fact, I have seen a discussion on race where the anti-racist black man kept referring to 'red' Indians to make a point about colonization.
The struggle continues.
Onward!
Ridwan
ps. you probably remember this post from way back: http://ridwanlaher.blogspot.com/2007/04/racist-imaging.html
There are also:
ReplyDeleteThe Kings
Generals
Pioneers
Vikings
Commodores
Admirals
Monarchs
Pilgrims
Minutemen
Celtics
There is also the mascot of the celtics, the little leprechaun (who is white), is he any more or less offensive than the mascot of the Braves?
I don't know think "white" mascots are necessarily any more "respectful", I've seen people dressed up like Vikings or Pilgrims acting pretty goofy at sporting events.
There was probably a strong element of patronization toward native americans early on when they were deciding to use their titles for sports teams but using European or american titles as sports names is common enough I don't feel that it's now exclusively directed against native americans, looking at it in that perspective I can't get too excited about this issue.
However, the Redskins is a direct racial reference and I do find that one offensive. If the team was called "blackskins" it would have been changed long ago. I think they at least accord the same respect to native american as they do african americans.
Anonymous, this is a thread about race. The only two things you mentioned that are race based are the Vikings and the Celtics. I have heard, indeed, folk taking offense to these racist names.
ReplyDeleteIt would seem to me, and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, that you are an apologist for this racist type of behavior. At least you are sensible enough to find redskins offensive.
But you see, An..., what the point is here is that folk, MANY folk, believe that Indians are being honored by using such racist tripe. They don't ask us. They don't care. Do you care? I would argue that you don't because you seem to be apologizing for such racist behavior.
Now, knowing that Indians are seen as caricatures made up by the occupying society, and that these caricatures are alleged honoring of said Indians, why the hell aren't we being honored by the U.S. government getting their boot off of the neck of our economies? Says in the constitution that treaties are the supreme law of the land (article 6 section 2), why aren't the treaties being honored? Wouldn't that be more honoring than say, a team called The Kansas City Chiefs? Do you think we're being honored by having a high rate of diabetes because of the shit food forced on our children in boarding schools and those horrible dietary choices handed down to generation after generation while folk stand around and say "look at all those fat Indians. They should go on diets."?
Oh, but wait, we are being honored with a team called the Cleveland Indians.
Like that James Cameron fella of Avatar fame. Many Indians and indigenous types around the world cling to that film as a hopeful understanding. It's a ruse. Folk can now feel good about the genocide that happened to us because the great white savior saved some folk on another planet from being destroyed. Part II, however, is how the clever imperials managed to cut through the white savior BS and get exactly what they want for the same price we have had to and continue to pay for in this real world. We are being killed, unlike Cameron's belief (see Democracy Now interview, 4-27-10). We are still being killed. From the pollutants (71 of the 72 declared superfund sites are on Indian land). From diseases. From depression, suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, etc. But you all are honoring us through these racist mascot names and images.
I deliver produce. At some stores, I deliver the same time the Umpqua Dairy man delivers. Guess what? I'm Umpqua. My grandfather was the last chief of the Lower Umpqua. I certainly don't feel honored seeing a Hollywood Style Plains Indian logo representing me and my peeps and my grandfather. Yeah, the cancer rates amongst my peeps is pretty high, but at least I get to see that racist logo honoring me and my grandfather every time I go into a grocery store. I eat that ice cream, too. It's pretty tasty. The irony is not lost on me.
How about the high rates of lung cancer amongst the Dinay who worked in the uranium mines for the man? The U.S. government new that those gasses (I believe radon) in those mining operations cause lung cancer since 1947 and finally got around to telling those Indians about that in 1973. Oh well, at least we have the Florida Seminoles, eh. Damn, I'm feeling so much better about being an Indian now.
Yes, Daisy, I have heard about that Indians not having to pay taxes BS. I have also heard folk say that Indians get government checks every month and thus don't have to work. Folk will tell themselves anything to avoid the truth. I even do that.
ReplyDeleteHey Ridwan, I do indeed remember all that. And the struggle continues.
ReplyDeleteAs a White person who lived in Norway for a decent amount of time, I wouldn't feel that comfortable naming something "Viking" this or that (unless I was of Norwegian ancestry, which I'm not). Or unless I was maybe selling specifically Scandinavian imported goods, perhaps.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why so many people can't get that mascotting someone is offensive.
I wonder what you think about the "Fightin' Whities" sort of approach (the Colorado team)? Is it consciousness-raising and kinda funny, or just lowering oneself to a similar level?
Thanks for the post.
Sorry about your comments on Pudgy Indian 2. I could not figure out Echo and could not get the assistance necessary to end said frustration.
ReplyDeleteI think "Fightin' Whities" is a good approach. It helps insert empathy into the folk who will not listen. Empathy can then lead in directions of action and understanding and truly dealing with the issues involved with Indians today. It isn't that we are just angry about the mascots, it is that the oppression and genocide haven't stopped and the mascots helps remove the human face from the humanity being destroyed by the U.S.
Glad you were able to find a new venue.
ReplyDeleteI asked about the FW because I initially thought it was a good approach (humor = lower defenses). I even bought the shirt to support them.
But at my last workplace--a place where we discussed race a great deal as a matter of our work--I asked my supervisor her thoughts about it. She's a First-Nations woman from Canada (I'm ashamed to say I can't remember which nation). Anyway, she seemed to think the FW approach was misguided: perhaps sort of childish or antagonistic, was my impression.
So I feel perhaps it's not my place as a White person to wear something that some Indians may find disrespectful. Yet I want to support the effort if it's useful. So I'm conflicted.
And oh yes, I do get the mascot thing. :(