Indian Heritage

I have been watching major league baseball tonight http://mlb.mlb.com/home, becausee it is the post season, and I am interested in who will progress on to the World Series.  The New York Yankees http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy are out of it, but I am interested in how the Boston Red Sox http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=bos do.  The Boston Red Sox won against the Tampa Bay Rays http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=tb. Then, the Los Angelese Dodgers http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=la played against the Atlanta Braves http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=atl, and the Braves won.

Some years ago, there was some sort of public outcry about the Atlanta Braves using the American Indian or Native American name as part of there identity. Along with that outcry, there was public objection to the tomahawk chop and chant http://www.talkingchop.com/2012/4/30/2990244/how-the-atlanta-braves-adopted-the-tomahawk-chop-from-the-florida-state-seminoles.  Well for whatever reason, this was not determined disrespectful and therefore was able to be continued in Atlanta, Georgia, as part of the fan support cheer of the Atlanta Braves.

I grew up in the township of Montague, Massachusetts http://montaguema.com/.  In this township were 5 villages: Millers Falls, Lake Pleasant, Montague Center, Montague City, and Turners Falls.  Turners Falls was the biggest village, and the site of a Native American massacre http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Turner's_Falls. 

When we grew up, the Turners Falls High School sports teams were knows as the Indians.  This was not meant as a derision of the Native Americans who lived and died in the area, but as an honorific. The yearbook annual was the Peske-Tuk, but I can no longer recall what that means, but apparently refers to the falls in the Connecticut River http://www.americancenturies.mass.edu/collection/itempage.jsp?itemid=5729&img=2&level=advanced&transcription=1

I think the Turners Falls team is now still called the Indians, although there was some time when this was considered derisive instead of honorific.  I am glad the cooler heads have prevailed and the Indians prevail.

All of this to say that I think the Atlanta Braves honorific of Native Americans, including the tomahawk chop is just that, an honorific, and a tribute to Native American Indian Heritage.