Native American groups said Friday they will protest at the World Series because the use of Indian mascots and symbols by the Atlanta Braves and the Cleveland Indians encourages racism and stereotyping.
"We're the only race of people that has sports mascots and sports teams named after them," said Ken Rhyne, a co-director of the American Indian Movement."If it was the Atlanta Negros, the Atlanta Hispanics, any situation like that, the stadium would be burned down overnight."
The National Coalition on Racism in Sports and Media, a loose-knit group of 48 organizations founded when the Washington Redskins played in the 1992 Super Bowl, plans to protest at each of this year's World Series games, beginning Saturday night at the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
"We're not asking for jobs. We're not asking for any handouts. We're not asking for the land back. We're just asking for little integrity, asking you to quit making fun of our people," said coalition executive director Michael Haney, a Seminole from Glenpool, Oklahoma.
The 1995 championship has been called the politically incorrect World Series with Cleveland's smiling "Chief Wahoo" logo and the "tomahawk chop" chant popular among Braves fans considered particularly offensive.
The use of Indian logos and mascots in the sports industry contributes to a lack of respect and understanding of Native Americans, said Humpkoodra, a Cherokee from North Carolina.
"There's nothing Indian about a tomahawk," Humpkoodra said. "The white culture is the one that introduced that as being Indian."
The Native American groups said they planned protests both inside and outside the Atlanta stadium.
Haney said baseball fans who sympathize with Native American Indians should not paint their face or wear t-shirts with Indian caricatures.
"Don't mix up racism with sports enthusiasm under the guise of team spirit," he said.