An answer to the Chief Wahoo question
In recent weeks there has been a renewal in the discussion over the use of American Indian names and images in sports.
From calls – on both the local and national level – for the Washington Redskins to change their name, to a recent symposium at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian on Racist Stereotypes and Cultural Appropriation in American Sports, the topic is gaining renewed attention.
While the discussion about the continued use of Chief Wahoo and the name Indians by the Cleveland Indians has gained more strong local attention than national, the topic is always going to be a divisive one in Northeast Ohio.
Which is why a recent column by Paul Lukas at ESPN caught our eye. In a follow-up to his piece on the symposium, Lukas interviewed Frank Cloutier, public relations director for the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe in central Michigan, about the tribe’s position on the use of American Indian imagery and names. Cloutier’s explanation of the tribe’s position is an interesting one.
To find out what he said – and what it means for the Indians – head over to The Cleveland Fan.
(Photo by Sports Illustrated)
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