From Enemy to Mascot: The Deculturation of Indian Mascots in Sports Culture

Abstract

This article focuses on two important concepts in the way many Indian mascots are treated in North American sports culture. The first is the deculturation pro­ cess of stripping away the culture of an ethnic group by replacing them with im­ ages of the dominant group. The second concept is that of dysconscious racism—a form of racism that unconsciously accepts dominant white norms and privileges as played out as Indian mascots in North American sports culture. Educators need to be better informed about First Nations Peoples and their communities. Doing so will help them see that as long as such negative mascots and logos re­main in the arena of school activities, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous chil­dren are learning to tolerate racism in schools. What children see displayed at school and on television only reinforces the ethnic images projected by popular culture. This is precisely what sports teams with mascots and logos of First Na­tions Peoples teach them—that it is acceptable racism to demean a race or group of people through North American sports culture. This article challenges educa­ tors to provide the educational leadership that will teach a critical perspective of the deculturation process that takes place when Indian mascots are used in school-related activities.