How do you honor Indigenous Peoples?
Native Children's Survival (NCS) supports the Not In Our Honor movement along with the Indigenous and non-Indigenous organizations, standing in solidarity with our youth.
Our involvement began with the American Indian Movement, which aimed to change the misappropriation of Native names and mascots and end racially discriminatory stereotyping of Native Peoples. In 1993, NCS created a series of public service announcements that aired on MTV. These PSAs were part of MTV's "Free Your Mind" campaign, which won the industry's prestigious CableACE Award. Our latest PSA on this issue, is part of our "r u 2 Cool 2 Care" campaign.
We are all familiar with America's long history of misrepresenting and negatively portraying Native Peoples in literature, Hollywood, sports, and pop culture on a global scale. During Super Bowl Sunday, February 11, 2024, the continuing trend of cultural appropriation, derogatory Native mascots, and mockery will be on full display, with the Kansas City Chiefs and their fans chanting, wearing red face and headdresses, and doing the tomahawk chop.
Then there are the "49ers," whose name refers to gold miners who swarmed to California in 1849, a year after gold was discovered. The gold rush resulted in the influx of settlers. Indigenous Peoples were severely impacted by disease, relocation, and massacres, leading to a drastic decline in the Native population by 1870.
It's not hard to see why so many people have been misled. After all, we were not supposed to survive the prevailing winds of genocide. Even the United States' founding document, the Declaration of Independence, perpetuates the dehumanization of Native Peoples, referring to us as "Merciless Indian Savages."
Native mascots and stereotypes in sports and pop culture are Not In Our Honor but rather a manifestation of political and social dis-ease rooted in colonialism, racial hatred, and white supremacy. The misappropriation of Indigenous culture is at an end. We look forward to our children no longer having to endure the dehumanizing effects of historical covetousness.
Join us at the Super Bowl Not In Our Honor Rally on Sunday at noon. The rally will be held at the intersection of Polaris Ave and Hacienda in Las Vegas, Nevada.