Native American Symbols and Opposing World Views

             Differing world-views are made apparent with the controversial use of Native American names and symbols in both schools and sports. Each of these opposing views is a result of separate cultural realities created by both tradition and history. Many Americans fail to comprehend that the exploitation of these names and symbols as marketing strategies, sports paraphernalia, mascots, and team names causes tensions within our culture. The American and the Native American world-views are the two different cultural realities that affect one another in regards to the use of these names and symbols. The American world-view is upheld mainly by desensitization and the belief that the use of these names and symbols is simply American tradition and team spirit. Native American world-view, however, associates these names and symbols within a complex and truly ancestral reality. Native American names and symbols have important and profound meanings in the Native American culture in contrast to the American world-view which causes not only disagreement but discrimination within our culture as a whole.
             Common American views on this issue hinder many Americans from understanding the relativism of Native American cultural beliefs. With names in sports such as the Washington Redskins, Atlanta Braves and Kansas City Chiefs, coupled with fans who dress in stereotyped depictions of "Indians," it is clear that Native Americans generally do not yet share the same respect of diversity and culture that other minorities do. The use of names and symbols in this manner has been casually passed down among many generations, allowing people to become neglectful to its effects on the culture it is supposedly imitating. "Supporters of such names and mascots claim that they honor Native American people, embody institutional traditions, foster a shared identity, and intensify the pleasures of sports and athletics" (Pewewardy 2004). Although most of these people ac...

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Native American Symbols and Opposing World Views. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 11:09, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/28109.html