This article "Arguing Over Images: Native American Mascots and Race" was very interesting and thought provoking for me. Upstate New York, where I grew up, is rich with Native American history and culture. I was, from an early age, inundated with the history of Native Americans in school, at various community functions etc. The team name of the school district I grew up in was the Redmen. I went to school outside my district but still went to sporting events with friends. I think I was in 6th grade when there was uproar from a select few in my small community who had enough. This didn't faze me too much since it wasn't my school but I still read about it in the paper every day. I remember thinking it wasn't a big deal at the time and couldn't really understand why it was a big deal but looking back on it I can't really believe the audacity of ANY team that's named something similar.

This leaves room for so much interpretation, especially for young people. "The arguments over the continued use of American Indian nicknames and symbols have much to teach us about race and media. They remind us of the creativity and situated agency of media consumers." This is a danger whenever any kind of reference to race is used. Everything said in this article is almost so obvious it's ridiculous. It just goes back to the same old thing: a display of how the engrained perpetuation of racism and racial stereotypes are used through even the most superfluous means.