The year is 1991. The Atlanta Braves had just completed their first trip to the Fall Classic in four decades, and the Washington Redskins were undefeated, on their way to their third Super Bowl title. All along the East Coast, sports fans were tasting success, while Native Americans were in turmoil. This year saw the culmination of protests over the use of mascots with American Indian themes. With two major professional sports teams in question making front-page news across the country, many of us heard the grievances of American Indians for the first time. Suddenly, thanks to the shouts of thousands of protesters, the names of many Americans' favorite teams had become synonymous with "nigger." American Indians believe that the use of these mascots represents a defamatory stereotype of their society and call for the immediate cessation of such use. Are these protesters justified? According to the organizations in question, the choice of mascots based on American Indian themes was not intended to be derogatory and in most cases was instead intended to honor certain American Indian tribes or individuals. In stark contrast, "nigger" was intended from the beginning to be a derogatory term for African Americans; it is used intentionally to belittle its victims. Here the American Indians made themselves victims, choosing to be insulted where no insult was intended. Since the intentions behind them are not defamatory, the use of mascots with American Indian themes should be continued. Since its inception, the definition of "Indian" has never been derogatory. It dates back to the 15th century, when Christopher Columbus mistakenly applied the label to the natives of the......middle of paper...... - Heroic Symbol of the State of Florida." Seminoles Official Athletic Site. May 18, 1993 Available online: http://www.fansonly.com/schools/fsu/trads/fsu-trads-seminoles.html February 28, 1999. "Louis Sockalexis: The Cleveland Indian (1871-1913)." Homepage of the IndiansBaseball Club. Available online: http://www.indians.com/history/sockalexis.html. February 25, 1999. Munson, Barbara "Common Themes and Questions About the Use of 'Indian' Logos." American Commentaries: A Web Journal. Available online : http://www.iwchildren.org/barb.htm, 25 February 1999. "Native Americans." Microsoft Encarta 96 Encyclopedia 1996 ed. "Seminole Wars.", 1995.