Indian Mascots are a Marketing Branding Nightmare

From the Florida State Seminoles to the Cleveland Indians, Indian mascots represent both pride and prejudice in sports. And Native American groups are battling it out over the issue. Oklahoma's Seminole Tribe joined the Five Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma in condemning Indian mascots and is a member organization of the National Congress of American Indians, which is critical of native mascots.

Native Mascots: Marketing and Public Relations Fright

• Going Polling. A survey conducted in 2002 found that 81% of Native Americans who live outside traditional Indian reservations and 53% of Indians on reservations did not find the images discriminatory.
• Championship. The NCAA announced that it will ban Indian images from championship games, a decision that will affect 18 schools including Florida State and the University of Illinois.
• An Ugly Sight. During campus rallies, Indians are often hanged and burned in effigy, painted as crude demons on shop windows and beheaded in mock scalpings.

Marketing professionals are attempting to spin the public relations aspect of this debate. While the answer is not immediately available, branding of the Native American mascots look to be in peril. Perhaps you have a marketing perspective that will help solve this issue for all interested stakeholders. Earn your marketing and public relations degree and you can make your own contribution to the issue.

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