In the first chapter of “Playing Indian,” author Philip J. Deloria
outlines the duel identity of Native Americans in the colonial period of
America. In an interesting manner, Native Americans, at different points
throughout the development of the British colonies, were representative of both
the raging patriotism of the American Revolution, as well as the savage, “uncivilized
nature” of America, as perceived by the British. In this way, the American
attitudes toward Native Americans, much like the developing concept of American
identity itself, was paradoxical and contradictory. As America continued to
expand and develop an identity separate from its European counterparts, Native
American status became unstable. While it was clear that Native Americans were
an inherent part of American identity, many Americans came to believe that
their image would never be their own if Native Americans remained apart of it.
Throughout history, America never really addressed this issue entirely,
resulting in both massive injustices to Native American communities, but also
remnants of their stereotypical caricatures left within regular American
society. Such is exemplified through sports team mascots, specifically the
Cleveland Indians and the Washington Redskins. In recent history, both of these
teams have been the subject of massive controversy due to their stereotypical
and tokenized mascots intended to represent the history of Native Americans in
the United States. While it is of course important to recognize how offensive
such portrayals are, it is just as significant to realize that these teams are
symbolic of American indecisiveness on the Native American issue. Even after
centuries, America still is undecided on whether to embrace or reject Native
American identity and culture. Undoubtedly, the favorable, more American option
would be to embrace these people who were home to the land before American
settlement. Yet, if America still wishes to ostracize Native Americans, it is
paramount that the federal government is definitive in this decision. If this
were the case, then maybe so many current Native populations wouldn’t be trapped
in a cycle of poverty on reservations, and maybe America wouldn’t make pathetic
attempts to latch onto the history of Native Americans through offensive and
dehumanizing sports mascots.