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

(1965-10-26) 26 October 1965[1]
Cleveland, Ohio US
NationalityAmerican Indian
OccupationExecutive director of the American Indian Movement of Ohio chapter
Activist
Years active1973–present
OrganizationAmerican Indian Movement
Committee of 500 Years of Dignity and Resistance
RelativesEdward Yenyo (brother)[1]
Michele Marie Yenyo (sister)[1]
WebsiteAmerican 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
  1. "Genealogy Report: Descendants of John Julius Jenyo". Genealogy. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  2. Withers, Tom (10 April 2015). "Indians fans face protest at home opener: 'We are people, not your mascots'". Washington Times. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  3. "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.
  4. 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.
  5. McGraw, Daniel (11 April 2015). "New push to eliminate Chief Wahoo as Indians mascot". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  6. "New push to eliminate Chief Wahoo as Indians mascot". Raycom Group. 6 April 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  7. Withers, Tom (10 April 2015). "Protesters call for Indians to change nickname, logo". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  8. 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.
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