Native American Mascot Discrimination

Is it believable that Native American children face discrimination during their education because their schools have Native American mascots? Yes. However, are Native American children the only children who face discrimination throughout their education? Do mascots lead to discrimination against other races of children? Do African American and Asian children face discrimination? Do timid children, “nerds” and other various stereotypes face discrimination? Are all of these students not being discriminated against as well? A cultural mascot may lead to some discrimination against Native American children in school, but does it contribute to all discrimination against them? In Barbara E. Munson’s Common Themes and Questions About the Use of “Indian” Logos, Munson attributes all discrimination in school against Native American children as a consequence of the use of Indian logos and Native American mascots. Although it is conceivable that Native American children have faced discrimination throughout their education as a consequence of their school having a Native American mascot, Munson is unable to support her argument. Munson, despite her credibility to speak on the Native American culture, creates a biased argument filled with fallacies and lack of support; consequently, she overuses pathos to distract the reader from the faults of her argument. Barbara E. Munson is a woman of the Oneida Nation thus authorizing her to speak on Native American culture; however, her Native American status does not accredit her the right to state that all “Indian” logos are offensive and discriminatory to Native American children. Munson states,“Other schools are happy with their logos which offend no human being” (1). Munson reveals her bias towards the Native American people as she fails to account for various mascots throughout the nation that could be considered discriminatory towards other races, religions and cultures. Such mascots include “The Devils” which could be

Cited: LaVeist, Thomas Alexis. Minority Populations and Health: an Introduction to Health Disparities in the United States. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005. Print.