1)
Describe what the argument was in NCAI's "Proud to Be" commercial, which was
intended to premiere at the Superbowl. What did the author Tara Houska seem to argue
about Indian mascots in her article "...This Native American Begs to Differ"?
The NCAI's "Proud to Be" commercial that never aired during the Super Bowl was meant to
educate viewers on the harmful affects of Indian Mascots. The commercial shows many
American Indians in their headdresses and other cultural attire. Their are names mentioned too
that go along with the picture that are considered to be public leaders. At the end of the
commercial there is a picture of the Redskins helmet (the NFL football team) and it slide
changes to a link that is changethemascot.org. The American Indians are proud to be who they
are and they don't want an NFL team to be culturally appropriating them and take away from
their morals and values. The commercial is arguing to change the mascot to preserve and
respect the American Indian Culture.
In Tara Houska's article she highlights the work of one Native American who has a different
opinion on the mascot situation. Naomi Riley, explains how the mascots respect the American
Indian community because it highlights their culture and reminds people of it everyday. She
describes the mascot as a "savage" which depicts the fighting warrior in native Americans. This
helps to "instill character" in people such as our boy scouts. Overall, Tara shows the different
opinion of Riley on the mascot controversy.
2)
What was the historical significance of the Occupation of Alcatraz and the Occupation of Wounded
Knee? What does "Survivance mean," and how might these events connect with this term?
The occupation of Alcatraz was historically significant because it was a time when the Native
Americans took a stand against the United States Government. They decided to take back the
land that was rightfully there and protest against the government which was a huge turning point
in their history considering that this wasn't the first time the United States Government took their
land. This was also the case with the occupation of wounded knee. The Native Americans were
taking back their land that was forced out from them by the US government. They decided to
fight back and occupy their land.
