Harshavardhan Thorat Ms. Alison Schulman English I Honors 24 April 2024 Unmasking the Racism Imagine being a Native American who is an avid sports fan, but every time you try to watch a game, you are reminded of the racist stereotypes of your culture being celebrated as mascots. This poignant reality shows the urgency of the matter, and this issue of Native American mascots needs to be addressed immediately. The existence of Native American mascots has been a highly debated topic, ever since the Civil Rights Movement. Native activists have been fighting to change the stereotypical mascots, along with stereotypical names and logos, but have been mostly unsuccessful. Although some believe Native American Mascots honor the cultures of Native Americans, …show more content…
This further helps to prove the existence of cultural exploitation in sports teams, especially when they use Native American mascots. The pieces of evidence clearly show how the usage of Native American mascots in sport is a form of cultural exploitation. Native American Mascots harm Native American youth. Native American mascots cause “negative serious psychological effects” in Native American youth (Association of American Indian Affairs). This shows how Native American mascots harm Native American youth because they lower their self esteem, which leads to serious mental illnesses, such as depression and anxiety. Those mental illnesses could be deadly and life-threatening, which blatantly highlights the dangers of Native American mascots to Native American youth. Moreover, this showcases the broader, negative impacts of Native American mascots. It further supports the claim that Native American mascots should be banned, especially because their effects can be seen in many areas of the citizens’ daily lives. Native American youth have the highest suicide rate, “with a suicide rate of 36.3 per 100,000”