As a big fan of the Cleveland Indians, I find myself frequently asked about the team's mascot, nicknamed "Chief Wahoo."

What a quandry.  Let's get a few things straight first.  I have no problems with the name "Indians" for the franchise.  The term is used often by historians and others as a synonym of Native American.  The image of Chief Wahoo and the name itself are a different story.

I find the image somewhat repugnant, though it is arguably less stereotypical than the older image (see below).  That being said, it is something I grew up with and find hard to forget.  But that is always the case I suppose.  The right thing to do would be to retire the Chief and transition to the cursive "I" that is creeping into Jacobs Field and onto uniforms more and more each year.

But that doesn't mean I'll get rid of my gear!

New Chief Wahoo.

Old Chief Wahoo… just a TOUCH more racist, huh?

On a sidenote, Cleveland was actually known as one of the more open-minded franchises years ago.  For example, Larry Doby, the first black player in the American League, starred for Cleveland.  The old Cleveland Spiders of the late 19th century featured a Native American player named Sockalexis (many mistakenly believe that he was the inspiration for the current team name, though it was actually a play on the Boston Braves).