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Chief Wahoo’s Revenge: One Stereotype Begets Another

New research finds exposure to Native American mascots increases one’s tendency to stereotype a different ethnic group.


Chief Illiniwek, a mythical figure who served as the official symbol of University of Illinois athletics until 2007. (Tom Magliery/flickr.com)
April 22, 2010 • By • 9 Comments
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When activists petition to remove Native American mascots from the logos of sports teams, the answer of traditionalists often boils down to: What’s the harm?

Newly published research provides an unexpected answer. It suggests exposure to one stereotype — however whimsical or benign in its intent — apparently activates others.

A research team led by psychologist Chu Kim-Prieto of The College of New Jersey examined the way our brains react to seeing or reading about a Native American sports team mascot. It conducted two experiments using Chief Illiniwek, a mythical figure who served as the official symbol of University of Illinois athletics from the 1920s until 2007.

The researchers decided to explore whether exposure to this sort of Native American imagery would increase stereotypical thinking regarding Asian Americans. That particular ethnic group was chosen because stereotypes about Asians are quite different from stereotypes about American Indians. If one evoked the other in spite of those differences, it would presumably mean a general tendency to stereotype had been activated.

In the first study, conducted on the University of Illinois’ Champaign-Urbana campus, 79 students selected at random filled out a 25-item “Scale of Anti-Asian American Stereotypes.” Participants rated on a one-to-five scale whether they agreed with such statements as “Asian Americans are motivated to obtain too much power in our society.”

For one-third of the survey takers, the questionnaire was pulled out of a folder decorated with stickers depicting Chief Illiniwek. For another third, the folder was festooned with the capital letter “I,” the alternate logo of U of I athletics. For the final third, the folder was blank.

The results: Those exposed to the image of the mascot, however peripherally, endorsed anti-Asian American stereotypes to a greater extent than those in the other two groups.

The second experiment was conducted at The College of New Jersey. The 161 participants were randomly assigned to read one of two short essays: A descriptive history of Chief Illiniwek taken from the U of I website, or a description of that same university’s arts center. Both essays “were complimentary and respectful in tone,” the researchers note.

Afterwards, the same test to measure anti-Asian American stereotyping was administered. “Participants who were assigned to the American Indian reading passage endorsed anti-Asian American stereotypes to a greater extent than did those in the control condition,” Kim-Prieto and her colleagues report.

Their conclusion: “One’s reliance on stereotypes appears to be heightened with increased exposure to stereotypes, regardless of whom the stereotype is portraying.”

In a 2002 paper in the Journal of Sport and Social Issues, a group of scholars led by C. Richard King of Washington State University concluded “the stereotypes created by school and professional sports mascots carry over into the everyday lives of American Indians every day.”

This new research suggests their impact may in fact be far more wide-ranging. Decisions to phase out this imagery, including those made by the NCAA and, most recently, the Wisconsin state legislature, may have a greater positive effect than even their proponents realize.

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About Tom Jacobs

Staff writer Tom Jacobs is a veteran journalist with more than 20 years experience at daily newspapers. He has served as a staff writer for The Los Angeles Daily News and the Santa Barbara News-Press. His work has also appeared in The Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Ventura County Star.

  • David Lee McMullen

    What about universities such as Florida State, which has made a concerted effort to respect the Seminoles, building communications with the remaining tribes, creating a program for Seminole Studies and using a mascot that wears authentic Seminole dress, made for the school by the Seminoles? It seems to me that there is a difference.

  • QuestionEverything

    Where are the quantitative results? “To a greater extent” is meaningless. Does that mean one person, or 15? Since the numbers weren’t given, it might not have been enough to make this study at all credible, hm? You can divine anything you want from a study like this, and they’re doing just that. If it was an overwhelming result, such as 20 of the ~26 people with the Chief folder completely agreeing with the stereotypes, then the numbers would have been loudly trumpeted first of all, and it also might have pointed toward a correlation. However, a smattering of racists does not a conclusion make.

  • Harvey Gunderson

    Responding to QuestionEverything: The quantitative results are in the article, of course, so read it! (See Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Vol. 40, Issue 3, pp.534-553, Mar 2010.) This is a well designed study with results that are statistically significant at the .o5 level, so it is extremely credible!

    This is another in a growing body of research that again adds to the evidence that these race-based athletic identities are harmful in many ways that supporters of race-based nicknames find impossible to dispute.

    Out of desperation, they resort to the only thing they can dredge up, the polls of SI and Annenberg that have been debunked repeatedly.

    Or they mention Florida State. The Florida Seminole tribe is only 1 out of 564 federally recognized tribes. Yet they say “what about the Florida Seminoles” as though that one tribe speaks for the other 563 tribes and justifies the archaic race-based athletic practice. If you asked 564 African Americans and 1 out of 564 told you it was okay with them to use the N-word, would you start using the N-word? Would you if 10 out of 564 or even if 100 out of 564 said it was okay? Only if you’re a callous cad! Then, 1 or even 10 tribes out of 564 tribes hardly makes it appropriate to use a race-based athletic nickname!

    Moreover, when the NCAA surveyed the over 500 tribes, 99% of responding tribes asked the NCAA to eradicate race-based athletic nicknames from athletics. It’s time that non-Natives learn that the time to “play Indian” and engage in identity theft and cultural misappropriation are over!

  • Harvey Gunderson

    Responding to David Lee McMullen: See my response to QuestionEverything. I refute your assrtion there.

  • DJM

    “Moreover, when the NCAA surveyed the over 500 tribes, 99% of responding tribes asked the NCAA to eradicate race-based athletic nicknames from athletics.”

    I’m certain you have a reference for this number, right? That’s a pretty overwhelming result.

  • Harvey Gunderson

    Yes, I do have a reference, as follows: http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/ncaa/NCAA/Legislation%20and%20Governance/Committees/Assoc-wide/Moic/2003/Mascot%20Report/mascotreport.htm

    NCAA Minority Opportunities And Interests Committee Report on the use of American Indian Mascots in Intercollegiate Athletics to the NCAA Executive Committee Subcommittee on Gender and Diversity Issues

    October 2002

    Summary of Results: Responses from American Indian tribes

    The MOIC forwarded correspondence to over 500 American Indian tribes and councils to obtain their thoughts and comments. A list of tribal councils and governments is attached as Appendix I. The MOIC received a ten percent response rate from this group.

    Discussion

    Ninety-nine percent of responses in this category requested the NCAA ban the use of American Indian mascots in intercollegiate athletics. Generally, American Indians view the use of mascots as racist. Many feel that the practice of using American Indian mascots is based on tradition and honor, held over from an outdated time of racial intolerance and prejudice in this nation’s history.

    Many also feel the NCAA is in a unique and important position to encourage and affect positive change by directing the adoption of non-offensive team names, mascots, and logos to preserve human decency and respect for one’s fellow citizens.

  • Aunt Ant

    Mr McMullen – that is a unique situation between the gov’t of the FL Seminole and FL State Uni. Most institutions with an Indian type mascot don’t have that sort of relationship and support w/ local tribes. Also, many of these mascots have ugly symbols or people playing dress-up that just play up ugly stereotypes.

    And, it is pretty creepy to use Natives as a mascot considering the American history of ethinic cleansing. It’s been said before, Americans using Natives as mascots is like Germans using Jews for their mascot symbols.

  • Kurt

    “Would you if 10 out of 564 or even if 100 out of 564 said it was okay? Only if you’re a callous cad! Then, 1 or even 10 tribes out of 564 tribes hardly makes it appropriate to use a race-based athletic nickname!

    Moreover, when the NCAA surveyed the over 500 tribes, 99% of responding tribes asked the NCAA to eradicate race-based athletic nicknames from athletics” – David Lee McMullen

    You can, have it both ways. You can’t say that 1 or 10 or 100 tribes out of 564 doesn’t count. And then, say that 50 out of over 500 does.

    99% of the 10% respondents (50-55) to the 500+ questionares that were sent out means nothing. Would it be ok to say then that 90% of the tribes don’t care about the issue.

  • dennis running hawk

    i used to live in pekin illinois and the high school mascot used to be pekin chinks but when asian moved they changed the name to pekin dragons why can't all sport teems and schools do the same. also remember not to lon ago they had yarn ornament of lil black people and sambo, oh and and are lil mouse from mexico where are they now. but our people keep being used as your macots the war crys the tomhawk chop. how do you think that makes our children feel. this is not to offend anyone.