Team Spirits: Native American Mascots Controversy

Charles Springwood talked about his book, Team Spirits: The Native American Mascots Controversy, published by University of Nebraska Press. The book is about the controversy surrounding professional sports teams' decision to use Native American mascots. Many Native American groups don’t like such mascots because they view them as disrespectful representations of aspects of their culture. Mr. Springwood talked about such teams as the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Chiefs and the Washington Redskins. Mr. Springwood was joined on stage by Ms. Harjo, a Native American activist and contributor to Team Spirits. She described her first-hand experience of confronting these mascots on a daily basis, as well as her current legal battle with the National Football League over the Washington Redskins mascot. After the presentation, the two speakers answered questions from members of the audience. close