NCAI Ending "Indian" Mascots Initiative: Health Impacts of Native "Themed" Mascots

The purpose of this research update is to provide an overview of the key findings of a recently published review of the health impacts of Native “themed” mascots in the academic peer-reviewed literature. This review, “Twenty Years of Research Into the Health Impacts of Native-Themed Mascots,” was published in the research journal American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research in March 2022.
Overall, the review finds that research into Native “themed” mascots, defined to include team names, images and logos, as well as related game-day and fan rituals, found evidence of detrimental impacts on the health of American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs).