My final project is on the use of Native American names and images by sport’s teams. The topic
has been controversial for the last few decades, and ties in well with our class discussion on some of the issues with the media’s portrayal of race and ethnicity. I believe that the names and images should not be used because they perpetuate stereotypes and may offend individuals that feel their culture is being disrespected or degraded. Although the names and images may have been intended to honor Native Americans, they still present a characterization that may limit how people view Native Americans.
My final project is going to consist of three different t-shirts designs. One t-shirt will advocate
against the use of Native American mascots with the phrase “Native Americans are people, not
mascots” next to a logo I created. The second t-shirt will advocate against the use of names with the
phrase “there is no honor in stereotypes” alongside a design with different Native American team
names in it. The last one is a culture jam of the Washington Redskin’s logo that changes “Redskins” into“Racists” and features the man in the team’s logo looking upset. Only the mascot t-shirt is an actual, physical t-shirt and the other two are digital designs. In class, I would have shown the physical mascot t-shirt.
Sam, I think your commentary and project focusing on the use of an offensive term as a mascot is awesome and something that needs to be brought up. I believe it is important to respect all cultures and the fact that the native american population is used so many times as a mascot, while there are few if any other cultures used in either a positive or negative light in sports is terrible. Hopefully these sports teams will understand their disrespectful nature soon. Great job!
ReplyDeleteSam, I think is such a good idea for a project because we've seen it in the media but still seems to be on the backend of most cover stations. I recently read somewhere that Adidas as helping Native students get in to college and other opportunities past high school. However, the controversy is that Robert Griffen 3rd, who plays for the Redskins, is sponsored by Adidas. So are they really doing their job in helping the native community? It might be interesting for you to check out! --Brooklyn Batey
ReplyDeleteIt is cool to see someone else who did the same issue as me, but portrayed it in a different way. It is interesting to see the different ways that the issue can be addressed and brought to the public's attention.
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