It began with Indians losing their land; now they are losing their traditions and culture. Native Americans are stereotyped unknowingly in everyday life. They are misrepresented and face underlying racism without any question. From Indian mascots and team names to savage native Americans in literature, stereotyping these people has been normalized and accepted behavior. Native Americans are heavily stereotyped in American sports, media, and literature.
There are many sports teams and schools who use Native Americans as a mascot or a team symbol nationwide. Popular professional sports teams such as the Kansas City Chiefs, Cleveland Indians, and the Washington Redskins, are seen as demeaning names to Native Americans but are celebrated and enjoyed by everyone else. Daniel Johnson explains European countries have an obsession with naming and see it as a symbolic act. Germans used Jewish caricatures to uphold the historical representations and mock the people. Many of these teams are named with the intention to honor Native Americans but are seen as offensive and mocking of Native American culture (Johnson 105). The practice of “honoring” these people with tomahawk chops, pep rally war whoops, halftime powwows, and other offensive images has an underlying racism but is not seen when these images are used in “good fun.” Using Native Americans as mascots and other team symbols have been practiced for years in the US. Johnson explains, “This imagery becomes ingrained, accepted, and normalized to such a degree that most North Americans accept it unquestioningly (Johnson 106).” Americans have “normalized” the stereotype of Native Americans representing mascots in an incorrect way, but it is now accepted in everyday society. They mock Indian traditions, and it has been going on for so long that it is now an accepted behavior and isn’t stopped. Indians aren’t just stereotyped and misrepresented in sports; students get taught ...