Bonding Over A Mascot

The potential research question that the author started with prior to conducting his research is “Whether or not mascots are offensive to their culture and race?” Also, “Whether or not the National Collegiate Athletic Association handled the problems with the Native Americans properly?” The purpose of this article is to address the problems that are faced between colleges who have Native American mascots and to prove that people were not offended by it but instead were proud. This may not seem like a problem but Joe Lapointe points out the issues that these mascots bring. Most times schools who use this mascot do not know the culture or history of the Seminoles however; Florida State offers classes for the students to learn about the history and culture. Lapointe did a lot of research for this article by interviewing students, tribe members, professors and NCAA professors. He was able to use these sources to prove his points. He stated that the NCAA allowed Florida State to continue to use this because the tribe gave it a blessing. Lapointe helped them to realize that the mascot was something very positive and historical and that it is a great way to embrace the culture and history.