Loading…
Erasing and dehumanizing Natives to protect positive national identity: The Native mascot example
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,...
Saved in:
Published in: | Social and personality psychology compass 2021-09, Vol.15 (9), p.n/a |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Citations: | Items that this one cites Items that cite this one |
Online Access: | Get full text |
Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
Summary: | 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. |
---|---|
ISSN: | 1751-9004 1751-9004 |
DOI: | 10.1111/spc3.12632 |