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Film Screening and Dialogue: Imagining the Indian — The Fight Against Native American Mascoting
Spurlock Museum of World Cultures
600 S. Gregory St.
Urbana, Illinois 61801
(217) 333-2360
Category
Hours
View Website
Imagining the Indian: The Fight Against Native American Mascoting is an award-winning documentary that examines the movement that is ending the use of Native American names, logos, and mascots in the world of sports and beyond. The film details the current uprising against the misappropriation of Native culture in a national reckoning about racial injustice that has succeeded in the removal of Confederate imagery, toppling statues of Christopher Columbus and forcing corporate sponsors of Washington’s NFL team to demand it change its most-offensive name. It examines the origin and proliferation of the words, images, and gestures that many Native people and their allies find offensive. Imagining the Indian explores the impact that stereotyping and marginalization of Native history have had on Native people. It chronicles the long social movement to eliminate mascoting.
Following the screening, audience members are invited to participate in a moderated conversation with Ben West (Southern Cheyenne), the director and producer of Imagining the Indian, and Yancey Burns, the film's producer. This discussion will provide an opportunity to ask questions, reflect on the documentary's themes, and engage in dialogue about the enduring impacts of Native representation, cultural identity, and the power of Indigenous storytelling.