The Chicago National Hockey League (NHL) franchise announced that they would not be changing their name and logo, shortly after the Washington and Edmonton football teams announced they would be changing theirs. This NHL team justifies their decision by insisting that they are celebrating the legacy of whom their franchise is named after: Chief Black Hawk. The franchise committed to continue sharing the stories of the Indigenous people they are honouring and will try to be a “beacon” for education about its name.
However, many put he team under scrutiny for their actions being merely tokenism- actions carried out to seem more inviting or accepting to Indigenous people to support their franchise. There has been a history of non-indigenous fans showing up to games in headdresses with feathers, a symbol of the highest honour for Indigenous peoples. The use of headdresses by fans has since been banned at the Chicago arena; however, does that repair any damages that have already been done? Stephanie Fryberg from the Tulalip tribe reiterates that there are no benefits to using Indigenous people as mascots; it leads to discrimination, increased depression, suicide and lowered achievement in school. Not to mention, the Chicago team was founded in 1926, during which time Indigenous peoples faced cultural genocide and assimilation.
The stereotype that Indigenous people are savages and aggressive are traits that, in athletic competition, are seen as favourable. However, the discriminatory nature of these stereotypes toward Indigenous people, symbolized in sports logos and team names, only perpetuates racism bred through sport. While the Chicago team provide tribal representation before every game and distance themselves from negative connotations as seen in other sports, there is still an issue at hand of the overall message portrayed to fans of what is acceptable and what is not.
KFarrell
Sport, Not Games ⚽ 