Mascot Debate

When looking at other people's postings, an issue that really caught my attention was the the Mascot debate as to whether native americans should be used as a represenation of a university/school or not. I understand that this post is kind of late compared to when we discussed the issue, but as i continue reading other posts it really made me want to give my two sense as well. Before watching the movie in class or reading The Heart of a Chief I have never put that much thought or emphasis on the matter. After being a part of the discussion it really hit me how big of an issue this can be and how many people it affects. When watching the movie I was completely torn with which end of the spectrum I would be at. I understand where both sides are coming from in the debate of whether to keep a native american mascot or not. Many universities take pride in their "symbol" but are not always portraying them in the correct light. Most of them depict these symbols with stereotypes. As described in the Reese article, "They'd be wearing feathers, They'd havewar paint on," and "They'd be carrying a tomahawk". Nowhere in there is that respecting the culture of the Native Americans. When they have mascots dancing around on the field, it is mocking their form of prayer and spirituality and should not be used as entertainment. The thing that got me so confused with the whole debate is the kind of passion and love the fans had for their mascot. It seemed like they were not trying to make a mockery of their culture, but the reason they didn't want to change mascots is because it is a mascot that they have come to love and is a part of the school's history. It is so hard to take a complete stance as to ban all native american mascots because it is a part of their schools history but I cant say I know what it like to see my culture portrayed in a negative tone like they see on a regular basis.