I was thinking of taking this week off due to the holiday but a few days ago I was thinking a lot about the origin story that's usually told of Thanksgiving and came across an article from Smithsonian Magazine this past Tuesday (November 21, 2021) titled How to Tell the Thanksgiving Story on Its 400th Anniversary which offers new insights and perspectives.
From a baseball standpoint, I also thought about how Native American cultural depictions have historically figured into baseball as well as some changes I think are appropriate and might happen one day soon. That plus the Friday after Thanksgiving being officially known as Native American Heritage Day was another contributing factor in my desire to post this week.
The American Indian imagery the Atlanta Braves continue to disrespectfully incorporate into their branding of a people's culture into a mascot is a practice I believe needs to end. A worthwhile read on the topic is National Congress of American Indians Respond to Manfred on Atlanta's Name, Celebration, published in Sports Illustrated's site on October, 27, 2021.Regarding Indianapolis, there were two articles I read on the situation in the Indianapolis Star: Native American group hosting discussion about Indianapolis minor league baseball team name from July 2020 and its followup Carolina Castoreno-Santana won't stop fighting to change Indianapolis baseball team name which was published in October of that year.
In my cursory research of the Indianapolis Indians, I have a hard time coming up with a good reason why that team name has been in use since 1902 besides sheer convenience and a general lack of creativity from the team's marketing department.
It does not take much imagination to refer to the team that plays in Indianapolis as the "Indians" but that's still hurtful and ripe for change. Luckily the intercultural dynamic in Spokane seems to be very positive and the one good thing that can happen for Indianapolis is that they won't have to completely discard the distinctive "I" font that they've featured on caps over the years.
The Indianapolis cap logo that resonates most with me is the one worn during their time as the top affiliate of the Montreal Expos from 1984 though 1992. The big league team's influence on this design is apparent and it's just another good reason why Hat Club's retro of this hat makes it an excellent choice for this week's Fresh Fitted Friday selection.
Most cap collectors eventually find one area in which they are conflicted in their hobby. In some cases, it could could be a Boston Red Sox fan having some sort of affinity for a unique piece of New York Yankees memorabilia. Another instance of this is my connection to some of the aforementioned hats in my collection that could be considered problematic.
I'm going to keep monitoring developments in Spokane and Indianapolis but if I had to guess if or when either team would change its name, the latter would be the most likely candidate. I also believe that transition could be smooth as long as on occasion, they commit to wearing tasteful retro uniforms featuring just the city's name and caps with the classic "I" font design.
As always, thanks for coming back to read about baseball hat geekery. I've got comments disabled here so if you'd like to discuss a trade or simply just chat about hats, please feel free to connect via the following social sites:
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