"It's hard for the people who are appropriating something to understand why that's offensive"
Ahead of Exeter Chiefs' scheduled AGM tonight, we look further into their use of Native American imagery
Last updated 24th Nov 2021
Is it time for Exeter Chiefs to move away from their controversial use of Native American-style branding?
The future of the club's use of this type of imagery is set to be discussed at tonight's Annual General Meeting (Wednesday 24 November).
Multiple groups have called upon the Premiership Rugby side to change it - including the oldest and largest group in the US which represents Indigenous people.
The National Congress of American Indians have described it as 'harmful' and 'offensive' in an open letter written to the club.
As we look ahead to the meeting, we speak to Stand Up To Racism Exeter and Exeter Communities Together. They tell us about similar instances of 'misappropriation' and why speaking out is 'so important' for minority groups.
Glorifying or cultural appropriation?
Many have argued that the Chiefs' use of Native American imagery is not as 'deeply offensive' as some might say.
Despite a petition calling on the club to drop their current branding amassing to nearly 4,000 signatures - Exeter's Board of Directors disagreed saying that it was 'highly respectful'.
They did however retire their Big Chief mascot which they said 'could be regarded as disrespectful'.
This decision was called 'tone deaf' by the petitioners.
Dr Faith Stafford is from Exeter Communities Together (ECT), a group that aims to give Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups a voice and increased visibility in the wider community.
She tells us that what they are doing is cultural appropriation:
"It happens all the time. After The Beatles went to India, for example, everybody knew all about being Buddhist and all of that; and that can be quite insulting because you adopt aspects of that culture and they're often visual aspects.
"I suppose it's hard for the people who are appropriating something to understand why that's offensive.
"If you're promoting something, wouldn't you take the trouble to research it and talk to people from that culture to find out how it should be represented? You wouldn't just sort of grab a few images and use those without talking to the people themselves."
Dr Faith Stafford - Exeter Communities Together (ECT)
Raj Prashar is an activist for Stand Up To Racism Exeter. Speaking on the matter, he tells us about the impact it can have:
"As a person of colour, I can sort of understand it, but I mean from my point of view, it's quite straightforward.
"Exeter Chiefs for Change have already put this out, but it's basically a case of it being their (Native American's) culture, and it's their history; so their views are the only views that really matter.
"We've got to respect that and I think the Chiefs need to get in line with a large proportion of the rest of the world now and try to stop propagating Native American imagery and culture.
"Racism and stereotypes - individuals end up being belittled and that causes hurt. I think it's not nice to live in a world where you're generally just causing hurt."
Raj Prashar - Stand Up To Racism Exeter
Having the conversation and raising awareness
Racism is an age-old issue that is constantly being highlighted in the media.
Most recently we saw the case of cricketer Azeem Rafiq, whose testimony on racism in cricket exposed the painful truths about discrimination within Yorkshire County Cricket Club and the wider sport.
There are a number of anti-racism charities across the country that are working to make a real difference - including Show Racism The Red Card and Kick It Out.
Dr Stafford tells us why it is crucial to be for us to be speaking out and taking action: "We can imagine there will be people saying, 'well, I just think they should toughen up' and others will be saying 'well how would you like it?' You know you can imagine those conversations going on and that's really important that those conversations happen.
"The pandemic has had a tremendous impact because it has highlighted the extent to which ethnic minorities are disadvantaged in society generally.
"It has really highlighted how poorly those communities are served, with the result that more people are willing to listen and more people are willing to put their money where their mouth is.
"This is a crisis, but for us it can be a huge opportunity.
"I think we have to make the best use of it to to carry on these conversations. Get out there and make a real change, but a lasting change."
Dr Faith Stafford - Exeter Communities Together (ECT)
Raj adds: "It is quite a courageous thing for people to stand up, put their head above the parapet and speak up about these things.
"When people do speak up, it raises the profile of these issues. For example, Lewis Hamilton using his platform to stand up against various forms of racism and other forms of oppression at the recent Grand Prix in Qatar.
"We've got to use whatever platform we've got to try and speak the language of equality wherever we can. We need to look before we start doing harmful things to others and maybe ask people's opinions.
"It's going to take a while to get there, but we need to get there by bit changing people's hearts and minds and the way people look."
Raj Prashar - Stand Up To Racism Exeter
Exeter Chiefs' AGM gets underway at 7.30pm this evening.
The club say they are not commenting before the meeting but they will release a statement after.
Read more:
America's largest Native group calls on Exeter Chiefs to 'drop deeply-offensive' imagery
Exeter Chiefs urged to drop "more than offensive" branding
"It's erasing their cultural identity"