A look at the impact of Indian logos and mascots
Hurtful and confusing imagery
Hurtful and confusing imagery
By Jonathan Gramling
Part 1 of 2
When the WIAA held its football championship games at Camp Randall earlier this month, the fans of some of the teams came adorned
with sweatshirts that prominently carried the depiction of the head of an American Indian chief as a team logo. While logo may symbolize
school pride and determination for the students, parents, community members and alumni of the school — some thinking the terms fighting
and fierce are positive attributes for American Indians — the logos are source of pain and confusion for American Indian students who
attend those schools.
“Unconsciously, that floating head image carries with it a lot of this big schema of Indianness, fringe buckskins and feather
headdresses,” said Ryan Comfort, an advisor at the UW School of Education at a recent gathering at MATC. “This is one of the things that Dr.
Stephanie Freiburg at the University of Arizona has done research on. She has done empirical studies examining the effects of American
Indian mascots and logos and the images on a student’s self-esteem. She found that when Native students are exposed to these primes,
positive or not, their self-esteem goes down. With non-Native students, they may see these American Indian primes, positive or negative,
and their self-esteem goes up. Can you imagine the kind of environment that creates in a school for American Indian students when you are
being ‘othered’ and then having your self-esteem sinking every day when you walk in that building?”
Raeanne Funmaker, co-chair of Wunk Sheek, recalled an incident that happened when the state football championship was held in
Madison. “I am very against the logos and I find them very offensive,” Funmaker said. “I was walking down State Street the other day. I was
walking to class and these men turned the corner. They had a logo of a chief. In my culture, that represents someone who has a great
understanding of life and they are very respected and honored. And to see a chief in a silly cartoon character on someone’s shirt is hurtful.
All I can do is try and teach those people or help them to learn or want to learn more.”
Tim Fish, also a co-chair of Wunk Sheek, is concerned about the message that the mascots are sending to American Indian youth.
“Native Americans are the only ethnic group that is used as mascots,” Fish said. “No other ethnic group is used as a mascot or logo. You
don’t have the Minnesota Negroes or the Ohio Wetbacks. For some reason, people romanticize the American Indian image and so they use it
in these types of sporting events. What harm that does is that during sporting events, people are making war cries and doing the tomahawk
chop or they are saying things like ‘Beat the Indians.’ There is a subliminal message in that. Often times, it turns into something bigger. Not
only that, but when other Natives are coming to these sporting events, they are hearing this stuff. Just think about how that makes them feel
about themselves and how people perceive them. It’s a really big issue and plays a major part in the lives of our youth today and the way
they see themselves.”
While the negative impact on American Indian students may be pretty obvious, the stereotypes and negative imagery may also have an
impact on non-Native students as well.
Next issue: American Indian instruction in Wisconsin schools.
Part 1 of 2
When the WIAA held its football championship games at Camp Randall earlier this month, the fans of some of the teams came adorned
with sweatshirts that prominently carried the depiction of the head of an American Indian chief as a team logo. While logo may symbolize
school pride and determination for the students, parents, community members and alumni of the school — some thinking the terms fighting
and fierce are positive attributes for American Indians — the logos are source of pain and confusion for American Indian students who
attend those schools.
“Unconsciously, that floating head image carries with it a lot of this big schema of Indianness, fringe buckskins and feather
headdresses,” said Ryan Comfort, an advisor at the UW School of Education at a recent gathering at MATC. “This is one of the things that Dr.
Stephanie Freiburg at the University of Arizona has done research on. She has done empirical studies examining the effects of American
Indian mascots and logos and the images on a student’s self-esteem. She found that when Native students are exposed to these primes,
positive or not, their self-esteem goes down. With non-Native students, they may see these American Indian primes, positive or negative,
and their self-esteem goes up. Can you imagine the kind of environment that creates in a school for American Indian students when you are
being ‘othered’ and then having your self-esteem sinking every day when you walk in that building?”
Raeanne Funmaker, co-chair of Wunk Sheek, recalled an incident that happened when the state football championship was held in
Madison. “I am very against the logos and I find them very offensive,” Funmaker said. “I was walking down State Street the other day. I was
walking to class and these men turned the corner. They had a logo of a chief. In my culture, that represents someone who has a great
understanding of life and they are very respected and honored. And to see a chief in a silly cartoon character on someone’s shirt is hurtful.
All I can do is try and teach those people or help them to learn or want to learn more.”
Tim Fish, also a co-chair of Wunk Sheek, is concerned about the message that the mascots are sending to American Indian youth.
“Native Americans are the only ethnic group that is used as mascots,” Fish said. “No other ethnic group is used as a mascot or logo. You
don’t have the Minnesota Negroes or the Ohio Wetbacks. For some reason, people romanticize the American Indian image and so they use it
in these types of sporting events. What harm that does is that during sporting events, people are making war cries and doing the tomahawk
chop or they are saying things like ‘Beat the Indians.’ There is a subliminal message in that. Often times, it turns into something bigger. Not
only that, but when other Natives are coming to these sporting events, they are hearing this stuff. Just think about how that makes them feel
about themselves and how people perceive them. It’s a really big issue and plays a major part in the lives of our youth today and the way
they see themselves.”
While the negative impact on American Indian students may be pretty obvious, the stereotypes and negative imagery may also have an
impact on non-Native students as well.
Next issue: American Indian instruction in Wisconsin schools.
From left to right: Raeanne Funmaker (l) and Tim Fish, Ryan Comfort and Aaron Bird Bear
