Approximately 2,000 teams in the U.S. utilize Native American mascots, the majority of which are associated with schools. Across the nation there continue to be many intense conflicts over these mascots. Most conflicts focus on differences in opinion, rather than on the effects of these mascots. The purpose of this article is to provide…

Malea Powell has argued that Charles Alexander Eastman "imagined new possibilities for Native resistance and survival in the face of violent assimilation strategies." To Eastman, Natives had little choice but to acculturate to white society if they were going to resist white domination and survive. But gaining full equality in U.S. society proved…

Most Americans are not very familiar with the first peoples of the Americas. Though some might argue that it is wholly unnecessary to have any knowledge about Native peoples, most would probably agree that some exposure to Native perspectives is a good thing for students. In this article, the author offers his perspective on the most important…

In an attempt to understand how rival narratives of genocide compete even at the cost of disavowing other historical experiences, this article considers how the U.S. national media represented and framed Red Lake in the wake of Ward Churchill's emergence on the national radar. The first section of this article examines how nineteenth-century…

Traces the history of the "noble savage" concept, from the romantic view of the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries of American Indians as holdovers from the "golden age," to current media images of the medicine man or the Indian princess. Discusses how this patronizing stereotype continues to undermine Indian identity. (SV)

Curriculum activities related to American Indians, including the use of children's books, are common in many U.S. schools; while some are appropriate, many are not. Teachers implementing inappropriate curriculum may be inexperienced, lack professional training, or have been seriously misinformed. Sometimes, teachers want to make the necessary…

"Indian" mascots of athletic teams can be offensive to Native Americans when they portray negative and stereotypical images. The notion of the "tomahawk chop" invented by Atlanta Braves fans and all the antics that go along with such images prevent millions of Americans from understanding the authentic Indian America, both long…

Many colleges continue to use Native American images as their mascots despite mounting calls to cease this practice. Using a postcolonial critical framework, the authors discuss the various justifications given for using Native American images as mascots, describe the effect their continued use has, and urge action to effect change that is…

Examined public attitudes toward a frequently-objected-to football team name, the Redskins. Data from a national and a local survey indicate that few members of the general public see any need to change the name. Support for a name change is significantly higher among racial or ethnic minorities, the more highly educated, and those who are not…

Updates and extends a previous study of the portrayal of the black family in collegiate marriage and family textbooks. Examines 20 of the best-selling textbooks published between 1986 and 1980 for their portrayal of family life among four minority groups. Finds little attention paid to minority families and evidence of cultural bias. (CFR)

Children's fiction written between 1945 and 1962 was analyzed for current stereotypes of minority Americans, and the results were compared with related studies of adult fiction and school textbooks. Two analytic instruments were applied to 114 minority characters selected from 42 children's books about American Indians, Chinese, Japanese, Negroes,…

This paper examines the portrayal of blacks, Asians, and native Americans in Fourth of July political cartoons from the 1870's to the 1970's in five American newspapers--the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Constitution, Washington Post, and the Columbus Dispatch. Images of these racial and ethnic groups were compared with images of women…