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The Olympic Games have been criticized as upholding (and in some cases increasing) the colonial policies and practices of some host nations and cities either in the name of the Olympics by associated parties or directly by official Olympic bodies, such as the International Olympic Committee, host organizing committees and official sponsors. Critics have argued that the Olympics have engaged in or caused: erroneous anthropological and colonial knowledge production; erasure; commodification〔Definition: "…the process of transforming an object, idea, activity, or service into a commodity by capitalist economies." Beaster-Jones 2013, par. 1.〕 and appropriation of indigenous ceremonies and symbolism; theft and inappropriate display of indigenous objects; further encroachment on and support of the theft of indigenous lands; and neglect and/or intensification of poor social conditions for indigenous peoples. Such practices have been observed at: the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, MO; the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec; the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta; and the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, BC. ==Anthropology at the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, MO== The 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, MO were held in conjunction with the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (also known as the St. Louis World's Fair), and were the first modern Olympic Games to be held in North America.〔International Olympic Committee. http://www.olympic.org/olympic-games. Retrieved 20 Feb 2013.〕 Since the 1889 Paris Exposition, human zoos, as a key feature of world's fairs, functioned as demonstrations of anthropological notions of race, "progress," and "civilization," and this continued at the 1904 World's Fair. Fourteen hundred indigenous people from Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, East Asia, Africa, the Middle East, South America and North America were displayed in anthropological exhibits that purportedly showed them in their "natural habitats."〔Parezo 2008, p. 63.〕 Another 1600 indigenous people were on display in other areas of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (LPE),〔Brownell 2008, p. 32.〕 including on the fairgrounds and at the Model School,〔Peavy, Linda and Ursula Smith, 2008, p. 246.〕 where Indian residential school students were compelled to demonstrate their "successful" assimilation. According to theorist Susan Brownell, world's fairs—with their inclusion of human zoos—and the Olympics were a logical fit at this time as they "…were both linked to an underlying cultural logic that gave them a natural affinity…. Anthropological exhibits illustrated the evolutionary beginnings of civilization, and the Olympic Games the superior physical achievements of civilized men."〔Brownell, 2008, p. 29.〕 Taking this natural fit to the next level, two key figures at the 1904 World's Fair—William John McGee and James Edward Sullivan—devised an event that would bring anthropology and sport together: Anthropology Days. Called "The Overlord of the Savage World" in a July 17, 1904 St. Louis newspaper,〔Parezo 2008, p. 112.〕 WJ McGee was the head of the Department of Anthropology at the LPE and the founding president of the new American Anthropological Association.〔Brownell 2008, p. 14.〕 McGee's theories positioned white people at the highest level of man's enlightenment,〔Parezo 2008, p. 64.〕 and some indigenous groups as close to "sub-human."〔Parezo 2008, p. 66.〕 The LPE's Anthropology Department was devised to "compare the physical and mental characteristics of individual races"〔Parezo 2008, p. 70.〕 using white visitors as the standard, in order to learn how they had "advanced over other races."〔 James E. Sullivan was the head of the Department of Physical Culture at the LPE and an extremely influential figure in American sports. Theorist Nancy Parezo describes how he had a vested interest in racial comparisons—that he wanted "the world to know that American methods of scientific training produced the best athletes in the world."〔Parezo 2008, p. 76.〕 Of particular concern to him were stories of the exceptional physical abilities of some indigenous people—which would invalidate his assertions of the superior abilities of whites.〔Parezo 2008, p. 83.〕 Sullivan devised the "Special Olympics" (also known as Anthropology Days) as a way of testing these theories, as well as promoting the regular Olympic Games.〔Parezo 2008, p. 84.〕 While Anthropology Days were not officially part of the Olympics program, they were closely associated with each other at the time, and in history—Brownell notes that even today historians still debate as to which of the LPE events were the "real" Olympic Games.〔Brownell 2008, p. 3.〕 Additionally, almost all of the 400 athletic events were referred to as "Olympian,"〔 and the opening ceremony, which normally signals the start of the Olympics, was held in May on the "first day of the first sports event"〔Brownell 2008, p. 43.〕 with dignitaries in attendance, though the official Olympic program did not begin until July 1.〔 And as previously noted one of the original intentions of Anthropology Days was to create publicity for the official Olympic events.〔〔Brownell 2008, p. 34.〕 Anthropology Days took place on August 11 and 12, 1904, with about 100 indigenous men enlisted from among the human zoos, Model School and the rest of the fair grounds (no women participated in Anthropology Days, though some, notably the Fort Shaw Indian School girls basketball team, did compete in other athletic events at the LPE). Contests included "spear and baseball throwing, shot put, running, broad jumping, weight lifting, pole climbing, and tugs-of-war before a crowd of approximately ten thousand."〔Parezo 2008, p. 59.〕 Participants were not directly asked to compete—organizer McGee instead communicated only through (white) agents.〔Parezo 2008, p. 85.〕 According to Parezo, contests were modeled on the Olympic protocol of amateurism, so participants were not remunerated, which resulted in several people refusing to take part.〔Parezo 2008, pp. 86-87.〕 Basic instructions were provided immediately before each event,〔Parezo 2008, p. 89.〕 without language interpretation,〔Parezo 2008, p. 92.〕 and participants were not given the opportunity to practice.〔Parezo 2008, p. 87.〕 Many of the participants wanted to try the contests again once they understood the rules but this was not permitted as organizers believed it would have "'violated' the research design…and invalidated the racial comparisons"〔 to white athletes (who underwent extensive training and practice). Participants competed against other members of their "race" in the initial trials, with the winners of each heat going on to compete against each other to "determine the fastest 'primitive.'"—these were the results to be compared to those of white Olympic athletes.〔 Given the lack of preparation and training for these contests, it is not surprising that the participants largely achieved low scores. Though the racial comparisons from Anthropology Days were criticized as unscientific and a "farce,"〔Parezo 2008, p. 96.〕 Sullivan disregarded these detractions and used them to prove his theories of white racial superiority. He concluded that "enlightened Americans were the best athletes in the world"〔Parezo 2008, p. 97.〕 and that "Native peoples were intellectually, socially, cognitively, and morally inferior by nature."〔 According to Parezo, when the scores did not fit Sullivan's theories, he excluded them, such as when he omitted from his records that "all the Native participants beat the American pole-climbing record holder…by ten seconds."〔Parezo 2008, p. 94.〕 Though not part of Anthropology Days, the achievements of the Fort Shaw Indian School girls basketball team (who beat out white teams to become the LPE champions)〔Peavy, Linda and Ursula Smith 2008, pp. 243-271.〕 were similarly ignored by Sullivan. 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「Colonialism and the Olympic Games」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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