Erasing and dehumanizing Natives to protect positive national identity: The Native mascot example

Abstract

For individuals who view being American as central to their sense of self, the reality of Native oppression (e.g., genocide, police brutality) threatens their ability to maintain a positive national identity. We theorize that long-standing narratives in American culture erase and dehumanize Natives, enabling non-Natives to psychological distance and justify Native oppression as a means of protecting positive national identity.We illustrate this protective process using the example of Native mascots. We first demonstrate that Native mascots erase and dehumanize Natives and then illustrate how the use of Native mascots protects national identity. We conclude by calling for individual-and institutional-level changes to create a society free of harmful and toxic narratives and the practices that perpetuate these narratives.

The Same, Yet Different: Understanding the Perceived Acceptability of Redface and Blackface

“…In conclusion, the ongoing use of redface and blackface is not a simple issue; it is a symptom of larger social and cultural factors (i.e., social erasure and racism minimization) that allow Americans to psychologically distance themselves from the lived experiences of people of color (Dai et al, 2021; Onyeador et al, 2021). When society omits a group from contemporary social context and understates the extent to which the group experiences prejudice and discrimination, it is not a big leap to understand the lack of apathy or concern toward other social issues these groups experience.…”

“…The social erasure of marginalized groups serves to create psychological distance for individuals whose social identity group (e.g., White Americans) historically committed the wrongdoings (Dai et al, 2021; Onyeador et al, 2021). Erasure of a groups’ experiences from contemporary social contexts (i.e., social erasure) perpetuates and maintains prejudice and discrimination against the group (Alridge, 2006; Eason & Fryberg, 2020; Fryberg & Eason, 2017).…”

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“…residents have come to think that Native Americans no longer exist, which surely contributes to the lack of public awareness and concern for the ongoing demolition of tribal sovereignty (Bacon & Norton, 2019;Dai et al, 2021).…”

Expatriates Coaching Behaviors and Local Employees Work Performance: Mediating Role of Cross - Cultural Knowledge Transfer

“…The inheritance from the ancestors is a combination of customs and belief in the existence of invisible forces that control human life. In life, Eastern people hold fast to the norms embedded in society since time immemorial (Dai, Lopez, Brady, Eason, & Fryberg, 2021). Starting from the way of greeting to the manners of neighbors in society, everything is regulated by norms.…”