List of sports team names and mascots derived from indigenous peoples

The practice of deriving sports team names, imagery, and mascots from Indigenous peoples of North America is a significant phenomenon in the United States and Canada. The popularity of stereotypical representations of American Indians in global culture has led to a number of teams in Europe also adopting team names derived from Native Americans. While there are team names in North America derived from other ethnic groups, such as the Boston Celtics, the New York Yankees, the Montreal Canadiens, and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, these are names selected by groups to represent themselves.

Globally, there are teams in Africa and Europe that use Native American images and logos, while in South America there are a number of teams that reference the Guaraní people. In Brazil, these teams may be referred to using the derogatory term bugre. However, the adoption of Indigenous names in Asia, Africa, Australia and South America may indicate that the team members are themselves Indigenous.

The rise of Indigenous rights movements has led to controversy regarding the continuation of practices rooted in colonialism. Such practices maintain the power relationship between the dominant culture and the Indigenous culture, and can be seen as a form of cultural imperialism. Such practices are seen as particularly harmful in schools and universities, which have the stated purpose of promoting ethnic diversity and inclusion. In recognition of the responsibility of higher education to eliminate behaviors that creates a hostile environment for education, in 2005 the NCAA initiated a policy against "hostile and abusive" names and mascots that led to the change of many derived from Native American culture, with the exception of those that established an agreement with particular tribes for the use of their specific names. Other schools retain their names because they were founded for the education of Native Americans, and continue to have a significant number of Indigenous students.

The trend towards the elimination of Indigenous names and mascots in local schools has been steady, with two thirds having been eliminated over the past 50 years according to the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI). In a few states with significant Native American populations, change has been mandated by law, such in Maine, Wisconsin, Oregon, and Washington.

Little League International has updated its 2019 rulebook to include a statement prohibiting "the use of team names, mascots, nicknames or logos that are racially insensitive, derogatory or discriminatory in nature." This decision has been applauded by the National Congress of American Indians.

Professional/Adult teams

Current usage

American football

• Bristol Aztecs (British American Football League) - Bristol, England
• Bürstadt Redskins, an American Football club in Bürstadt, Germany
• Eberswalder Warriors, an American Football club in Eberswalde, Germany
• Garland Aztecs, Garland, Texas - Semi-Pro
• Mayas CDMX (Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional) - Mexico City, Mexico
• Mexicas CDMX (Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional) - Mexico City, Mexico
• Kansas City Chiefs (NFL) - While adopting Native American imagery, the team was named in honor of Kansas City mayor Harold Roe Bartle who was instrumental in bringing the AFL Dallas Texans to Kansas City in 1963 (becoming the last professional team to adopt an Indigenous-derived name). Bartle earned his nickname as founder of the Tribe of Mic-O-Say, a regional Boy Scouts honor camping society in which he was "Chief" Lone Bear. In 1989, the Chiefs switched from Warpaint, a Pinto horse ridden by a man in a feathered headdress, to their current mascot K. C. Wolf. Warpaint returned in 2009, but is ridden by a cheerleader.
• Southern California Apaches - (Semi-Pro, United Football Alliance League)
• Florida State Seminoles (American College Football) NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)
• Utah Utes (American College Football) NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12)

American 7s Football League

• New Jersey Savage
• Spanktown Boyz - Uses a Native American wielding a tomahawk as its logo
• Union City Chiefs

Association football

Belgium

• K.A.A. Gent (Belgian First Division A), Ghent, East Flanders - Known as the Buffaloes, the team uses an Indian head logo and a mascot in faux Native costume.

Brazil

• Guarani Esporte Clube (CE), Juazeiro do Norte
• Guarani Esporte Clube (MG), Divinópolis
• Guarani Futebol Clube, Campinas
• Guarany Futebol Clube, Bagé
• Guarany Futebol Clube (Camaquã)
• Guarany Sporting Club, Sobral
• Associação Atlética Guarany, Porto da Folha
• Esporte Clube Guarani, Venâncio Aires
• Sociedade Esportiva, Recreativa e Cultural Guarani, Palhoça
• Sport Club Guarany, Cruz Alta
• Tupi Football Club, Juiz de Fora
• Tupynambás Futebol Clube, Juiz de Fora

Chile

• Colo-Colo, Santiago de Chile. Name relates to the Mapuche
• Lautaro, Buin. Also called Guerreros de Buín (Warriors Buín)

Ecuador

• Sociedad Deportiva Aucas, Quito - Auca (Quechuan for savage) is pejorative name for the Huaorani people

Paraguay

• Club Guaraní, Asunción

South Africa

• Kaizer Chiefs F.C., Johannesburg

Australian rules football

All of these teams are composed of Indigenous Australians.

• Flying Boomerangs (Australia), in reference to the boomerang, an Indigenous Australian hunting tool and instrument.
• Indigenous All Stars (Australia), formerly known Aboriginal All-Stars

Baseball

• Gauting Indians, a baseball and softball club from Gauting, a suburb of Munich, Germany. The women's team is the "Squaws".
• Indios del Bóer ("Indians of the Boer"), Managua, Nicaragua. They are known as la tribu, "the tribe".

Major league

• Atlanta Braves (Atlanta, Georgia) - originally Boston Braves, then Milwaukee Braves. The mascot Chief Noc-A-Homa existed until the 1983 season. Princess Win-A-Lotta was introduced in the late 1970s, dropped at same time as Noc-A-Homa. In 1991, the Braves adopted the Tomahawk Chop from Florida State University when Deion Sanders joined the team.
• Caribes de Anzoátegui (Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela) - While Caribe is another name for the Kalina people, it is also a local term for piranhas, particularly in Venezuela. The team has no apparent use of Indigenous imagery.

• Indios de Mayagüez - (Indians of Mayaguez) Puerto Rican Baseball team from Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
• Mayos de Navojoa (Navojoa, Sonora, Mexico) - The Mayo people are Indigenous to Sonora
• Yaquis de Obregón (Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, Mexico) - The Yaqui are Indigenous to Sonora

Minor league

A Minor league team in Innisfail, Alberta, the "Indians", has made a decision to become the "Trappers".

Affiliates of the Atlanta Braves:

• Gulf Coast League Braves (North Port, Florida)
• Mississippi Braves (Pearl, Mississippi)

Affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates:

• Indianapolis Indians (Indianapolis, Indiana) - Team announced partnership with Miami Tribe to keep mascot.

Affiliate of the Colorado Rockies:

• Spokane Indians (Spokane, Washington)

Basketball

All three existing National Basketball Association teams that previously used Indigenous imagery have stopped doing so. (See Prior usage list below).

• Bendigo Braves (Bendigo, Victoria) play in the South East Australian Basketball League
• Guaiqueríes de Margarita, (LPB) - named after an Indigenous people of Northern Venezuela also known as the Waikerí.
• Indios de Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, (Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional)
• Indios de Mayagüez, (Puerto Rico Superior Basketball League)
• Quilmes de Mar del Plata, Argentina, (LLA) - named after the Quilmes, an Indigenous people of Northern Argentina.

Ice hockey

• Chelmsford Chieftains (NIHL), Chelmsford, Essex, United Kingdom
• Chicago Blackhawks (NHL)
• Chilliwack Chiefs (BCHL) - While retaining their name, the team retired their mascot "Chief Wannawin". The chief of a local First Nation applauded the move but was disappointed the mascot was part of the team for 20 years.
• Hannover Indians (German Oberliga)
• Malmö Redhawks (Swedish Hockey League)
• Memmingen Indians (German Oberliga)
• HC Škoda Plzeň, Czech Republic (Czech Extraliga) uses a Native American logo.
• Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
• Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)
• Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
• Whitley Warriors (NIHL), Whitley Bay, United Kingdom.

Indoor soccer

• Chihuahua Savage (MASL)

Lacrosse

• Alberta Lacrosse Association
  • Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League
    • Junior B Lacrosse
      • Edmonton Warriors - Indian head logo
• Ontario Lacrosse Association
  • Major Series Lacrosse:
    • Six Nations Chiefs, Six Nations of the Grand River
  • Senior B Lacrosse
    • Six Nations Rivermen - Logo is an Indian paddling a canoe
  • Junior A Lacrosse
    • Burlington Chiefs, Burlington, Ontario
    • Mississauga Tomahawks
  • Junior B Lacrosse
    • Elora Mohawks, Elora, Ontario
• Quebec Senior Lacrosse
  • Kahnawake Mohawks - Cartoon Indian head logo
  • Kahnawake Tomahawks - Indian head logo
• West Coast Senior Lacrosse Association (WSCLA), British Columbia - The Association logo features an "Indian Head"
  • Coquitlam Adanacs - Although "adanac" is Canada spelled backward, their logo features a First Nations woman.
  • Langley Warriors
  • North Shore Indians

Rugby union

• The Chiefs, formerly the Waikato Chiefs (North Island of New Zealand) - a rugby union side in the Super Rugby competition. Their logo is a male figure holding a Māori club.
• Griquas, South African team named after the Griqua people, however their symbol is an oryx.
• Māori All Blacks, previously the New Zealand Māori, a rugby union side whose members must be at least 1/16 Māori
• Northland Taniwha, a rugby team in the Mitre 10 Cup named after a being from Māori mythology

Rugby league

• Indigenous All Stars a.k.a. Indigenous All Stars or Indigenous Dreamtime. Dreamtime is an Indigenous Australian religious/mythological term.
• New Zealand Māori rugby league team
• The New Zealand Warriors, (Auckland, New Zealand), plays in the Australian NRL competition. The team logo indicates the "Warrior" is an Indigenous reference.

Other

• Indianerna (the Indians) are a Swedish motorcycle speedway team based in Kumla, Sweden at (Elitserien)

Prior pro usage

Many professional teams changed because they moved to another city, or went out of business ("Defunct" in table below).

Colleges and universities

Secondary schools

Non-scholastic youth teams

Baseball

• American Indian Little League, Palmdale, California
• Dornbirn Indians, Redskins, and "Little Indians", a youth baseball club in Austria.
• Skokie Indians, Skokie, Illinois
• Whalley Chiefs, Surrey, British Columbia (British Columbia Premier Baseball League)

Association football

• Raynes Park Little League, Kensington, England - Redskins

American football

Pop Warner Little Scholars

• Albemarle Redskins, Albemarle County, Virginia
• Antioch Redskins, Plant City, Florida
• Bennetts Creek Warriors, Suffolk, Virginia
• Derby Red Raiders, Derby, Connecticut
• East Bay Warriors, Oakland, California
• Fort Braden Chiefs, Fort Braden, Florida
• FW Redskins, Goodyear, Arizona
• Immokalee Seminoles, Immokalee, Florida
• Lower Sussex Indians, Sussex County, Delaware
• Nonnewaug Chiefs, Woodbury, Connecticut
• Oak Cliff Redskins, Dallas, Texas
• Pomperaug Warriors, Southbury, Connecticut
• Reynolds Corner Redskins, Toledo, Ohio
• Southeast Apaches, San Antonio, Texas
• Southland Comanches, Colorado
• Stratford Redskin, Stratford, Connecticut
• Water Oak Indians, Watertown, Connecticut
• Western Albemarle Chiefs, Crozet, Virginia
• Willamette Redskins, Eugene, Oregon

Youth/Junior football

• Antioch Redskins, Plant City, Florida
• CLCF Football, Cranston, Rhode Island (Chiefs)
• Catawissa Redskins, Catawissa, Pennsylvania
• Donaldsonville Redskins, Donaldsonville, Louisiana
• Fauquier Youth Football, Fauquier County, Virginia
• Grayling Redskins Youth Football, Grayling, Michigan
• Kanawha Youth Football Redskins, Richmond, Virginia
• Lancaster Junior Redskins, Lancaster, New York
• Loudon Redskins Youth Football, Loudon, Tennessee
• Patterson Redskins Youth Football & Cheer, Patterson, California
• Rochester Redskins Youth Football & Cheer, Rochester, Michigan
• Sarasota Ringling Redskins, Sarasota, Florida
• South Cherokee Football and Cheer "Redskins", Woodstock, Georgia
• Southwest Redskins, Houston, Texas
• Sterling Heights Redskins, Sterling Heights, Michigan
• Vienna Youth Inc. Football Chiefs, Vienna, Virginia
• Washington Redskins Midget Football, Washington, New Jersey
• Whittier Redskins, Whittier, California
• Woonsocket Redskins Youth Football and Cheerleading, Woonsocket, Rhode Island

Ice Hockey

• Chilliwack Chiefs, Chilliwack, British Columbia (British Columbia Hockey League)
• Copper Cliff Redmen, Copper Cliff, Ontario Team name has changed to the 'Reds' July 2019 CBC article
• Johnstown Tomahawks, Johnstown, Pennsylvania (North American Hockey League)
• Onion Lake Border Chiefs, Onion Lake Cree Nation
• Saddle Lake Warriors, Saddle Lake, Alberta
• Tavistock Braves, Tavistock, Ontario

Lacrosse

• Akwesasne Indians, Akwesasne, a Mohawk Nation that intersects the United States and Canada
• Elora Mohawks, Elora, Ontario
• Kitchener-Waterloo Braves, Kitchener, Ontario
• Kahnawake Hunters, Kahnawake, Quebec
• Mississauga Tomahawks, Mississauga, Ontario
• Six Nations Arrows, Hagersville, Ontario
• Six Nations Rebels, Hagersville, Ontario
• Six Nations Warriors, Hagersville, Ontario
• Tomahawks, Palo Alto, California
• Whitby Warriors, Whitby, Ontario

Wrestling

• Little Redskins, Illinois Kids Wrestling Federation (IKWF) sanctioned club (K-8th grade) in Morris, Illinois – Uses a version of the DC team logo

See also

• Native American mascot controversy
• List of company and product names derived from Indigenous peoples
• List of contemporary ethnic groups
• List of Indigenous peoples

External links

Sources of data on teams/mascots

• MaxPreps is a site for U.S. High School sports information, and can be searched by mascot name as well as school name, but the data is not kept up to date so it is only a starting place.
• MascotDB is a searchable database of mascots from Pro to High School.
• List of Semi-Pro Football Teams

References