--Charlene Teters, American Indian Movement

As another baseball season comes to an end, so too ends this year's season of protests against Chief Wahoo, the grinning red logo of the Cleveland Indians. For decades American Indian activists and their supporters have urged Cleveland to change its racist mascot. (I use the term "American Indian" because most indigenous people prefer it over the government-proscribed "Native American".) While some people incredulously claim that Wahoo honors American Indians, it is difficult to imagine any other race of people portrayed honorably by such means. Picture a "Cleveland Africans" baseball team and a grinning black "Chief Sambo" logo, with ridiculously exaggerated facial features. Picture white fans, with little knowledge of traditional African cultures, dressing up like Zulu warriors, with plastic spear in one hand and inflatable baseball bat in the other. Could such imagery possibly be considered anything but racist and offensive?

Yet Wahoo supporters assert that the logo should be kept, precisely because it doesn't offend people, citing a recent Sports Illustrated poll which claims that over 70 percent of American Indians surveyed didn't think Indian sports mascots should be banned. There are at least three basic problems with this argument.

STRIKE ONE: Polls are grossly inadequate for evaluating complex moral issues. This particular poll is highly suspect, due to the embarrassingly small sample taken, (351 participants), and the fact that the results are in direct contradiction to those of a recent Indian Country Today poll. According to the latter poll, 81 percent found such imagery offensive and 75 percent thought it should violate anti-discrimination laws.

STRIKE TWO: Even if we accept the Sports Illustrated figures, we are still left with a very large minority of American Indians (including nearly half of those who live on reservations) who are offended by Indian mascots. Are these people's feelings irrelevant?

STRIKE THREE: Regardless of public opinion, people are being hurt by Chief Wahoo. Racist and demeaning imagery in the popular culture has a profound psychological effect on American Indians, particularly children. As they form their self-image, they are led to believe they are a joke, a mascot, a freak, out of place in society and not taken seriously.

With all these strikes against Wahoo, why do we still keep him in the game? Changing the name and logo of Cleveland's baseball team would not be unprecedented. The name was already changed from the Cleveland Spiders in 1915. Sports teams frequently change their names and no harm comes to them. (Were the Tennessee Titans better off as Oilers?) To date, more than 170 schools, universities, and professional teams have already changed their team names/mascots from Indian-related ones. Some schools have even been financially assisted by American Indian anti-racist groups.

A new name should be chosen to honor something unique about Cleveland. This new name and logo would generate fresh excitement and bring revenue to local businesses through merchandising. It would bring in new fans who support Cleveland baseball but feel obligated to distance themselves from the racist imagery.

More importantly, Cleveland would be taking a proactive stand, setting a positive example that would boost the city's moral standing and pressure other teams to make similar changes. Next season, I hope Cleveland fans finally decide to tell Chief Wahoo "yer OUTTTA here!"

E-mail: mpesa@kent.edu

Mike Pesa is a junior history major and a columnist for the Daily Kent Stater.

Copyright 2002 The Daily Kent Stater