History and Influence of Native Americans in Sports

Hey again, everyone. Over this past week during class, we have been discussing the history and evolution of sports and the roles of Native Americans in that process. The Native Americans have been somewhat overlooked when it comes to the history of today's sports. Although many of today's sports have come from Europeans, the Native Americans participated in many sports related activities even before the Europeans arrived here in America.

Some of the sports that the Native Americans participated included lacrosse, shinny (similar to field hockey), hoop-and-pole, double ball, and some more common ones such as swimming, racing, and bow and arrow contests. However, these last few are debatable on where the sport was actually created. Many believe the only true sport of the Native Americans that is still widely played today is lacrosse. Historians also feel that lacrosse is the only indigenous sport to North America. 

However, no matter where the sport was created, the Native Americans still produced some prominent athletes in various sports. The most notable athlete was Jim Thorpe, who won gold in the 1912 Olympics. I was unaware that Jim Thorpe was a Native American. Some other notables are Billy Mills, also an Olympic runner, Allie Reynolds pitched for the New York Yankees, and Notah Begay, who is a professional golfer and played alongside Tiger Woods at Stanford University. 

Along with the history of Native Americans and sports, another controversial issue today is the portrayal of Native Americans as mascots. This has created a big stir as many believe it is offensive to use Native Americans as mascots. Personally, and in most cases, I don't believe that the use of those mascots is completely offensive. 

I feel that the use of Native Americans recognizes and honors the Native Americans. I think that these mascots are effective in remembering the history of Native Americans. If these mascots weren't used would people forget about the Native Americans? Other than in school history classes, the Indians aren't a part of everyday life conversations. 

Although I mainly believe that the use of mascots is not offensive, there is a point where it can be pushed too far. For example, the use of Indian mascots that mock tribal dances. I think those can be seen as offensive in that they are not correctly used with the same meanings that the Native Americans had intended. Also, I feel that the name "Redskins" is highly offensive. I think that this a really racist term to use to describe Native Americans. My high school nickname actually is the Redskins. In high school, I never really thought about the term as being offensive and more as being proud and resembling the warrior-like qualities that the Native Americans possessed.  I think that many respect these qualities in the Native Americans but they can easily be portrayed with different mascot nicknames other than Redskins.