December 30, 2011

Utah abandons "drum and feather"?

The University of Utah says goodbye to the drum and feather

By Mike GrantThe Drum and Feather is done. Sources tell KSL that the University of Utah has gone away from the drum and feather logo. The last time Utah will wear the logo will be in the Sun Bowl. Rumors are that the Utes will go to either the block "U" for the logo, or the double "UU".

The University of Utah has not yet confirmed the logo change. Spokeswoman for the University of Utah Athletics Department, Liz Abel, says there is no official announcement scheduled and that the school revisits the issue of the drum and feather logo every year.

However, several other bloggers with knowledge of discussions have sources confirming the logo is likely to go away.Comment:  Associating Ute Indians with feathers...ho-hum. Not terribly stereotypical, but not terribly original either.

No doubt non-Indians will do the usual amount of crying over the "loss" of this logo. But does anyone really care? The logo has to be on the low end of creative designs. A couple of teenagers probably could come up with something better.

For more on the subject, see The Problem with William & Mary's "Tribe" and Team Names and Mascots.

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4 comments:

  1. dmarks6:48 AM

    The mild "stereotypicality" of this is similar to the Kansas City Chiefs logo with its arrowhead.

    Going all the way is the CMU Chippewas logo, which is devoid of any Native imagery.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Shadow Wolf1:00 PM

    Well, isn't that good news? We may not reach the National Sports yet(i.e. Kansas City Chiefs, WA Redskins among others). But its quite obvious that both the High School and University Institution levels are abandoning these racist and stereotypical imagery. And its a good start as far as I'm concerned.

    ~Shadow Wolf

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  3. dmarks1:17 PM

    The Washington Redskins are unsalvagable.

    The Chiefs could simply replace the arrowhead with a fire chief's helmet. Problem solved.

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  4. Rob12:21 AM

    The news reports may have been premature:

    http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700212101/Utes-logo-to-remain-as-is-for-time-being.html

    Utes' logo to remain as is for time being

    So much for a media report that the University of Utah athletics department was dropping its drum (or circle) and feather logo. The school said otherwise in a released statement on Tuesday.

    "The University of Utah and its athletics department periodically review the use of the circle and feather logo out of sensitivity for native tribes across the country as well as Utah fans," it read. "At this time, the athletics department will continue to use both the circle and feather and the block U logos."

    A KSL.com report on Saturday said that the school was dropping the drum and feather logo. Utah athletics director Chris Hill, however, called it inaccurate.

    "It is," Hill said. "Because we just announced today that we're not."

    ReplyDelete

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