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Trail of Tears: The Trek Continues

Do you see anything wrong with these images? Pharrell? A Victorias Secret

Model? An all American football team? What could possibly be wrong with those

subjects? It is perturbing yet intriguing to believe that many people would not see

an issue with any of the images pictured above. However, the indigenous

populations of the Americas have something to say against the constant

exploitation of their ceremonial headdresses, tribal body art, dream catchers, and

other cultural elements incorporated into everyday non-indigenous life. It is called

cultural appropriation. A freshly coined term that is synonymous with "strategic anti-

essentialism", cultural appropriation is "Taking intellectual property, traditional

knowledge, cultural expressions, or artifacts from someone elses culture without

permission. This can include unauthorized use of another cultures dance, dress,

music, language, folklore, cuisine, traditional medicine, religious symbols, etc. Its

most likely to be harmful when the source community is a minority group that has

been oppressed or exploited in other ways or when the object of appropriation is

particularly sensitive, e.g. sacred objects," (What Is Cultural Appropriation and Why

Is It Wrong? http://racerelations.about.com/od/diversitymatters/fl/What-Is-Cultural-

Appropriation-and-Why-Is-It-Wrong.htm) according to law professor Susan Scafidi,

author of Who Owns Culture? Appropriation and Authenticity in American Law.

How is this such a commonplace occurrence? It is evidently inappropriate,

right? Then again, we do live in a country where "little Indian girl" Halloween

costumes still remain on the market. And where many children continue to enjoy

and emulate the stereotypical whooping howls and broken English featured in the

"What Makes the Red Man Red" scene from Walt Disneys "Peter Pan". It is clear that

many have grown desensitized to the possibility of mocking a culture, since so

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many aspects have been heavily incorporated into marketed trends over the years

(e.g. outfits at Coachella, certain Twilight series merchandise, etc.). Nevertheless,

that is what makes it even more of an issue of such great importance. It is

important that the name of the Washington Redskins be changed so that it no

longer offends any racial demographic by employing a racial slur or culturally

appropriating practices to represent the team, overall reflecting the progress the

United States has made over time with its representation and acceptance of diverse

cultures within the country. It is also crucial that writers employ tactics of

persuasion, personal anecdotes and historical statistics in order to convince the

American public and National Football League that the team name should no longer

be used.

I became interested in the topic after realizing that at a young age, I partook

in the appropriation of Native culture as I bought "boho" tribal print clothing and

donned feathers glued to a paper headband for a Thanksgiving play in the 3rd

grade. Being a proud descendant of partial Choctaw ancestry, I should have realized

I was making a mockery of my own familys heritage. However, like many others, I

had accepted that it was "okay" and "not racist" to represent other cultures in these

ways. After many years of staying away from purchasing any culturally insensitive

material, the topic was brought again to my attention when I heard news about yet

another attempt to change the controversial name of the Washington D.C. football

team, the Washington Redskins (or to some, who prefer to refrain from saying the

name, the Washington R-words).

The term "redskin" refers to the scalps sheared off of Native Americans that

were taken as proof that they had been killed and were turned in for a bounty, as

noted in the Phibs Proclamation of 1755. "They paid well 50 pounds for adult male
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scalps; 25 for adult female scalps; and 20 for scalps of boys and girls under age 12,"

(A Redskin Is the Scalped Head of a Native American Sold For Cash

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a29445/true-redskins-meaning/) says

sports journalist Braxton Holmes, a Cherokee and Choctaw tribe member who

examined the topic. Based upon this definition, the controversy with naming the

team such a derogatory term becomes more apparent. Unfortunately, many fans

and the teams owner himself, Daniel Snyder, view the name as a form of honoring

the tribes, and care much more about the amount of money they have spent on

merchandise labeled with the Redskins logo throughout the years than they do

about the possible affect it could be having on an entire demographic. Snyder has

said "A Redskin is a football player. A Redskin is our fans. The Washington Redskins

fan base represents honor, represents respect, represents pride. Hopefully winning,"

(Daniel Snyder Defends Redskins http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11313245/daniel-

snyder-redskins-term-honor-respect) in support of keeping the teams name.

So what exactly should writers do in order to get the word out about the

situation? First and foremost, it is crucial that writers compose persuasive articles

filled with historical facts and statistical data. From the above video from the Daily

Show, many of the fans; comments demonstrated the lack of general

understanding or sensitivity towards the feelings of the tribe, and came to their own

conclusions that Natives do not care about the name remaining in place. If a writer

were to incorporate polls that reflected the genuine views of the majority of the

indigenous population, then there would be an official and authentic representation

of their opinions. The addition of historical data, such as quotes from the Phibs

Proclamation and other documents, would accurately reflect the origins of the term

"redskin", therefore supporting the reasoning behind deeming the word a

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derogatory and racist term. It would also assist in getting the team name changed

on the grounds that the United States has at least progressed in its public

representation of the diverse cultures that inhabit the country. In addition, an article

written from the perspective of a Native American journalist would add value and

credibility to a source, because it would be a direct reflection of the sentiments of a

member of the community. Providing an anecdote supplies a personal testimony

that expresses how the use of the term can directly affect a persons life, and it can

demonstrate how the use of the term as an element of widespread popular sports

culture heightens (or possibly does not heighten) the effects on their life. Allowing

an audience to view the influence that the word has on the population can

ultimately be a highly persuasive tactic employed by writers to convince the

American public that it is time for a name change. When addressing the United

States government or National Football League about the situation (which has been

done by tribal leaders in the past) it is important that the language used is formal.

Any articles written do not necessarily need to have a formal tone, so long as the

public understands the facts behind the issue. It may even be helpful to the general

population if an article is not riddled with overly complex vocabulary. However, the

elements of the presentation should still include the aforementioned ideas of

persuasion, anecdotes, and data to support the overall argument. It is important

that these plans to change the name of the Washington D.C. Redskins football team

are put into action soon so that an end is put to the offensive exploitation and

stereotypical misrepresentation of Native Americans in the sports industry. In some

states, such as Oregon, having a Native American as a school mascot has been

banned, so why should it not be the same case for a football team that gains

national recognition? I believe that if journalists were to bring the situation to light
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in their articles, it would cause the American population to consider what

consequences their actions in supporting the appropriation of indigenous cultures

have upon the actual Native peoples. Until then, many more Washington R-word

games will have to be endured, fake headdresses and all.