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As part of the Native American mascot controversy, the Cleveland Indians logo, Chief Wahoo, has drawn particular criticism as an offensive racial caricature. However the use of "Indians" as the name of a team is also part of the controversy which has led over 115 professional organizations representing civil rights, educational, athletic, and scientific experts to published resolutions or policies that state that any use of Native American names and/or symbols by non-native sports teams is a harmful form of ethnic stereotyping that promote misunderstanding and prejudice which contributes to other problems faced by Native Americans. Native Americans have been protesting and taking other actions opposing the name and logo since the 1970s. The team owners and management have defended their use as having no intent to offend, but rather to honor Native Americans, and claiming strong support from the fans. However, the use of Chief Wahoo has been de-emphasized in favor of alternate logos. ==Origin and significance of the name== The name "Indians" originated from a request by club owner Charles Somers to baseball writers to choose a new name to replace the "Naps" following the departure of their star player Nap Lajoie after the 1914 season. The name "Indians" was chosen as it was the nickname previously applied to the old Cleveland Spiders baseball club during the time when Louis Sockalexis, a Native American, played in Cleveland. The attribution of the new name as being in honor of Sockalexis, a member of the Penobscot Tribe of Maine, is generally discredited given the discriminatory treatment of Native Americans in general, and Sockalexis in particular during that era.〔 〕 While defenders often cite the intention to honor Native Americans, and claim that there are ways to do so while retaining their current representations; opponents of Native American mascots make no distinction between respectful or disparaging usage. The resolution issued by the Society of Indian Psychologists in 1999 states: "Stereotypical and historically inaccurate images of Indians in general interfere with learning about them by creating, supporting and maintaining oversimplified and inaccurate views of indigenous peoples and their cultures. When stereotypical representations are taken as factual information, they contribute to the development of cultural biases and prejudices..."〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Society of Indian Psychologists )〕 This point of view echos the position of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), the oldest and largest organization representing enrolled tribal citizens in the Unites States: "Often citing a long held myth by non-Native people that "Indian" mascots "honor Native people," American sports businesses such as the NFL’s Washington "Redsk *ns" and Kansas City "Chiefs", MLB’s Cleveland "Indians" and Atlanta "Braves", and the NHL’s Chicago Black Hawks, continue to profit from harmful stereotypes originated during a time when white superiority and segregation were common place."〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Ending the Legacy of Racism in Sports & the Era of Harmful Indian Sports Mascots )〕 Native American protesters in Cleveland also state that "retiring" Chief Wahoo would not be a solution to the issue, since both the name and logo need to be changed to something that does not reference Native Americans in any way. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cleveland Indians name and logo controversy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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