In time for the Superbowl, the National Congress of American Indians released a PSA calling for the renaming of the Washington football team. This article is from Salon.com. You can see the 2 minute PSA by clicking here.
As football fans gear up for the Super Bowl, the National Congress of American Indians has issued a PSA to remind them that the Washington Redskins is still a team name, and that, yes, it is still offensive.
In October, President Obama said if he owned the football team, he would “think about changing” the name, which is a slur for Native Americans — an opinion that team owner Dan Snyder does not share.
The PSA lists several things that Native Americans call themselves, like “proud,” “underserved,” and “forgotten.” They do not, however, call themselves R--skins.
Other football teams that have Native Americans as mascots include the Kansas City Chiefs, the Atlanta Braves and the Cleveland Indians.
Question: Do we give any thought to other names like "Edmonton Eskimos", when Inuit people don't any longer use the European-generated name for themselves (and nor do most other contemporary Canadians)? While it's clearly not as loaded as "R--skins", "Eskimos" is out-of-date, and harkens back to a colonial period we're working to get past.
You can find good information about issues such as these at the facebook site: Decolonizing Forum-Manitoba
- Submitted by Gareth
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