tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/sports-mascots-11716/articlesSports mascots – The Conversation2022-04-25T12:12:24Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1816622022-04-25T12:12:24Z2022-04-25T12:12:24ZThe Cleveland Indians changed their team name – what’s holding back the Atlanta Braves?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459145/original/file-20220421-24-ondbdm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C8%2C2977%2C1854&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Atlanta Braves fans perform the 'tomahawk chop' during a playoff game in 2004.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/fans-of-the-atlanta-braves-do-the-tomahawk-chop-during-news-photo/51433584?adppopup=true"> Streeter Lecka/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In October 1995, as the Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves prepared to <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1995_WS.shtml">face off in the World Series</a>, a group of Native Americans rallied outside Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium to protest what they called both teams’ racist names and mascots. Some protesters carried signs, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1995/10/22/protesters-single-out-nicknames/5ca89d46-0ecb-46b3-a979-fbe6fa497af6/">including one that said</a>, “Human beings as mascots is not politically incorrect. It is morally wrong.”</p>
<p>They marched outside the ballpark, where some vendors were selling the foam tomahawks that Braves fans wave during the “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGuChxSvuh8">tomahawk chop</a>” – a cheer in which they mimic a Native American war chant while making a hammering motion with their arms. </p>
<p>It wasn’t until 2018 that the Indians <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/22255143/cleveland-indians-removing-chief-wahoo-logo-uniforms">officially removed their logo</a>, a cartoonish Native American named Chief Wahoo, from their merchandise, banners and ballpark. In 2020 the owners agreed to change the Indians name itself. For the 2022 season, <a href="https://www.nbc15.com/2021/07/23/meet-guardians-cleveland-indians-announce-new-nickname/">they would begin using the new name</a>, the Guardians.</p>
<p>The Atlanta Braves’ owners, however, have dug in their heels, refusing to replace a name that many Americans – including Native Americans – find offensive and derogatory.</p>
<p>In July 2020 – in the midst of the nationwide protests around racism, sparked by the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police – <a href="https://wamu.org/story/20/07/11/the-racial-justice-reckoning-over-sports-team-names-is-spreading/">some Atlanta fans again urged the team to change its name</a>. In response, the Braves’ brass <a href="https://twitter.com/uniwatch/status/1282360397195075585?lang=en">sent a letter</a> to season ticket holders, insisting, “We will always be the Atlanta Braves.”</p>
<p>The insistence on preserving the team name – along with fan traditions like the tomahawk chop – is even more glaring given the city’s links to the civil rights movement.</p>
<h2>The road to Atlanta</h2>
<p>For many years, NFL football team owner Dan Snyder refused to change the name of his Washington Redskins – perhaps one of the more egregiously racist team names in any sport. But in 2020 <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/football-team/timeline-washington-football-teams-name-change-saga">he finally relented</a>, yielding to pressure from investors and corporate sponsors. The team played as the Washington Football Team for two seasons <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/02/06/1078571919/washington-commanders-name-change-native-americans">before becoming the Commanders</a> this year.</p>
<p>However, when professional sports teams do change their names, <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/football-team/pro-sports-teams-changed-their-name-without-changing-cities">it’s usually done for marketing reasons</a> rather than social ones. </p>
<p>The NFL’s Tennessee Oilers rebranded themselves the Tennessee Titans in 1999, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays became the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008 and the New Orleans Hornets turned into the Pelicans in 2013.</p>
<p>The Braves have had their own merry-go-round with team names.</p>
<p>The story begins in 1876, when Boston’s professional baseball team was known as the Red Stockings. In 1883, they became the Beaneaters and kept that name until 1907, when new owner <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1909/06/20/archives/baseball-president-dead-george-dovey-of-boston-passes-away-on-a.html">George Dovey</a> changed it to the Doves, a tribute to himself. In 1911, William Russell bought the team and renamed it <a href="https://www.baseball-almanac.com/mgrtmab7.shtml">the Rustlers</a>, also after himself. But a year later, James Gaffney, a New York City alderman, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/26/opinion/l-what-atlanta-braves-share-with-boss-tweed-980393.html">purchased the team</a>. </p>
<p>Gaffney was part of Tammany Hall, a New York City political club named after <a href="https://www.ustwp.org/government/boards-commissions/historical-advisory-board/chief-tamanend/">Tamanend</a>, a Delaware Indian chief. Tammany Hall used a Native American wearing a headdress <a href="https://bkskarch.com/2020/11/17/go-inside-the-new-glass-dome-atop-union-squares-tammany-hall/">as its emblem</a> and <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/atlanta-braves-team-name-origin">referred to its members</a> as “braves.” So Gaffney gave his team a new moniker. From thenceforth they would be known as the Boston Braves. </p>
<p>In 1935, <a href="https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/bob-quinn/">Bob Quinn</a> purchased the Braves after a season in which they sported the worst record in baseball: <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BSN/1935.shtml">38 wins and 115 losses</a>. Hoping to give the team a fresh start, he renamed it the <a href="https://massachusettsbaseballhistory.com/2021/04/08/bostons-original-blue-and-yellow-team/">Boston Bees</a>, but the team continued to perform poorly. In 1940, construction magnate <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1972/04/17/archives/lou-perini-owner-who-took-braves-to-milwaukee-is-dead.html">Lou Perini</a> bought the team and changed the name back to the Braves. </p>
<p>In 1953, Perini moved the Braves to Milwaukee – the first team relocation since 1903. Nine years later, he sold the Braves to some Chicago investors led by <a href="https://www.ajc.com/sports/baseball/former-braves-owner-bill-bartholomay-who-moved-team-atlanta-dies/B43tnVnOAgQbjNhi3ptEGN/">William Bartholomay</a>, who quickly began looking to move the team to a larger television market. </p>
<h2>A commitment to improving race relations</h2>
<p>Atlanta Mayor <a href="https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/ivan-allen-jr-1911-2003/">Ivan Allen Jr.</a> courted Bartholomay. To lure the team, he persuaded Fulton County to build Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium <a href="https://www.todayingeorgiahistory.org/tih-georgia-day/atlanta-fulton-county-stadium">for US$18 million</a> – equal to $161 million today.</p>
<p>But Hank Aaron, the Braves’ biggest star, was reluctant to move to Atlanta. </p>
<p>Although it promoted itself as an enlightened place – the city had recently rebranded itself as “<a href="https://www.nps.gov/features/malu/feat0002/wof/ivan_allen.htm">The City Too Busy to Hate</a>” – Atlanta <a href="https://www.facingsouth.org/2015/05/the-most-racially-segregated-cities-in-the-south.html">was still highly segregated</a>. It was the capital of a state represented by segregationist politicians such as long-serving Sens. <a href="https://faculty1.coloradocollege.edu/%7Ebloevy/toEndAllSegregation/ToEndAllSegregation-008.pdf">Richard Russell</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/22/us/herman-talmadge-georgia-senator-and-governor-dies-at-88.html">Herman Talmadge</a>. Aaron, a native of Mobile, Alabama, had no interest in returning to the Deep South racism of his birthplace. </p>
<p>The NAACP and Urban League asked Aaron to give the South a second chance. <a href="https://www.espn.com/espn/commentary/news/story?id=6015125">Aaron met with Martin Luther King Jr.</a>, who convinced him that bringing the Braves to Atlanta would help the civil rights cause.</p>
<p>Before he would agree to join the Braves in Atlanta, however, Aaron insisted that Fulton County Stadium seating and facilities be desegregated. Mayor Allen shared that view. <a href="https://www.espn.com/espn/commentary/news/story?id=6015125">The city and the Braves complied</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man wearing blue baseball jersey sits in a dugout bench." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459137/original/file-20220421-12-x61miq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459137/original/file-20220421-12-x61miq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459137/original/file-20220421-12-x61miq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459137/original/file-20220421-12-x61miq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459137/original/file-20220421-12-x61miq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459137/original/file-20220421-12-x61miq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459137/original/file-20220421-12-x61miq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Slugger Hank Aaron went along with the team to Atlanta only after some lobbying from Martin Luther King Jr.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/outfielder-hank-aaron-of-the-atlanta-braves-relaxes-in-the-news-photo/51455615?adppopup=true">Focus on Sport via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Jimmy Carter, who served as Georgia’s governor from 1971 to 1975 before being elected president, <a href="https://www.espn.com/espn/commentary/news/story?id=6015125">recalled that</a> having a major league team in Atlanta “gave us the opportunity to be known for something that wasn’t going to be a national embarrassment.” Carter said that Aaron “was the first Black man that white fans in the South cheered for.” </p>
<h2>The chief and the chop</h2>
<p>As the Braves worked to mend relations with the city’s Black community, they didn’t seem to consider how their marketing efforts might offend Native Americans. </p>
<p>In 1966, the year the Braves moved to Atlanta, the team adopted a mascot, <a href="https://www.ajc.com/sports/baseball/whatever-happened-chief-noc-homa-levi-walker/ZoBlkrVjEyQbfa85BZbs8H/">Chief Noc-A-Homa</a>, who danced around a teepee behind the left field fence dressed in Native American garb and occasionally performed on the field.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man in Native American garb spreads his arms." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459134/original/file-20220421-25-phqaml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459134/original/file-20220421-25-phqaml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459134/original/file-20220421-25-phqaml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459134/original/file-20220421-25-phqaml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459134/original/file-20220421-25-phqaml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459134/original/file-20220421-25-phqaml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459134/original/file-20220421-25-phqaml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Atlanta Braves retired mascot Chief Noc-a-Homa in 1985.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/this-1983-file-photo-of-chief-noc-a-homa-the-atlanta-braves-news-photo/838580900?adppopup=true">Denver Post via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Under public pressure, <a href="https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1986/01/19/571286.html?pageNumber=352">the team abandoned</a> Chief Noc-A-Homa in 1985. But a few years later, Braves organist Carolyn King started playing the “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQOs0m3wTBY">tomahawk song</a>”
before Braves batters stepped up to the plate. By 1991, the fans had fully adopted the chop.</p>
<p>Today, many fans – not to mention many Native Americans – cringe at the music and the chop. To them, it reflects a stereotypical image of Native Americans as violent and uncivilized, <a href="https://deadline.com/2020/10/native-american-writers-urge-industry-to-make-amends-for-stereotypical-portrayals-inadequate-representation-1234595944/">similar to those</a> that appeared <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442229624/Native-Americans-on-Network-TV-Stereotypes-Myths-and-the-">on TV</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/481668">in movies</a> for many years. </p>
<p>In 2019, Ryan Helsley, a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals and a member of the Cherokee Nation, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/10/05/cardinals-pitcher-calls-braves-tomahawk-chop-disappointing-disrespectful/">took issue with the tomahawk chop</a> after pitching against the Braves.</p>
<p>“I think it’s a misrepresentation of the Cherokee people or Native Americans in general. Just depicts them in this kind of caveman-type people way who aren’t intellectual,” Helsley told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.</p>
<p>“They are a lot more than that,” he said. “It devalues us and how we’re perceived in that way, or used as mascots.” </p>
<h2>A name that honors the region’s history</h2>
<p>The Braves are now owned by Liberty Media Corp., a $17 billion conglomerate controlled by Chair John C. Malone, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/john-malone/?sh=529309001505">who is personally worth $7.5 billion</a>. Only pressure from the Braves’ corporate sponsors, fans, other teams, and even some players will likely push Malone to make a change. </p>
<p>After Aaron died last year, <a href="https://www.11alive.com/article/sports/mlb/atlanta-braves/atlanta-braves-name-change-hammers-hank-aaron/85-bc8ad39e-0199-4729-a024-0ea180929896">some Braves fans urged the owners</a> to change the name to the “Hammers” to honor the slugger who was nicknamed “Hammerin’ Hank” or just “The Hammer.” His boosters pointed out that it would be simple to put a hammer in place of the tomahawk, which now adorns all Braves uniforms and the team logo. Some version of the cheer could even remain, but with hammers, not tomahawks. </p>
<p>But I’d like to suggest a team name that would make an even bigger statement: the Atlanta Kings, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. King grew up in Atlanta, attended Morehouse College, and spent most of his adult life there. His childhood home, the church he served as minister and the King Center, an educational nonprofit, are all located in Atlanta.</p>
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<p>King understood the importance of baseball in American culture. He befriended and <a href="https://theconversation.com/jackie-robinson-was-a-radical-dont-listen-to-the-sanitized-version-of-history-179732">worked closely with Jackie Robinson during the civil rights movement</a>. And he helped bring the team to Atlanta.</p>
<p>I think it would be fitting for the Braves to become the Kings and replace the tomahawk with a crown. Or, in the spirit of inclusion, the team could be rechristened as the Atlanta Hammer Kings. And the team could adopt Pete Seeger’s easy-to-sing “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO39e5Uznu4">If I Had a Hammer</a>” as its theme song.</p>
<p>All it would take is some political courage.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181662/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Dreier does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The insistence on preserving the team name – along with fan traditions like the ‘tomahawk chop’ – is even more glaring given the city’s links to the civil rights movement.Peter Dreier, E.P. Clapp Distinguished Professor of Politics, Occidental CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1433052020-07-26T11:27:27Z2020-07-26T11:27:27ZApplying corporate pressure to change racist team names isn’t enough<p>The NFL team in Washington, D.C., <a href="https://www.redskins.com/news/washington-redskins-retiring-name-logo-following-review">officially announced on July 13</a> it would be retiring its racist name and logo. Washington had developed its brand in 1933, which means the entire franchise has been cashing in on racism for 87 years. </p>
<p>We are witnessing the ripple effects taking root in Canada. Edmonton’s CFL team announced that it’s finally changing its name. The Edmonton team adopted its name in 1949.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/edmonton-finally-drops-the-eskimos-and-may-my-grandchildren-never-hear-the-e-word-again-143170">Edmonton finally drops the Eskimos — and may my grandchildren never hear the E-word again</a>
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<p>These were major victories for Indigenous activists and their allies, who have been working strategically since the 1960s to rid the sporting landscape of such symbols. Not only is Washington the “third-highest grossing team” in the NFL, its political reach is enormous. The corporate sponsors and their investors who have helped to make this franchise insanely rich are the “Who’s Who” of American industry.</p>
<p>The effort to rid our sporting landscape of racist mascots is important. It’s well known that <a href="https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/study-finds-only-harmful-effects-from-native-themed-mascots-Gr8ez-HtvkeB-Q5SPNhmhw">these monikers are harmful to society</a> because they reduce ethnicities and cultures to stereotypes, which is a form of dehumanization. The American Psychological Association even issued a public statement in 2005, <a href="https://www.apa.org/pi/oema/resources/indian-mascots">calling for teams to immediately terminate their usage because it undermines the educational experiences of all youth</a>, in addition to creating an unwelcoming and often times openly hostile learning environment in schools. </p>
<h2>Long time coming</h2>
<p>Despite all the evidence and resources devoted to this cause, it took 15 more years of advocacy propelled by a global pandemic that exposed gross structural inequality in the United States and the Black Lives Matter movement, which literally set parts of that country on fire, to force one team to change.</p>
<p>I’m wondering what comes next. Toppling more names and logos? </p>
<p>Suzan Shown Harjo, a leading proponent for ending Indian sports mascotry, reminded the public shortly after Washington made its announcement that <a href="https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/washington-nfl-team-kicks-out-r-word-pa0kLXIJ70uvMgEntv-xag">the work is not yet over</a>: “We’ve ended more than two-thirds of these obscenities and now have only 900 or so left to go.” Her point was clear. Everyone needs to sustain the pressure to capitalize on the momentum gained from Washington.</p>
<p>Still, it’s worth pointing out that in both cases, Washington and Edmonton bowed to economic pressure and not morally persuasive arguments or evidence showing that it was the right thing to do. A group of <a href="https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/investors-ask-nike-fedex-and-pepsico-to-end-relationships-with-the-washington-redskins/">87 investors</a> with combined assets worth US$620 billion put pressure on Nike, FedEx and PepsiCo to cut ties with the Washington team if the owners did not jettison their problematic symbols.</p>
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<h2>Money talks</h2>
<p><a href="https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/a-second-major-sponsor-of-edmonton-s-cfl-club-calls-for-team-name-change-1.5026881">Edmonton team sponsors</a> Belairdirect and SportsInteraction (run out of the Indigenous community of Kanawake, Que.) did the same. It might be obvious that the Edmonton team does not play financially in the same rarified space as Washington. However, this shows that investment firms and shareholders are worried about their brand commitments to diversity and inclusion. Their direct involvement was the tipping point.</p>
<p>With that kind of power and influence, is finding new names and logos enough?</p>
<p>Washington and Edmonton offer real-time learning opportunities for the millions of people watching these racist brands topple. They get us talking about anti-racism in sports and society more broadly. They show us what it takes, and how much effort is required, to bring about change in sports. Equally important, they should lead to conversations about how sports teams, corporate sponsors and investors can be better partners for racialized communities.</p>
<p>Jesse Wente, director of Canada’s new Indigenous Screen Office, which supports the development of Indigenous screen content and storytelling, expressed dismay that it <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-july-14-2020-1.5647883/washington-nfl-team-name-change-shows-you-can-combat-racism-by-making-it-unprofitable-jesse-wente-1.5649253">required corporations, and not heightened social awareness,</a> to inspire the change, saying: “It’s in these moments that it actually becomes unprofitable or too costly to maintain that racism … it’s sad that we can’t have these arguments on human terms.”</p>
<h2>Pushing change</h2>
<p>The events over the past two weeks have shown us what can be done when investors and corporations take social justice seriously by working with racialized communities to push for systemic change. <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/the-sunday-edition-for-may-26-2019-1.5146999/government-subsidies-for-business-are-greater-than-canada-s-entire-defence-budget-1.5148266">Corporate welfare</a> and cronyism (the <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7169416/we-charity-trudeau-advertisement/">WE scandal</a> being the latest example) is alive and well in Canada, further entrenching the gap between the rich and everyone else. </p>
<p>At the same time, Canada’s social safety net is being eroded as governments continue to divest responsibility for social programs to wealthy third parties and corporations, further hollowing critical programs like childcare, elderly care, education, housing and health.</p>
<p>Sports teams can do more than change a team name and logo. This is made abundantly clear in <a href="https://albertaviews.ca/power-play-professional-hockey-politics-urban-development/"><em>Power Play: Professional Hockey and the Politics of Urban Development</em></a>, which provides a detailed behind-the-scenes look at the building of Rogers Place, the present home of the Edmonton Oilers. </p>
<p>The industry leaders who benefit in myriad ways from their political relationships are the same people who can affect policy and legislation that benefits racialized people and fund grassroots organizations led by racialized groups.</p>
<p>For many of these groups, and especially for Indigenous people, sports participation is much more than a form of entertainment or a fun pastime: it’s about using sport as a lever to support their youth, cultures and communities. </p>
<p>The recent campaign by the Winnipeg Jets and the Manitoba Moose hockey teams get us one step closer to meaningful change. They worked with graphic designer Leticia Spence, from Pimicikamak Cree Nation, to design Indigenous-styled logos for merchandise with all <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/winnipeg-jets-indigenous-logo-jerseys-1.5422902">proceeds going to local Indigenous youth programming</a>.</p>
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<p>As the movement to rid sports of racist mascotry continues, what we need is a parallel public discussion about how to channel corporate attention into working directly with racialized communities to create systemic change that is meaningful to the millions of Canadians whose lives collide daily with racism. </p>
<p>The work to rid sports of racist mascots isn’t over. Neither is the work to encourage investors to do more. The <a href="https://fortune.com/2020/07/04/racist-mascots-native-americans-washington-football/">American landscape remains filled</a> with them. <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/activists-hope-amateur-teams-name-changes-1.5648192">In Canada too</a>, including at least one <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/morden-redskins-name-change-considers-racist-1.5642847">bearing the same name that Washington</a> just retired.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/143305/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Janice Forsyth is affiliated with the Aboriginal Sport Circle, Canada's national voice for Aboriginal sport, physical activity, and recreation development in Canada. </span></em></p>Putting pressure on corporate sponsors is a tactic that has worked when it comes to changing racist team names. But it’s not enough to address systemic racism.Janice Forsyth, Associate Professor, Sociology & Director, Indigenous Studies, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1431702020-07-22T02:11:36Z2020-07-22T02:11:36ZEdmonton finally drops the Eskimos — and may my grandchildren never hear the E-word again<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348757/original/file-20200722-17-1091hbt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C25%2C3328%2C2125&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Edmonton's Canadian Football League franchise is the latest sports team to drop its racist name.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s a good day in Edmonton. It’s a good day in Canada. It’s a good day for Inuit.</p>
<p>After all the years that I and other Inuit Canadians have been <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-eskimos-name-change-inuk-critic-1.4401422">complaining about the name of Edmonton’s team in the Canadian Football League</a>, it’s good to know the franchise has finally decided it will no longer be known as the Eskimos.</p>
<p>It’s been a long time coming, and it has finally arrived.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1285650721803849729"}"></div></p>
<p>I’ve been an outspoken critic of Edmonton’s refusal to rename its CFL team. As an Inuit writer and researcher, this has been a very personal cause for me.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/edmonton-eskimos-is-a-racial-slur-and-its-time-to-stop-using-it-87721">Edmonton Eskimos is a racial slur and it's time to stop using it</a>
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<p>My cause lies in the names of Joel, Isaac, Ellie, Mack and Aurora — my grandchildren, who I am hoping will never have to experience the E-word. They are brilliant and beautiful children who deserve to grow up in a world where racist terms won’t harm them.</p>
<h2>Years of campaigning</h2>
<p>After years of campaigning for a name change, I wasn’t confident the team would do the right thing. </p>
<p>One of Canada’s top sports columnist said <a href="https://edmontonsun.com/sports/football/cfl/edmonton-eskimos/jones-price-of-edmonton-eskimos-name-change-would-be-sky-high">it would be “insane” to make the change now</a>, given the costs associated with rebranding the team. I heard DJs on a local radio station lamenting that there wasn’t a need for <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/07/13/redskins-change-name-announcement/">yet another sports team to change its name</a>. </p>
<p>Through it all, I wondered why they never heard what Inuit were saying about a term we consider racist.</p>
<p>As someone who has publicly criticized the team for years, I’ve been called the b-word and the c-word, among other things. To those people who filled my Facebook page with the most horrible language and the worst name calling, all I can say is shame on you again.</p>
<p>It’s tragic to know that in 2020, there are still so very many people who will not hear the Indigenous side of an issue or who will sigh and say that they are sick of the constant change and everyone having a cause.</p>
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<img alt="A portrait of Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348767/original/file-20200722-29-10kidzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348767/original/file-20200722-29-10kidzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348767/original/file-20200722-29-10kidzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348767/original/file-20200722-29-10kidzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348767/original/file-20200722-29-10kidzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348767/original/file-20200722-29-10kidzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348767/original/file-20200722-29-10kidzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">National Inuit leader Natan Obed has been calling for a name change for Edmonton’s Canadian Football League franchise for years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang</span></span>
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<p>I am not alone in my constant campaign against the name. I stand next to <a href="https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/trudeau-weighs-into-eskimos-name-change-debate-1.3690864">Prime Minister Justin Trudeau</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-eskimos-name-change-don-iveson-1.4395218">Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson</a>, national Inuit leader <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/edmonton-football-team-name-change-natan-obed-1.5654989">Natan Obed</a> and artists Tanya Tagaq and Susan Aglukark.</p>
<h2>TRC head called for change</h2>
<p>Sen. Murray Sinclair has been suggesting the need for a name change since he released the Calls to Action from his Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2015. The commission listed <a href="http://trc.ca/assets/pdf/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf">several ways sports could lead to reconciliation</a>, including the promotion of anti-racism awareness in sports. It only took five years for Edmonton to pay attention.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1283460989283753984"}"></div></p>
<p>As an advocate for a name change, it’s been disturbing that the general public doesn’t understand the harm created by the E-word. They want to stay loyal to a team name instead of considering the opinions and feelings of the Inuit, the smallest Indigenous Canadian group <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/89-653-x/89-653-x2019003-eng.htm">that have the highest amounts of disparity</a>.</p>
<p>Ignoring those feelings suggests it’s OK that Inuit Canadians live their lives in poverty, that there <a href="https://lop.parl.ca/sites/PublicWebsite/default/en_CA/ResearchPublications/201918E">remains food insecurity in the Canadian North</a> based on the price of food alone and that most Inuit parents <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.3402%2Fijch.v72i0.20324">eat once a day so that their children can eat three times in a day</a>. It’s OK that <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/pangnirtung-crisis-crime-suicide-prevention-1.4666470">teen suicide and drug and alcohol abuse is rampant</a> and yet there are a lack of treatment centres in northern communities.</p>
<h2>The word evokes stereotypes</h2>
<p>The debate about the team name also revealed that most non-Indigenous Canadians don’t want to examine their own racism. They don’t want to think about what that E-word does to future generations of Inuit youth and small children. They don’t want to think about what the E-word makes people think of — that cute little guy in a fur-ringed parka, standing next to a seal breathing hole with a harpoon in his hand.</p>
<p>Most of Canada doesn’t want to think about how that E-word leaves Inuit Canadians in the time of long ago, as if we are not a progressive peoples who get out of bed and go to work as doctors and lawyers, nurses and teachers and who work towards a much better future for our children and the future generations that will come after us.</p>
<p>But now, at the end of a very long and sometimes hurtful campaign, I would like to thank the stakeholders and <a href="https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/a-second-major-sponsor-of-edmonton-s-cfl-club-calls-for-team-name-change-1.5026881">sponsors of the Edmonton team for their good conscience</a> and acting on what they felt was right.</p>
<p>At the end of it all, all that matters to me is that Joel, Isaac, Ellie, Mack and Aurora will never have that word spoken to them. They are my heart. They drive my work, and I will always speak for them and all Inuit children. Ma’na. Thank you.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/143170/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Norma Dunning does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>First the Washington Redskins. And now the Edmonton Eskimos. It’s about time professional sports franchises recognized the harm that comes from racist team names.Norma Dunning, Professor, University of AlbertaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1426182020-07-14T13:11:55Z2020-07-14T13:11:55ZWashington Redskins finally agree: Dismantling racist team mascots is long overdue<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347169/original/file-20200713-42-27wshj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C34%2C3830%2C3017&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Indigenous activists have long called on teams to change names and mascots that perpetuate negative stereotypes and fail to respect painful histories. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/joeglo/48794038173/">(flickr/Joe Glorioso)</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Washington Redskins, facing increased public and financial pressure, have finally announced <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/29453631/source-redskins-announce-nickname-changed">they will change their team nickname</a>. This decision puts an end to almost 30 years of active protest and litigation against the National Football League franchise.</p>
<p>Following the brutal killing of George Floyd <a href="https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2020/05/29/derek-chauvin-arrested-george-floyd-death-minneapolis-police-officer/">by police in Minneapolis</a> on May 25, <a href="https://blacklivesmatter.com/rest-in-power-beautiful/">the Black Lives Matter movement effectively mobilized the world to stand united against racialized acts of violence.</a> </p>
<p>The idea of sports teams changing their racist logos, names or brands became part of the campaign against systemic racism, though it is not new. Since 1969, <a href="https://www.thewrap.com/sports-teams-dumped-racist-names-mascots-indians-redskins/">14 North American sports teams have removed their names or logos that were outwardly racist towards First Nations and Native Americans.</a></p>
<h2>The Redskins</h2>
<p>In 2014, in the Amanda Blackhorse vs. Pro Football Inc. case, the United States Patent and Trademark Office <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/19/sports/football/us-patent-office-cancels-redskins-trademark-registration.html?_r=0">ruled that the Washington NFL team’s name was disparaging to Indigenous Peoples</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.tvo.org/video/amanda-blackhorse-seeing-redskins">At the time, Amanda Blackhorse was interviewed by journalist Steve Paikin on <em>The Agenda</em></a>. She said the Washington Redskins mascot name is an outwardly racist, offensive and disparaging slur. </p>
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<p>Four years later, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of allowing the team to use the name. <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2018/01/18/appeals-court-vacates-decisions-canceled-redskins-trademark-registrations/1046758001/">Blackhorse told <em>USA Today</em></a>:</p>
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<p>“We said the term ‘Redskins’ is disparaging and the courts agreed with us … it’s just that now the Supreme Court says it’s OK to register a disparaging term.”</p>
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<p>The name reinforces racist stereotypes targeting Navajo Indians as “Redskins.” </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/us-supreme-court-decision-risks-deluge-of-racist-and-offensive-trademarks-79791">US Supreme Court decision risks deluge of racist and offensive trademarks</a>
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<p>The Redskin controversy dates back to 1775 when a document called the <a href="http://archive.abbemuseum.org/research/wabanaki/timeline/proclamation.html">Phips Proclamation</a> named after Spencer Phips, a British politician and then Lieutenant Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Province, placed a bounty on the heads of Penobscot Indians, a tribe now based in Maine. A “Redskin” was said to be <a href="https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a29445/true-redskins-meaning/">a scalped head of a Native American, sold, like a pelt, for cash</a>. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">An APTN story on changing the name of Washington’s NFL team.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Similarly, up until 2019, the Cleveland Indians major league baseball team used a cartoon character called Chief Wahoo. Wahoo was depicted as a Redskin, who is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/29/sports/baseball/cleveland-indians-chief-wahoo-logo.html">often ridiculed in ways that are offensive to Native Americans</a>.</p>
<h2>The problem with opinion polls</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://bc.ctvnews.ca/canada-split-on-changing-potentially-racist-team-names-survey-1.4463664?cache=yes">2019 poll conducted by Angus Reid</a> said that more than half of Canadians believe sports franchises that use Indigenous naming and imagery should not have to change.</p>
<p>However, the problem with these polls is the silencing of Indigenous voices. It’s like taking a general survey about the correct pronunciation of an Indigenous place name in Cree when all Canadians predominantly speak English and French. It makes no sense. What we need are fluent Cree speakers who can help us learn the correct pronunciation.</p>
<p>The word mascot originates from the French, <em>mascotte</em>, which means my lucky charm. <a href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/mascot">Mascot also has several derivatives,</a> including <em>maso</em>, meaning witch or sorceress; <em>mascoto</em>, meaning spell or bewitchment. It has been associated with inanimate objects that were commonly seen as either a lock of hair, a figurehead on a sailing ship or good luck animals used to represent one’s group identity. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347176/original/file-20200713-50-14fdw0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347176/original/file-20200713-50-14fdw0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347176/original/file-20200713-50-14fdw0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347176/original/file-20200713-50-14fdw0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347176/original/file-20200713-50-14fdw0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347176/original/file-20200713-50-14fdw0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347176/original/file-20200713-50-14fdw0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">There have also been calls for the Edmonton Eskimos to change its name.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/morpheus_uk/627239091/in/photostream/">(Dean Smith/flickr)</a></span>
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<p>In modern sport, mascots are used for good luck. But they are also used to build merchandising revenue, meet monetary targets and increase the fan base. Team mascots often take the form of a logo, person, live animal, a costumed character or other inanimate objects. </p>
<p>But what happens when <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/15-racist-brand-mascots-and-logos-2014-6">team mascots are used to misrepresent or misappropriate groups of people</a> who then feel constantly ridiculed, violated and delegitimized as human beings because of the way team mascots are paraded, adorned and validated?</p>
<p>This might include outwardly racist slurs, misappropriation of images related to First Nations/Native Americans, a public mocking of First Nations/Native Americans regalia, or other misconstrued terms to further dehumanize a group of people.</p>
<h2>Resistance to change</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.ncai.org/resources/ncai_publications/ending-the-legacy-of-racism-in-sports-the-era-of-harmful-indian-sports-mascots">The National Congress of Indians (NCAI)</a> published a database in 2013 which found more than 2,000 secondary schools with mascots that reference Native American culture, compared to around 3,000 from 50 years ago. Since the 1960s, the NCAI has been a powerful advocate for spearheading laws and regulations that Native logos need to end everywhere.</p>
<p>Racially constructed names pertaining to the Braves, Chiefs, Redskins, Indians, Blackhawks and Seminoles remain a point of contention among many Indigenous Peoples living in Canada. </p>
<p>Earlier this year, the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League decided against changing their name — but then said in July it was reassessing the name once again. The team said its original decision was based on the premise that <a href="https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/no-name-change-for-the-edmonton-eskimos-after-consultation-with-northern-communities-1.4812160">it had consulted with the Inuit community</a> who stand by the name “Eskimos.” </p>
<p>But the Inuit are not Eskimos, and according to fluent speaking Inuit members, <a href="https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/boston-pizza-edmonton-eskimos-name">Eskimos means “meat eater,” not Inuit</a>. </p>
<p>But elsewhere, other teams are changing racist names. The amateur Saanich Junior B “Braves” hockey team on Vancouver Island <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7159686/bc-hockey-team-name-change/">recently decided to change its name out of respect for First Nations Peoples</a>.</p>
<h2>Mana-munching is not our way</h2>
<p>Article 31 of the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/canada-adopting-implementing-un-rights-declaration-1.3575272">UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples</a> states that Indigenous Peoples have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions.</p>
<p>Anything less diminishes the <em>mana</em> of a people.</p>
<p><em>Mana</em> is a word well known and used among many Indigenous Peoples of the Pacific and North America. In Hawaii and New Zealand, for example, <em>mana</em> means <a href="http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p343683/pdf/ch05.pdf">the spiritual energy, healing power or essence a person carries with them from one generation to the next</a>. To disrespect, demean or desecrate a person’s mana in any way is to diminish who they are, and in doing so to dishonour all they are and can be – this is not our way.</p>
<p>A more respectful approach to enhancing the mana of a person, as articulated by performer and researcher <a href="https://teara.govt.nz/en/te-ao-marama-the-natural-world/page-5">Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal</a>, is the idea that we should all work together to hold each other up so that a person can realize their full potential. </p>
<p>To <em>mana-munch</em> a person’s spirit through disparaging, racist and misappropriated mascots and branding is nothing short of dehumanizing the legacy of the living, their ancestors and those yet to be born. It is an intergenerational practice Indigenous Peoples know only too well and is an integral part of our identity and who we are as human beings.</p>
<p>Mascots that enhance the mana of all people rather than diminish them is the preferred teaching because it impacts every aspect of our society or world. In this era of <a href="http://trc.ca/assets/pdf/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf">Truth and Reconciliation, we can work together to reconcile our differences, repair the past and heal</a>. Team mascots have a role and responsibility to respect the living and build positive relationships that can enhance the spirit of sports we all love and enjoy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142618/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Whitinui receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council SSHRC</span></em></p>NFL teams like the Washington Redskins changing names that demean First Nations and Native Americans is a long overdue step in the right direction.Paul Whitinui, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, School of Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education, University of VictoriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/911982018-02-07T11:28:59Z2018-02-07T11:28:59ZThe Cleveland Indians’ Chief Wahoo isn’t going away anytime soon<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204897/original/file-20180205-14067-dadfu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Though Chief Wahoo won't appear on uniforms, there's no reason to think that the mascot won't endure on signs, clothing and memorabilia. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/apardavila/29905250240/in/photolist-V7gu2b-jAAsm-Bv6ksE-oPTsuR-4ZVVhs-8C5JRN-p77k5H-oPTh4w-3bTCCS-oPTiSm-9YdwAo-fJT6De-57RHY3-oQLDfc-5SpRFJ-FchEJ-SWC5tJ-dSRXZD-dSRYdz-dSRY9p-dSRYaZ-dSXyqC-oPTj79-mN1ktY-8soyZj-dSRY48-dSRYca-byoaqv-dSRXYk-dSRY8z-dSXyvJ-dSXytf-dSXyuE-4pDnsz-f89NTk-dSXyoC-f89NBX-f89Nzz-2VCrJY-MDBKZn-MyCe1L-enRN4L-4mDfR5-FELNq">Arturo Pardavila III</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>At the end of January, the Cleveland Indians <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/29/sports/baseball/cleveland-indians-chief-wahoo-logo.html">announced</a> that their mascot, Chief Wahoo, will no longer appear on players’ jerseys beginning with the 2019 Major League Baseball season.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/clevelands-chief-wahoo-why-the-most-offensive-image-in-sports-has-yet-to-die/2016/08/09/245156c6-58e6-11e6-9aee-8075993d73a2_story.html?utm_term=.c2e79abc7cd0">Since the 1970s</a>, activists have opposed the mascot, arguing it is offensive, discriminatory and harmful to Native Americans. <a href="http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2018/01/cleveland_indians_58.html">Pending litigation</a> against MLB and the Cleveland Indians over the discriminatory nature of the logo likely created additional pressure.</p>
<p>Many – including <a href="http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/01/even_those_whove_loved_chief_w.html">some Cleveland fans</a> – heralded the decision as a long overdue. But other Cleveland fans were upset with the decision. They don’t see Wahoo as a racist symbol; instead, they associate it with their communities and childhoods. </p>
<p>For the past 13 years, I’ve been studying Native American cultural and legal disputes. But in recent years, I’ve been particularly interested in the rhetoric used by defenders of these Native American sports mascots. </p>
<p>While many scholars are quick to note a Native American mascot’s racist and colonial underpinnings, not enough attention is given to the fans and defenders’ attachment to these symbols. To them, it has nothing to do with the appropriation of Native American culture. </p>
<p>Instead, it’s about community, identity and nostalgia. And it’s for these reasons that Chief Wahoo will continue to be embraced by the team’s fans for years to come.</p>
<h2>The rebirth of a city and its baseball team</h2>
<p>From 1960 to the late 1980s, few fans paid attention to the Cleveland and its mascot. </p>
<p>They fielded only a handful of winning teams, and the team had no playoff appearances <a href="http://www.espn.com/mlb/history/teams/_/team/cle">between 1954 and 1995</a>. Off the field, <a href="http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/cle/history/cle_history_overview.jsp?story=4">financial problems and frequent ownership changes</a> only compounded the team’s problems. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204925/original/file-20180205-14078-hftgit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204925/original/file-20180205-14078-hftgit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204925/original/file-20180205-14078-hftgit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204925/original/file-20180205-14078-hftgit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204925/original/file-20180205-14078-hftgit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204925/original/file-20180205-14078-hftgit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204925/original/file-20180205-14078-hftgit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204925/original/file-20180205-14078-hftgit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A 28-foot tall Chief Wahoo sign that used to be perched above Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium is now displayed at the Western Reserve Historical Society.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ralpe/9674257275/in/photolist-V7gu2b-jAAsm-Bv6ksE-4ZVVhs-8C5JRN-p77k5H-oPTh4w-3bTCCS-oPTiSm-fJT6De-mN1ktY-57RHY3-oQLDfc-5SpRFJ-FchEJ-8soyZj-SWC5tJ-dSRXZD-dSRYdz-dSRY9p-dSRYaZ-dSXyqC-dSRY48-dSRYca-byoaqv">Ralf Peter Reimann</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When he purchased the team in 1986, real estate developer Richard Jacobs wanted to revitalize the team by “<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2016/10/why_the_protests_against_chief_wahoo_never_work.html">embracing Indians history</a>” and constructing a new stadium. Both involved the prominent use of Chief Wahoo. For example, after Jacobs purchased the team, Wahoo <a href="http://derfcity.blogspot.com/2014/04/de-chiefing-wahoo-part-2.html">replaced</a> the block letter “C” on the players’ caps. </p>
<p>In the 1990s, downtown Cleveland experienced an economic revitalization, while the Indians put together a string of playoff runs. <a href="http://ifollosports.com/mlb/progressive-field-reinvented-both-indians-and-downtown-cleveland">As the team and city’s fates improved</a>, the identity of the city and team became intertwined. </p>
<p>Professor of sports management Ellen Staurowsky <a href="http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9780803277984/">has specifically written about</a> the close relationship between the Cleveland Indians and the city’s identity – one that’s “overpoweringly revealed on opening day in Cleveland, when people throughout the city literally wear their loyalties on their sleeves.” </p>
<p>Strident defenders of the logo echo this sentiment. For example, a fan named Pedro Rodriquez <a href="https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2014/04/04/its-not-racist-and-other-responses-to-wahoo-protesters-at-home-opener">told Cleveland Scene</a> in 2014 that the mascot is about “Cleveland pride” and nothing else.</p>
<h2>It’s about more than sports</h2>
<p>The University of Queensland’s John Nauright <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/101269029603100104">has written extensively</a> about how sports have long operated as “one of the most significant shapers of collective or group identity in the contemporary world.”</p>
<p>While the link between a team and community’s identity might explain some of the mascot’s defense, there’s also an emotional intensity attached to Chief Wahoo. </p>
<p>During the 2016 playoffs, a middle-aged woman, on the verge of tears, <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2016/10/why_the_protests_against_chief_wahoo_never_work.html">told protesters</a> that “Chief Wahoo is my beloved man.” On opening day in 2017, anti-Wahoo demonstrators <a href="http://www.cleveland.com/naymik/index.ssf/2017/04/watch_indians_fans_go_off_on_c.html">were greeted with</a> profanity and obscene gestures.</p>
<p>What explains this fervent defense of the mascot – and the rage felt toward those opposed to the logo? After all, isn’t it just sports? </p>
<p>Research demonstrates that sports – particularly professional baseball – <a href="http://acrwebsite.org/volumes/11333/volumes/ap04/AP-04">are connected to nostalgic feelings for the past</a>. Pioneering sports marketer (and former Cleveland Indians owner) Bill Veeck <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=MYQdMQAACAAJ&dq=the+hustler's+handbook&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiS2563n4_ZAhWW3oMKHRL2A-gQ6AEIKjAA">wrote</a> that baseball should be marketed in a way that creates vivid and lasting memories, evoking feelings that make fans want to return each season. For kids going to their first baseball game, there’s probably no better way to brand the team than with a grinning cartoon character that mimics the ones they see on TV.</p>
<p>Sure enough, when many fans talk about their feelings toward Chief Wahoo, they’ll associate the team and its mascot with happy childhood memories. </p>
<p>Even a critic of Chief Wahoo, Nick Galaida, admits as much: “Chief Wahoo is more than a team logo,” <a href="http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/01/even_those_whove_loved_chief_w.html">he wrote in 2017</a>. “[It] represents countless summer hours spent with my friends and family eating hot dogs and cheering on our team.”</p>
<p>These feelings probably <a href="http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/university-of-nebraska-press/9780803278646/">allow fans to look past</a> any sort of latent racism; to them, the image is connected to an innocent place – childhood – and is immune from bad intentions. </p>
<h2>Changing the parameters of the debate</h2>
<p>In the national debate about Native American mascots, it’s important to understand how fans feel about their mascots. </p>
<p>For many, elimination of the mascot is an attack on their personal identities, worldviews and histories. As cultural anthropologist C. Richard King <a href="http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/university-of-nebraska-press/9780803278646/">notes</a>, “For many fans change brings with it certain violence. And while largely effective, change would strike at the heart of who they are and what makes the world good.”</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204927/original/file-20180205-14078-cwrp0i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204927/original/file-20180205-14078-cwrp0i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204927/original/file-20180205-14078-cwrp0i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204927/original/file-20180205-14078-cwrp0i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204927/original/file-20180205-14078-cwrp0i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=591&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204927/original/file-20180205-14078-cwrp0i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=591&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204927/original/file-20180205-14078-cwrp0i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=591&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A fan argues with a protester before a Cleveland Indians game.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Indians-Chief-Wahoo-Dropped-Baseball/796930ef7d5f4826bcbaddc5777b9ee2/14/0">AP Photo/Mark Duncan</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So the problem isn’t just the presence of a symbol that many find offensive. It’s the emotional connection that fans feel toward the symbol. In her book “<a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/the-promise-of-happiness">The Promise of Happiness</a>,” scholar Sara Ahmed argues that happiness isn’t located in the image of Wahoo. Instead, the way Wahoo is talked about – and debated, and threatened – makes fans <em>think</em> that a symbol like Chief Wahoo is associated with better times. </p>
<p>So how should all of this inform the debate over team mascots?</p>
<p>Rather than simply focusing on removing the image and calling it “racist,” there could ideally be more discussion about some of the problems Native American mascots pose. (For example, <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-research-shows-how-native-american-mascots-reinforce-stereotypes-63861">recent research</a> has detailed how they reinforce stereotypes.) At the same time, those who want to get rid of Wahoo should also acknowledge the deep emotions fans feel toward the mascot.</p>
<p>For now, it doesn’t look as if the Indians’ decision to remove the mascot from its uniforms will succeed in relegating it to the annals of history. The agreement between the team and the league leave the team’s name unchanged; it also permits the sale of Wahoo-themed merchandise at games and on the team’s website. Fans won’t be prohibited from wearing the logo at games.</p>
<p>Chief Wahoo will remain central to the identity of the team and its devoted fans.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91198/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kelly Michael Young does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Research on the relationship between mascots and fandom shows just how tricky it is to truly eradicate a mascot from a region’s collective identity.Kelly Michael Young, Associate Professor of Communication, Wayne State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/638612016-09-13T00:40:53Z2016-09-13T00:40:53ZNew research shows how Native American mascots reinforce stereotypes<p>For years, many have said that sports teams with Native American mascots – the Cleveland Indians, Chicago Blackhawks and Florida State Seminoles, to name a few – perpetuate stereotypes against Native people. Others have <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/jeb-bush-washington-redskins-team-dont-change/story?id=34136672">argued</a> that these mascots are harmless; if anything, they symbolize reverence and respect, while honoring the history of Native Americans. </p>
<p>At the epicenter of the debate have been the Washington Redskins, a football team <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dc-sports-bog/wp/2016/07/13/redskins-worth-2-85-billion-eighth-overall-in-the-world-third-highest-in-nfl/">worth nearly US$3 billion</a>. But as the Redskins kicked off their season on Sept. 12, there was hardly a mention of the name controversy that has, in recent years, elicited <a href="http://religionnews.com/2015/06/29/united-church-christ-boycott-washington-redskins/">boycotts</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/judge-upholds-cancellation-of-redskins-trademarks-in-a-legal-and-symbolic-setback-for-team/2015/07/08/5a65424e-1e6e-11e5-aeb9-a411a84c9d55_story.html">lawsuits</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/in-minnesota-native-americans-march-rally-to-protest-redskins-name/2014/11/02/fc38b8d0-6299-11e4-836c-83bc4f26eb67_story.html">protests</a>. </p>
<p>Perhaps it’s due to the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/new-poll-finds-9-in-10-native-americans-arent-offended-by-redskins-name/2016/05/18/3ea11cfa-161a-11e6-924d-838753295f9a_story.html">Washington Post survey</a> from last spring finding that 90 percent of the Native Americans polled weren’t offended by the Redskins name. Since then, defenders of the name – including team owner Daniel Snyder – have considered the controversy over and done with. The “sticks and stones” argument suggested by the poll makes complete sense from a self-preservation standpoint; after all, Native Americans have had to persevere through worse offenses than mascots. </p>
<p>But that stance ignores the dangerous possibility that such ethnic names and imagery affect how <em>other people</em> view Native Americans – possibly in subtle and damaging ways.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-consumer-psychology/forthcoming-articles/activating-stereotypes-with-brand-imagery-the-role-of-viewer">Our research</a> has shown that incidental exposure to Native American sports mascots can reinforce stereotypes in people. Perhaps more disturbingly, people aren’t even aware that this subtle reinforcement is taking place. </p>
<h2>How a name strengthens a bias</h2>
<p>In our lab, we showed participants an unfamiliar mascot; some were shown a Native American image, while others were shown an image of an animal. We then measured how strongly all participants associated Native Americans with “warlike,” a stereotype leveraged by many sports teams that use Native mascots (“Braves,” “Warriors”). When asked directly, participants, regardless of the mascot they saw, reported no differences in how warlike they thought Native Americans were. </p>
<p>But when participants completed an indirect – or <a href="http://faculty.washington.edu/agg/pdf/Gwald_McGh_Schw_JPSP_1998.OCR.pdf">implicit</a> – stereotype measure, those who’d viewed the Native American mascot were more likely to associate warlike qualities with Native Americans.</p>
<p>This difference in results represents something called <a href="http://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1250&context=californialawreview">implicit bias</a>, which often takes place when asking people about socially sensitive subjects such as race or gender. Our participants were either unwilling to admit or unaware of the mascot’s influence on their views of Native Americans; their bias was implicit, either hidden or incognizant.</p>
<p>Implicit bias can influence decisions ranging from <a href="http://www.nber.org/papers/w9873">hiring practices</a> to <a href="http://perception.org/app/uploads/2014/11/Implicit-Bias-in-the-Courtroom.pdf">jury preferences</a> and <a href="http://perception.org/app/uploads/2014/11/Implicit-Bias-in-the-Courtroom.pdf">criminal sentencing</a>. And it’s all the more pernicious because the people making these biased decisions are unlikely to be aware that they’re doing so.</p>
<p>Interestingly, the liberal participants in our studies were more affected by Native American mascots than were their conservative peers. </p>
<p>Because liberals often <a href="http://blogs.mprnews.org/newscut/2012/10/poll_majority_of_americans_are/">think of themselves</a> as being less susceptible to racial bias, this might seem counterintuitive. But liberals <a href="http://www-bcf.usc.edu/%7Ejessegra/papers/GrahamHaidtNosek.2009.Moral%20foundations%20of%20liberals%20and%20conservatives.JPSP.pdf">also have been shown</a> to have more malleable worldviews and be more open to new information. And in our study, we found a stereotypical mascot could significantly degrade liberals’ attitudes toward Native Americans.</p>
<h2>Some mascots more damaging than others</h2>
<p>These lab results prompted us to try to replicate our findings in a real world setting. If the media market you live in determines how often you’re exposed to a Native American sports mascot, we would expect to see differences in attitudes toward Native Americans between people who live in cities with Native American-themed sports franchises and people who don’t. Indeed, our results showed that people living in cities with Native American mascots were more likely to think of Native Americans as warlike. </p>
<p>We decided to focus on the Cleveland and Atlanta media markets because the Native American mascots of their baseball teams – the Indians and the Braves – were considered the most and least offensive examples, respectively, according to a pre-experiment survey. (Detroit, home of the Tigers, and Miami, which houses the Marlins, were used as control cities.) </p>
<p>Using the same implicit measures as our earlier study, residents of Cleveland were more likely to associate Native Americans with warlike traits than residents of Atlanta, Detroit and Miami. </p>
<p>In other words, the more offensive the mascot, the greater the effect. </p>
<p>And just like in our lab, liberal participants were particularly sensitive to the influence of the Native American mascot. The study represents perhaps the first real-world demonstration of the adverse effects of incidental exposure to Native American sports mascots in the general population. </p>
<h2>The perils of stereotypes</h2>
<p>Some might wonder what the problem is with being seen as warlike. After all, isn’t that associated with bravery and toughness? </p>
<p>But studies have shown how stereotypes of any kind – even positive ones – carry consequences. They can lead to <a href="http://depts.washington.edu/sibl/Publications/Cheryan%20&%20Bodenhausen%20(2000).pdf">performance anxiety</a>, as <a href="http://faculty.washington.edu/scheryan/">Sapna Cheryan</a> and her colleagues found when looking at stereotypes concerning Asian Americans’ math ability. Subsequent studies have shown how experiencing a positive stereotype can make people expect <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B55GW-I12cA-WTVCanlvckVwOEU/view">future prejudicial treatment</a>.</p>
<p>Despite these findings, <a href="http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/11313245/daniel-snyder-redskins-term-honor-respect">defenders of Native American mascots</a> continue to argue that the mascots honor Native Americans and improve perceptions of Native people. </p>
<p>Furthermore, stereotypical representations of minority groups aren’t just relegated to Native American team mascots.</p>
<p>Many prominent brands, such as Aunt Jemimah, Uncle Ben’s and Land-O-Lakes Butter, actively promote certain stereotypes. And as our study showed, these representations can change how we think about the actual members of those groups – often without us even knowing it. </p>
<p>So when it comes to the Washington Redskins – despite the results of the spring poll – the evidence is clear: The presence of the name subconsciously causes people to stereotype Native Americans. Even President Obama <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/president-obama-says-id-think-about-changing-name-of-washington-redskins/2013/10/05/e170b914-2b70-11e3-8ade-a1f23cda135e_story.html">has weighed in</a>, recommending a new name. </p>
<p>He’s right. It’s high time for change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63861/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justin Angle does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If your city has a team with a Native American mascot, you’re more likely to hold stereotypical views of Native people.Justin Angle, Assistant Professor of Marketing, University of MontanaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/347362014-11-28T14:39:44Z2014-11-28T14:39:44ZPokémon-style Rio 2016 mascots will do nothing to help Brazilian wildlife<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65721/original/image-20141127-21951-yx95q3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Who knew Olympics came in eggs?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmGuf-qWmoA#t=46">Rio 2016</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://www.rio2016.com/mascots/#!home">The mascots</a> for the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics and Paralympics have been announced. The yellow chap above is the Olympic mascot, apparently an amalgam of <a href="http://www.rio2016.com/mascots/#!olympic-mascot">all Brazilian animals</a>, which surprisingly only includes monkeys, cats and birds. The green and blue fellow, the Paralympic mascot, is supposed to represent all of Brazil’s plant species.</p>
<p>I’m not using their names as they don’t have them yet – the mascots are waiting for the results of a public competition. The name choices on offer are not great. Two are from Brazilian slang meaning great (Oba and Eba), two are from a native language and have meanings related to dance (Tiba Tuque and Esquidim) and the final two choices are after two of the founders of bossa nova music (Tom and Vincius). It’s a real shame that neither of the mascots has the chance of being given a female name.</p>
<p>Over the past year Brazilian conservationists have been lobbying for various different species to be the Olympic mascot. Of course this is motivated by the financial funds likely to be directed towards the winner. Proposed species included primates (muriquis and golden lion tamarins), cats (ocelot) and birds (hummingbirds). All of these would be appropriate and worthy choices.</p>
<p>The golden lion tamarin is one of the true symbols of conservation biology – I learnt about its reintroduction back into the wild as an undergraduate student more than 25 year ago. It is also a natural <em>Carioca</em>: a species that once lived within the boundaries of Rio de Janeiro. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65727/original/image-20141127-4225-1g0l2i2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65727/original/image-20141127-4225-1g0l2i2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65727/original/image-20141127-4225-1g0l2i2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65727/original/image-20141127-4225-1g0l2i2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65727/original/image-20141127-4225-1g0l2i2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65727/original/image-20141127-4225-1g0l2i2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65727/original/image-20141127-4225-1g0l2i2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65727/original/image-20141127-4225-1g0l2i2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Muriqui: coulda been a contender.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/peterschoen/5539581122">Peter Schoen</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>The muriqui, while not a <em>Caricoa</em>, can be found in the mountains which form a backdrop to the city. Ocelots are medium sized cats, which once lived in present-day Rio. And hummingbirds are also <em>Cariocas</em>. All species are threatened with extinction in the region.</p>
<h2>One of the world’s great wildlife hotspots</h2>
<p>When you talk about Brazilian wildlife most people think of the Amazon. It may therefore come as a surprise to find out that the Amazon basin is not actually considered a true <a href="http://www.conservation.org/How/Pages/Hotspots.aspx">biodiversity hotspot</a>. These hotspots, 35 in total around the world, are defined by the large number of species they contain and the high degree of threat from human activities. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65844/original/image-20141128-20591-1s00opf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65844/original/image-20141128-20591-1s00opf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=744&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65844/original/image-20141128-20591-1s00opf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=744&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65844/original/image-20141128-20591-1s00opf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=744&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65844/original/image-20141128-20591-1s00opf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=935&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65844/original/image-20141128-20591-1s00opf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=935&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65844/original/image-20141128-20591-1s00opf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=935&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ocelot: mascot reject.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/shannonkringen/3602395164/in/photolist-6ukdzs-7fY84Y-3bi7sC-abc3Fa-3bd8Yn-7j8h2D-3bdmd8-eEJidw-9eL5Ex-5zdv9Y-e6r9ZX-dAqvKT-kjPzyT-coDfKh-bnzzPY-oXsGg-bmQhzc-adkmXZ-cS1gZY-23Ukky-8toa1h-8toahY-7NYEY2-aeqKf6-6yg247-6yg2s7-aeqKfi-7P3HMb-c9aQwJ-8BwaRm-JUsYB-JUi3u-abZiXX-7U5p8y-cFnjXm-abZj2k-6CXPRb-4kP8pX-a2HHue-bnzqDo-atyQJJ-5AcY7r-bxGe39-ev7aUA-dyg7SD-dyg8M8-dymAYE-dyg7Ar-dyg8ii-dymBq1">Shannon Kringen</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Brazil has two: the Cerrado (savannahs) and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-save-brazils-atlantic-forest-on-a-shoe-string-31024">the Atlantic forest</a>. The latter extends along much of Brazil’s south-eastern coast and once covered the whole of the city of Rio de Janeiro. It is ranked the <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v403/n6772/full/403853a0.html">fourth most important</a> biodiversity hotspot in the world, but it is being chopped down faster than ever.</p>
<p>Despite conservation biologists having their own preference for the mascot, everyone agreed these games are an opportunity to highlight the importance of the Atlantic forest to the world. Biologists were thus dismayed to see two mascots who appear uncannily like Pokémon characters. This has caused <a href="http://vejasp.abril.com.br/blogs/pop/2014/11/24/piada-mascotes-olimpiadas-rio-2016/">some derision</a> among Brazil’s conservationists.</p>
<p>For the football World Cup held in Brazil earlier this year the organisers went with Fuleco, a three-banded armadillo – cuddly but endangered. However they didn’t back things up with sufficient conservation support or even make it too clear <a href="https://theconversation.com/brazil-and-fifa-have-failed-to-protect-their-world-cup-mascot-27603">what Fuleco was supposed to represent</a>.</p>
<p>I had hoped that the Rio Olympics would not make the same mistakes, and it seems they haven’t. However they appear to have avoided this simply by inventing cartoon characters. If a mascot is invented – if there is no “real animal” to preserve – then no-one can complain about lack of support for its conservation. To me this odd hybrid-creature smacks of trying to appease the biologists lobbying for real species. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65845/original/image-20141128-20568-1der5of.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65845/original/image-20141128-20568-1der5of.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65845/original/image-20141128-20568-1der5of.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65845/original/image-20141128-20568-1der5of.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65845/original/image-20141128-20568-1der5of.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65845/original/image-20141128-20568-1der5of.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65845/original/image-20141128-20568-1der5of.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Inspiration?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/antoniotajuelo/14763303431">Antonio Tajuelo</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It should be pointed out that while Pokémon was popular with children its premise as a game was about capturing, collecting and training wild creatures. Given that <a href="http://www.rense.com/general16/38millionanimals.htm">animal trafficking</a> is a major problem in Brazil, the Pokémon-like mascots are particularly inappropriate.</p>
<p>As a father of two small children whose life is plagued by cartoons on the TV I understand the need for these mascots to appeal to kids. But actually the real species proposed were all very cute. What I object to more is the unashamed anthropomorphising of the mascots and giving them super powers – the ability to stretch. Children’s TV series such as Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Go were perfectly entertaining and educational without the lead characters needing to have abilities of the Fantastic Four.</p>
<p>I hope that some of the lessons from Fuleco have been learnt, and that the organisers of the Rio Olympics will grasp the opportunity to promote the plight of the Atlantic Forest and its amazing wildlife.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/34736/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert John Young does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The mascots for the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics and Paralympics have been announced. The yellow chap above is the Olympic mascot, apparently an amalgam of all Brazilian animals, which surprisingly only…Robert John Young, Professor of Wildlife Conservation, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/294352014-07-29T16:51:55Z2014-07-29T16:51:55ZSpiky Clyde is no wallflower, but has he got staying power to help define games’ legacy?<p>He may have entered your life abruptly over the past few days. With his purple mohican, jagged green hands and the sort of red, yellow and blue get-up that would trouble most prospective in-laws, Clyde the thistle is anything but a wallflower. </p>
<p>The Glasgow Commonwealth Games mascot was designed by 12-year-old Beth Gilmour from Cumbernauld and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-19651062">selected from over 4000 other applicants</a>. </p>
<p>The difficulty in designing a good mascot lies in creating a character that both resonates with the event and represents the image that the host city wishes to convey to its global audience. So the prickly question facing Clyde the thistle is, how effective is this part-man, part-plant? </p>
<p>The use of brand mascots is widespread across retail and commerce. They are adopted as a means of enhancing the brand of events. Well designed mascots can visually communicate a complex set of values, and elicit an emotional response across a wide population. They are also capable of gaining the attention of people who may not have otherwise been interested, and they have the advantage of being manipulable spokespersons. </p>
<p>A basic analysis of Clyde the thistle in terms of the characteristics considered important in semiotics, which is the science of signs, reveals a number of interesting points. Clyde has a strong identification with the games and with its host city. He signifies the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games by having the logo emblazoned on his chest. Garbed in modern sports kit and trainers, he is clearly ready to partake in physical activity. He relates to the city of Glasgow by adopting the name Clyde, its famous river. He evokes the host nation by wearing a vest fashioned from the St Andrews Cross, and by taking the form of a thistle, Scotland’s national flower. </p>
<p>Using a human-like thistle represents something of a risk, though. Choosing such a “not so ordinary” image could mean audiences find it unrecognisable and difficult to relate to, which would reduce its effectiveness and attractiveness. The best example of this at a mega event was Izzy, the much-derided amorphous design for the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games whose appearance changed during the event to try to increase his appeal – without much success, it must be said. </p>
<p>The adoption of Clyde the thistle happens to be the first time the official mascot for the Commonwealth Games has not been an animal, the trend having started with a bear called Keyano at the 1978 games in Edmonton, Canada. The last Commonwealth Games saw Shera the tiger in Delhi 2010. The most recent two occasions when the games took place in the UK saw the adoption of Kit the Kat (Manchester 2002) and Mac the Scottie dog (Edinburgh 1986).</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54295/original/6n9knzbx-1405695547.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54295/original/6n9knzbx-1405695547.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=894&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54295/original/6n9knzbx-1405695547.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=894&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54295/original/6n9knzbx-1405695547.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=894&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54295/original/6n9knzbx-1405695547.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1124&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54295/original/6n9knzbx-1405695547.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1124&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54295/original/6n9knzbx-1405695547.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1124&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Misha the bear, practising his friendly face.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kalak/3263030081/sizes/s/">Timo Kirkkala/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On a positive note, the decision to give Clyde the thistle a face is a strength. Clyde has big eyes, a cheeky smile and a youthful haircut, making him somewhat childlike and appealing across many cultures. Historically, the most famous mega event mascots all have faces, like Misha the bear from the Moscow 1980 Olympic Games. </p>
<p>The use of a face allows a mascot to transfer emotion easily and engage quickly with an audience, an aspect thought to be pivotal for successful brand marketing, This was a point that was lost on the designers of Wenlock and Mandeville, the mascots for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Clyde also looks straight at the viewer, representing an openness to engage and build relationships with others. This gaze is largely horizontal also confirms an equality of power and status.</p>
<p>So overall, from the perspective of those of us who deal in semiotics – the science of signs – Clyde the thistle appears largely to be an effective mascot. </p>
<p>Overall, from a semiotic perspective, Clyde the Thistle appears to be a largely effective mascot – albeit with reservations about using a humanised plant and not the more traditional animal designs used in previous Commonwealth Games. </p>
<p>Since many mascots are pitched towards children, it will be interesting to see in the months to come whether our children and grandchildren easily recognise Clyde the thistle (Scottish schoolchildren will have the advantage that he has been heavily used in schools in the run-up to the games). If we buy <a href="http://www.glasgow2014.com/media-centre/press-releases/now-its-clyde-soft-toy-and-hes-coming-home-near-you">the children’s toy</a>, will they relate to the human-like thistle enough to want to play with it? Analysis might be useful, but ultimately it is the public who will decide how effective the different aspects of the games have been, and shape their legacy for years to come. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/29435/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gerald Griggs does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>He may have entered your life abruptly over the past few days. With his purple mohican, jagged green hands and the sort of red, yellow and blue get-up that would trouble most prospective in-laws, Clyde…Gerald Griggs, Senior Lecturer in Physical Education and Sports Studies, University of WolverhamptonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.