If you think Indigenous people are just being sensitive, you probably don't know what you're saying

For years, Indigenous voices have been stifled, and Indigenous culture has been made a mockery, specifically in the world of sports. The controversial former name of the Washington Football Team stood for a long 83 years before the team finally opted to rebrand. It’s time to retire mascots like the Braves, the Blackhawks and even Kansas City’s beloved Chiefs.

Although Indigenous people were the first to settle in America and served as the hidden backbone of this nation, they were enslaved, displaced and exploited by white settlers almost immediately upon their arrival. White colonizers stole land from Indigenous tribes and violently forced them out of certain regions with policies like the Indian Removal Act of 1830, all the while painting them as uncultured savages, aggressors and non-citizens.

Now, people still actively dehumanize and stereotype Indigenous people with racist and offensive mascots, costumes and language. Chiefs fans have taken being offensive a step further in that they not only have a racist name, they also participate in racist traditions like wearing headdresses and doing the tomahawk chop. Indigenous headdresses are sacred in most tribes, and by carelessly dressing up in them for football games, fans are disrespecting Indigenous culture. Additionally, the tomahawk chop trivializes and makes fun of Native communities.

Lovers of tradition often feel threatened when people bring up the hundreds of years of disrespect behind the mascots of their favorite sports teams. Some make claims that people are being too sensitive and that they have Indigenous friends who don’t care. In the case of the Florida State Seminoles, the Seminole Tribe of Florida even showed support for the university’s mascot. The issue with using that as a defense for every mascot, every costume, every microaggression is that it implies Indigenous people are one monolithic group.

There are 574 recognized tribes and more than 5.2 million Indigenous people in the United States. To assume that one person or one tribe can speak for the whole is ignorant and would never be expected among other races. Indigenous people do not fit into just one identity. Each tribe holds different customs and beliefs, and each tribe has a unique history. Just because one Indigenous person thinks a team name is OK doesn’t mean every Indigenous person will.

The use of Indigenous people and tribes as mascots perpetuates the idea that Native people are uncivilized and creates a harmful message that they are separate from other Americans. The moment we start amplifying Indigenous voices instead of speaking over them is the moment that we can learn from our mistakes and begin to appreciate rather than take advantage of Indigenous culture. The Washington Football Team let a slur represent them for 83 years; we cannot sit back for another 83 years and allow harmful mascots to remain.