ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that arguments about Native American mascots are actually arguments about race, and hence a barometer of race relations in our society. An impressive literature has emerged discussing the racial politics of Native American mascots. Scholars and activists have contended that the creation and more recent contentiousness of mascots illuminates the stereotypical images central to Whites’ interpretations of Native Americans, the centrality of Indianness to the formulation of Whiteness in the United States, and the changing place of Native Americans in American society. Euro-Americans have selected and supported Native American mascots for a number of reasons. Arguments against mascots pivot around race. Some note with sadness that Native Americans lack parity with other ethnic groups. The arguments over the continued use of American Indian nicknames and symbols have much to teach about race and the media. Despite the imagery associated with them, Native American mascots have become increasingly contentious.
