The Indians lost after having a three game lead in the ACLS. It seems Boston has shed the “Curse of the Bambino” Now it’s the Cleveland Indians who seem to be cursed. Why do I think there is a curse?

Louis Sockalexis was born on October 24th, 1871. Louis was just five years old when the famous “Battle of the Little Big Horn” took place on June 25th, 1876. The Black Hills war took place from 1876-1877. Needless to say the media was not kind to Indian people. The New York Graphic on August 15th 1876 printed a cartoon depicting Sitting Bull as half Indian and half buck, a hideous looking beast. A soldier holds a smoking rifle that has delivered a fatal wound to the beast. This beast is dying with hands reaching out in the form of claws. The caption reads “The right Way to Dispose of Sitting Bull and His Braves,” You can find this photo on the web or in the book “Newspaper Indian” by John M. Coward. Other battles were fought close to that time such as “Sand Creek” in 1864 which was heralded as a great victory in the media. History would tell us it was really a massacre where they killed women and children.

It was into this type of atmosphere just twenty years later in 1897 that Louis Sockalexis stepped up to the plate. The fans would perform mock war whoops and throw garbage at him. Sockalexis did his best to ignore the abuse, even saying at one point “no matter where we play, I go through the same ordeal, and at the present time I am so used to it that at times I forget to smile at my tormentors, believing it to be part of the game.”

Yes Louis Sockalexis, a member of the Penobscot Indian Nation once upon a time played for Cleveland. His career was short lived and many attribute this to alcoholism. I can tell you that I don’t know of one person today who could take the abuse Sock took for two days let alone two years. As for him being an alcoholic I don’t know that. I do know that major league players today as well as college athletes party every once in a while after a game and it is a cultural ritual for sports fans to tailgate and have pizza and beer parties during these games. To label Sock as an alcoholic may not be an accurate label.

He left the Spiders in 1897 and went back home where he worked as a logger and coached little league ball and played some semi-professional baseball for the Maine leagues. He died of a heart attack on December 24th 1913 at the age of 42. It is believed that the team was actually named after him in 1915, two years after his death.

Sock played with the team for a short two seasons but during that time left a lasting impression. The Penobscot Nation feels honored that a major league baseball team’s name can be traced to one individual and that person is Louis Sockalexis, a Penobscot tribal member.

What the Penobscot Nation is not so pleased and honored about is the mascot, a grinning red faced, buck-toothed caricature representing the Indians. The team named this thing “Chief Wahoo” which is a joke in itself and projects the image of foolishness and stupidity. Much like black face use to project during vaudeville. I know sports fans out there are saying why are these Indians complaining about a logo? They are just trying to make Cleveland be “Politically Correct” they should just get over it and get on with life.

Native people across this Country are trying to get on with life, trying to be treated equally and respected. Cleveland has millions of fans watching them play. These fans see that foolish and senseless caricature on their caps with the word Indians on the front of these uniforms. It’s like putting a sign out for every one to see that makes a joke out of Indians everywhere. That caricature is a throw back to when Indians were seen as sub-human and made fun of. It certainly does not reflect the contributions of Louis Socklaxis to professional baseball and the part that he played in breaking the color barrier.

There are those who will never understand and never want to understand why we as Indians are so insulted by this logo. I read an e-mail comment the other day that stuck with me. It said Asian people have a word for Americans and it means “Stinks of milk” What if the team had an American Flag on their caps and on the front of their uniforms was the phrase “Stinks of Milk” it wouldn’t be so funny and the media and the public would be incensed. They would refuse to televise or promote the team in any way.

I have seen the media and others come to the rescue when other races are denigrated. I’m sure you can think of examples of people losing their jobs over racial slurs etc. This kind of treatment is not allowed when other races are involved. Why is it tolerated with Native Americans? We are human beings just like any other race and are honorable citizens of this Country. It’s time we are recognized and respected.

Yes I think Sock and our ancestors may have cursed this team or maybe the Cleveland team has cursed itself. How could anyone wear such an image on their uniforms and be taken seriously. It is said that whenever negative energy is sent out from us it comes back to us. That’s the curse. It’s time to change it and show some respect to the legacy of Sockalexis and to Native People.
One more thing: Your Welcome Red Sox Fans. GO SOX and GO JACOBY ELLSBURY!!