Indigenous·CBC FORUM

Should the sports world ban indigenous team names and logos?

From Chief Wahoo, former mascot for the Cleveland Indians baseball team, to the NFL's Washington Redskins, indigenous sports mascots and logos have been a controversial part of the sporting landscape for years.

Pop culture critic Jesse Wente spoke out against 'racist' logos this week

Minnesota demonstrators rallied outside the football stadium in Minneapolis in November 2014 as the Vikings took on the Washington Redskins. Washington is one of many sports franchises that have come under fire for their indigenous sports mascots, names or logos. (Hannah Foslien/Getty)

From Chief Wahoo, former mascot for the Cleveland Indians baseball team, to the NFL's Washington Redskins, indigenous sports mascots and logos have been a controversial part of the sporting landscape for years.

Jesse Wente, a Toronto-based pop culture critic of Anishinabe descent, spoke out against that practice earlier this week after Toronto Star columnist Rosie DiManno wrote a story defending teams named after indigenous groups, or who use caricatures of aboriginal people as their mascots.

"I do think indigenous logos are racist, because they're a byproduct ultimately of colonialism," Wente told CBC Radio's Metro Morning.

Read a recap of the live discussion below. Thank you for weighing in.