While the history of colonization and marginalization is not unique to the Americas, the practice of non-Native sports teams deriving team names, imagery, and mascots from indigenous peoples is still common in the United States and Canada, and has persisted to some extent despite protests from Indigenous groups. Cornel Pewewardy, Professor and Director of Indigenous Nations Studies at Portland State University, cites indigenous mascots as an example of dysconscious racism which, by placing images of Native American or First Nations people into an invented media context, continues to maintain the superiority of the dominant culture. It is argued that such practices maintain the power relationship between the dominant culture and the indigenous culture, and can be seen as a form of cultural imperialism.