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- The practice of deriving sports team names, imagery, and mascots from Indigenous peoples of North America is a significant phenomenon in the United States and Canada. The popularity of the American Indian in global culture has led to a number of teams in Europe also adopting team names derived from Native Americans. In Asia, Africa, Australia and South America, the adoption of Indigenous names generally indicates that the team members are themselves Indigenous. While there are team names in North America derived from other ethnic groups, such as the Boston Celtics, the New York Yankees, the Montreal Canadiens, and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, these are names selected by groups to represent themselves. Globally, there are teams in Africa and Europe that use Native American images and logos, while in South America there are a number of teams that reference the Guaraní people. In Brazil, these teams may be referred to using the derogatory term bugre. The rise of Indigenous rights movements has led to controversy regarding the continuation of practices rooted in colonialism. Such practices maintain the power relationship between the dominant culture and the Indigenous culture, and can be seen as a form of cultural imperialism. Such practices are seen as particularly harmful in schools and universities, which have the stated purpose of promoting ethnic diversity and inclusion. In recognition of the responsibility of higher education to eliminate behaviors that creates a hostile environment for education, in 2005 the NCAA initiated a policy against "hostile and abusive" names and mascots that led to the change of many derived from Native American culture, with the exception of those that established an agreement with particular tribes for the use of their specific names. Other schools retain their names because they were founded for the education of Native Americans, and continue to have a significant number of Indigenous students. The trend towards the elimination of Indigenous names and mascots in local schools has been steady, with two thirds having been eliminated over the past 50 years according to the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI). In a few states with significant Native American populations, change has been mandated by law, such in Maine, Wisconsin, Oregon, and Washington. Little League International has updated its 2019 rulebook to include a statement prohibiting "the use of team names, mascots, nicknames or logos that are racially insensitive, derogatory or discriminatory in nature." This decision has been applauded by the National Congress of American Indians. (en)
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| rdfs:comment
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- The practice of deriving sports team names, imagery, and mascots from Indigenous peoples of North America is a significant phenomenon in the United States and Canada. The popularity of the American Indian in global culture has led to a number of teams in Europe also adopting team names derived from Native Americans. In Asia, Africa, Australia and South America, the adoption of Indigenous names generally indicates that the team members are themselves Indigenous. While there are team names in North America derived from other ethnic groups, such as the Boston Celtics, the New York Yankees, the Montreal Canadiens, and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, these are names selected by groups to represent themselves. (en)
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