Honor in the Name

           Mascots can be found all over the world, adopted by teams and schools to represent the team in a positive and fun way. Native American themed mascots found around the United States of America, such as the Cleveland Indians, the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux, and the Arlee High School Warriors and Scarlets. Although these mascots are meant to embody pride and school spirit, there have been claims of Native-American themed mascots being portrayed as offensive toward the tribes they represent. Even though Native-American themed mascots can be considered offensive and dishonorable, in most cases these mascots are a positive representation of the schools, students, and communities they stand for and honor the school and tribes in some way.

            One of the earliest Native American mascots found in the U.S. is the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux, named in the early 1900’s giving way to several traditions, pride in the team, and honor in the name. (Univeristy of North Dakota Athletics, 2013) As with anything over time, traditions have faded into competitions of outdoing the last tradition in any possible way. Mascots tend to try to go for bigger and better than the previous year, usually by adding in more extreme factors. An example of this would be the University of Montana mascot Monte, Monte has been the face of U.M. for years until the university added in Mo, Monte’s sidekick who is a smaller version of the original Monte who does most of the same flips and fun stunts as the original. (Moy, 2009) For the U.N.D. Fighting Sioux this competition of outshining the last caused a great controversy over the conduct of the Fighting Sioux mascot and the local Sioux reservation. The Sioux community in North Dakota petitioned for a change in the mascot name because the conduct of the man in the suit was offensive, and the Sioux tribes did not want to be affiliated with the Fighting Sioux if the name was to be portrayed with dishonor and without traditional influences. Although this controversy has died down, claims like this have presented themselves since the beginning of the mascot era.

            Even though throughout history objections have been made to mascots such as the University of Fighting Sioux, Native-American themed mascots can be represented in a positive way. These Native mascots are to present pride and honor not only for the team and school but for the Native-American tribe they are affiliated with. The Native-American tribe should be identified through displays of culture, tradition, and bravery not only in the mascot but in the team and school. The behavior of the mascot is something that should be accepted by all and give pride to the name they stand for. For instance, the Arlee Warriors and Scarlets mascots are accepted and show pride for the school in a positive way; by honoring the mascots through traditional honor songs and involving elders in ceremonies before school related and extracurricular events begin, these mascots display the cultures and traditions of the tribes they represent.

           The mascot is a symbol of pride and enthusiasm for the school and team during athletic and school based events. They are to behave acceptably from the time they put the suit on to the time they take it off. The behavior of the person wearing the costume should always represent the true character of the mascot, especially when the mascot must represent a large local ethnic group. If these actions are inappropriate and offensive toward the true nature of the mascot, then the audience will begin to believe that this is what is supposed to be portrayed and could produce a negative reaction from the ethnic group. This is the reason why the Sioux tribe of North Dakota was petitioning the name change of the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux.

           Native-American themed mascots can be represented in a positive, honorable way as long as they hold true to the culture and traditions of not only the team and school, but in the tribe that is affiliated with the mascot as well. Native based mascots should always be seen as a traditional honorable figure. Reading through the information provided, you find there has been and probably always will be misinterpretations of mascots because of how the person in the outfit behaves. There have also been misunderstandings of how the name portrays the school, community, and tribe affiliated with it. For example, the Hot Springs High School Savages changed their name in 2007 to the Savage Heat because the local Native American tribe did not want to be associated with the word “Savages” for they feared the name would be misinterpreted for their tribe. (Hot Springs High School (Montana), 2013) On the other hand, the Arlee High School’s mascots, the Warriors and Scarlets, represent the community in a positive way because the school and community honor the Warrior and Scarlet name through ceremonies and traditions. But one thing is certain, the school and community should be honored to have a mascot represent their team, and should not be worried or ashamed of the behavior of their mascot or their mascot name falsely portraying their community and associated tribe.

Works Cited

"University of North Dakota Athletics." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Jan. 2013. Web. 01 Oct. 2013. (Univeristy of North Dakota Athletics, 2013)

Moy, Chelsi. "Sideline Sidekick: Meet Monte's New Little Buddy, Mo." Missoulian.com. N.p., 30 Oct. 2009. Web. 02 Oct. 2013. (Moy, 2009)

"Hot Springs High School (Montana)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Sept. 2013. Web. 02 Oct. 2013. (Hot Springs High School (Montana), 2013)