Spokane's Baseball Indians: MAC 100 Stories: A Centennial Exhibition
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Spokane's minor league baseball team, known since 1903 as the Spokane Indians, unveiled a new logo in 2006 with the blessing of the Spokane Tribe of Indians. Teams with Indian nicknames, logos, mascots and cheers are often criticized as culturally insensitive, but this relationship is a rare example of a tribe-and-team collaboration. Team officials wanted to avoid racial stereotypes, and the tribe wanted a successful working relationship with the squad wearing its name. Some team apparel features an alternate logo written in the Tribe's native Salish language. The partnership may offer a hopeful model for other teams grappling with controversy over their Indian nicknames.
MAC 100 Stories: A Centennial Exhibition is told on the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture campus in Spokane's Browne's Addition, with additional highlights at 15 sites in Spokane and eastern Washington. The exhibit experience (February 22, 2014 - January 2016) weaves stories and programs about Inland Northwest people, places and events by capitalizing on the MAC's extraordinary collection. www.northwestmuseum.org
Spokane Historical presents 15 regional and city tours in partnership with the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture and its 100 Stories exhibition.
Files
Spokane Baseball Club, 1890
The Spokane Base Ball Club was "Champions of the Pacific Northwest" before they became known as the Indians. Image L86-42.1 courtesy of the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture
"Spokane's New Baseball Team," 1913
Spokane's baseball team officially became the "Indians" in 1903. The team poses for a photo in 1913. Image L86-42.4 courtesy of the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture
The Spokane Indians, c. 1940
Spokane Indians players relax in the dugout at Ferris Field while a few of their teammates chat with opposing players. Image L86-640.17 courtesy of the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture
A Compromising Position
Image L97-63.167 courtesy of the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture
What's in a Name?
Local Plateau Indians served as publicity mascots for the Spokane baseball team known as the "Indians" since 1903. Image L97-63.153 courtesy of the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture