A Question of Honor: Chief Wahoo and American Indian Stereotype Activation Among a University Based Sample

For over 30 years, a debate has raged regarding the appropriateness of high school, university, and professional sports teams using American Indian mascots. Proponents of such mascots state that these images are traditions and honor Indigenous People. Opponents of these images argue that the symbols foster stereotypes (Pewewardy, 1999 Pewewardy, C. 1999. From enemy to mascot: The deculturalization of Indian mascots in sports culture. Canadian Journal of Native Education, 23: 176–189. [Google Scholar]) and negatively affect American Indians (Fryberg, Markus, Oyserman, & Stone, 2008 Fryberg, S. A., Markus, H. R., Oyserman, D. and Stone, J. M. 2008. Of warrior chiefs and Indian princesses: The psychological consequences of American Indian mascots. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 30: 208–218. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). The purpose of this investigation was to examine if exposure to an American Indian mascot activated American Indian stereotypes in a predominately European American sample. In addition, we explored the role of personal motivation, prejudice level, and experience on stereotype activation. We found that the Chief Wahoo image (i.e., Cleveland Indian's logo) compared to other images activated negative, but not positive, American Indian stereotypes. Participants' motivation to control prejudice, prejudice level, and experience did not predict negative stereotype activation. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.