Mass. Towns Conflicted Over Use Of Native American Mascots Mass. Towns Conflicted Over Use Of Native American Mascots Debates on the use of Indigenous peoples â like the old logo of the Washington Football Team â as mascots continue to occur in Massachusetts schools. Keith Allison / Flickr Share Mass. Towns Conflicted Over Use Of Native American Mascots Professional and amateur sports teams across the country have long adopted Native American imagery to represent their teams. Thatâs despite decades of objections by Native Americans and others claiming the mascots were offensive. As the ongoing debate heated up, many schools also removed or replaced their mascots. But, as two recent votes in Massachusetts demonstrate, not everybody supports the change.