Philip Yenyo
Philip Yenyo is a Native American civil rights activist. He is one of several prominent American Indians to spearhead the movement against the use of Native American imagery as sports mascots.
Philip Yenyo | |
|---|---|
| Born | Philip John Yenyo 26 October 1965[1] |
| Nationality | American Indian |
| Occupation | Executive director of the American Indian Movement of Ohio chapter Activist |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Organization | American Indian Movement Committee of 500 Years of Dignity and Resistance |
| Relatives | Edward Yenyo (brother)[1] Michele Marie Yenyo (sister)[1] |
| Website | American Indian Movement of Ohio |
Early life
Philip John Yenyo was born on 26 October 1965 to Adeline Ramirez and John Yenyo in Cleveland, Ohio.[1]
Career
Yenyo currently serves as the executive director of the state of Ohio's chapter of the American Indian Movement.[2] He is also co-chair for The Committee of 500 Years of Dignity and Resistance.[3] The latter organization serves as an indigenous-supportive, multicultural organization dedicated to bolstering the cultural human heritage rights of indigenous people who live in the northeast Ohio region.[4]
Activism
Yenyo has dedicated a significant portion of resources to protesting the use of Chief Wahoo mascot by the Cleveland Indians. "I would like to see the name and logo changed. Both have to go."[5] Of the logo, Yenyo has stated, "But I think our people and others have come to realize that this caricature of our people as a red-face, smiling savage does great harm to us and our culture and has done so for many years."[6] "This imagery, most sports teams are named after animals and they put us in that same category. We're human beings. We're still a living culture and we still exist."[7] He has also explicated on the exploitation of other items of sacred significance to American Indian. "When we tell people that the feather is sacred to us, it's a sacred as a Christian cross, some of them start to come around and start understanding," he said. "When you start to explain to people how it affects us as a people and it puts us in a category with animals, they begin to see our side."[8]
See also
References
- "Genealogy Report: Descendants of John Julius Jenyo". Genealogy. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
- Withers, Tom (10 April 2015). "Indians fans face protest at home opener: 'We are people, not your mascots'". Washington Times. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- "VIDEOS: How Do You Feel About Chief Wahoo? AIM's Philip Yenyo & City Council's Zack Reed". Cool Cleveland. 10 April 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- Shilling, Vincent (17 April 2012). "Standing Up And Staying Put: Four Decades of Protesting the Cleveland Indians' Chief Wahoo". Indian Country Today Media Network. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- McGraw, Daniel (11 April 2015). "New push to eliminate Chief Wahoo as Indians mascot". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- "New push to eliminate Chief Wahoo as Indians mascot". Raycom Group. 6 April 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- Withers, Tom (10 April 2015). "Protesters call for Indians to change nickname, logo". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- Gase, Zach (12 April 2015). "Protestors want Indians to change nickname, logo". Cleveland SunTimes. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.