Origins, Interpretations, and Impacts”: On the Use of Indigenous Imagery in North American Sport

In the wake of the #ChangeTheName campaign, led by Tomas Jirousek and other Indigenous students at McGill, the Indigenous Studies Program is taking this as an opportunity to discuss the use of Indigenous symbols and cultural appropriation in Canada and American society. Last week we hosted "Understanding Cultural Appropriation: Consequences and Strategies of Reclamation and Defiance". This week we are hosting Professor C. Richard King who will present the keynote: “Origins, Interpretations, and Impacts”: On the Use of Indigenous Imagery in North American Sport".

C. Richard King is a professor and chair of Humanities, History and Social Sciences at Columbia College Chicago. His research concentrates on the racial politics of culture, especially the articulations of race and sport in post–Civil Rights America. Pushing beyond a black/white paradigm, his work has pushed for a comparative understanding of racialization, particularly in sport and media. Indigeneity, in particular, centers much of his scholarship. This has led him to interrogate the place of indigenous athletes in physical culture and to wrestle with the uses and understanding of Indianness and the ongoing struggles over mascots, team names, and appropriation in sport. He is the author/editor of several books, including "Team Spirits: The Native American Mascot Controversy" (a CHOICE 2001 Outstanding Academic Title), Native Athletes in Sport and Society, and most recently "Redskins: Insult and Brand".