Portrayal of American Indians in American and European (Czech) Culture: Sport Mascots and Logos

This master thesis is focused on the phenomenon of cultural appropriation and the use of American Indian imagery in American and European culture. In both cultures are American Indians represented by distorted image of the universal White Man's Indian, which leads to the perception of them only as relicts of the past. In the United States, Native Americans try to point out the negative impacts, which the distorted image has on them, but the dominant white society refuses to acknowledge the inappropriateness of such images. The master thesis focuses on the historical evolution of the Native American image in American and European cultures. The author explains why the image was distorted and why the distortion still remains in both cultures. Then, the master thesis examines examples of appropriation of the American Indian in contemporary culture. Considering the extensiveness of this topic, the author focuses only on one example of cultural appropriation, which is the issue of Native Americans mascots and sports logos. On the American continent, the author chose the most controversial case of the Washington football team - the Washington Redskins. Despite the long history of Native American activism against the Redskins brand, the team refuses to change their racist name and logo. In Europe, the..