Psychology

United States ’ sports teams have made use of the faces, cultures and traditions of the indigenous people of our country for many years. Despite the perception that many Native Americans feel this practice is racist and/or insulting, it continues. This study helps further analyze perceptions that lead to the acceptability by the public of continued use of Native American iconology by sports teams for their logos, names, nicknames and mascots. Students report that the use of such iconology is a compliment to Native Americans, whereas it is an insult to other ethnic groups when represented in the same manner. The use of Native American culture, tradition, and beliefs in the form of sports team names, mascots, logos and nicknames (hereinafter referred to as “Native iconology”) can be construed as evidence of continuing racism against this ethnic group. Seemingly a matter of little import to the majority of society, there are those who view the racism involved and the unwillingness to correct it as indicative of the fact that Western Euro-American culture does not understand the impact Native iconology use can have on Native peoples in the United States (E. Duran & B. Duran, 1976). In the United States, there are approximately five professional sports teams and approximately 35 college sports teams using Native iconology in football, baseball, and hockey (American Indian Sports Team Mascots; AISTM.org, 2009). Yet sports teams do not utilize mascots or team names representing other minorit