Supermom and the Super Bowl

My mom loved the Super Bowl. If the Bears or the Colts weren’t in the game she often went for the underdog or the team with the best colors or logo. She would also support the teams wherever her kids lived. It was an excuse to celebrate and my mom loved to celebrate all the things. When we were little she helped us make posters and dress in team colors. We cooked special food (bean dip), invited friends over, and voted on our favorite commercials. 

This year the Kansas City Chiefs are in the Superbowl. The team was named after Harold Roe Bartle who was a two term Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri. When he was a young Boy Scout he claimed he was “inducted into a local tribute of the Arapaho people” and was called Chief Lone Bear. He wasn’t Native American and he wasn’t a chief, but the name stuck and won a name-the-team competition. Today the team and fans will come out proudly wearing “Native” themed attire and participate in fake “Native” chanting and dancing. 

Growing up in Indiana (Land of the Indians), it was common to have Native American named mascots. Our schools, libraries, summer camps, and streets are named after tribes that once lived in the area (Shawnee, Kikionga, Potawatomi, Blackhawk, Little Turtle, Tecumseh, etc.). In the mid-90s, when I was in high school, our mascot was the North Side Redskins. We called him Chief Mac and he wore a headdress and chanted while throwing a tomahawk. Students copied the chant and throwing motion in the stands during football games. They wore face paint. 

My mom was the first person in my life to point out how offensive this was. My mom despised the term redskin and went to PTA and local meetings to voice her concern and support the movement to end the racist practice. She taught me about the history of the word and forced me to realize there was absolutely no presence of Native Americans in our community. Both of my parents enjoyed reading about Native Americans. We had loads of folktale stories and dense history books about them. We also spent a whole month of summer vacation learning about Native people of the American Southwest while visiting Colorado, Arizona, and Texas. Yet, I remember arguing with her about it because as much as she tried to teach me, I was self-absorbed and convinced I wasn’t being racist. I told her we didn’t mean it that way and it was just a tradition- that it would be weird to change it now. I also didn’t know any other moms that voiced an opinion like this. 

It took some more traveling, meeting new people and college courses to set me straight. My mom was right. This practice is deeply racist and offensive. It needs to end. The American Psychological Association called for a ban on all Native American mascots due to the increasing body of evidence showing that this imagery and language: 

• Harms the social identity development and self-esteem of Native American young people and
• Teaches children that it’s acceptable to participate in culturally abusive behavior and perpetuate inaccurate misconceptions about indigenous people 

Journalist Simon Moya-Smith, Oglala Lakota Nation, writes, “Native American mascots might be the last form of traditional American racism that people of every color and creed will rush to support and defend. On any given Sunday during the regular NFL season — right there in the stands — one can find a black guy in a headdress, a white guy in redface…Native American mascots commodify indigenous peoples and our cultures; they make us and our heritage into images and words and logos to be sold non-Native people. It’s a complete and utter appropriation for profit by others.”

It took my high school until 2015 to get rid of the name and it didn’t come without complaint. My facebook feed was full of high school acquaintances promoting the tagline “Redskin 4-life” after the new mascot, “Legends” was revealed. I remember calling my mom. She was so upset at folks in her community who refused to do better. 

Moya-Smith concludes, “We will be mocked and told to “get over it.” We will be commodified and told things like “we’re honoring you.” But I am here to ruin the party, because that party harms the mental health and stability of kids. Children should be valued over mascots and definitely over cheap team loyalty – every time. Decent people don’t harm kids and they certainly don’t enable anything that would.” 

Be pro-kid and be decent. Be like Barb. End racist mascots. 

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