Change the Mascot
There's a powerful video circulating the internet the last few days, and it addresses the use "redskins" as it is used to described the NFL football term, Washington Redskins. The Washington Redskins has been a source of controversy between NFL owners, Native American groups, fans and the United States government. Some Native American groups insist that the term redskin is a racial epithet and as such perpetuates the demeaning sterotypes of Native Americans. Numerous civil rights, education, athletic, and academic organizations consider any use of native names and/or symbols by non-native sports teams to be a harmful form of ethnic sterotyping which should be eliminated.
ChangetheMascot.org is the website hosting the campaign video intended to end the use of the racial slur "redskins" as the mascot and name of the NFL team in Washinton D.C. Launched by the Oneida Indian Nation, the campaign calls upon the NFL and Comissioner Roger Goodell to do the right thing and bring an end to the use of the racial epithet.
In a poll commissioned by the Oneida Indian Nation, 59 percent of respondents say Native Americans have a right to feel offended by the term Redskins. Among Redskins fans polled, a total of 46 percent of respondents said a name change would not lessen their support for the team. Another 23 percent said that a name change would actually make them even more of a Washington fan. The poll of 500 adults in the Washington D.C. area was conducted by SurveyUSA and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percent.
A 1995 Census Bureau Survey indicated that 49% of Native people prefered being called American Indian, 37% preferred Native American, 3.6% preferred "some other term," and 5% had no preference. As it is, most prefer to be called by the given name of their tribe.
For example, Cathy Chadwick says "Most of us prefer to be called by our own Nation, mine is Lenape. However, when speaking generally, this is not possible. Hence the more acceptable terms, Ingidenous Person, First Nations, First Peoples etc.."
Christina Berry writes "In the end, the term you choose to use (as an Indian or non-Indian) is your own personal choice. Very few Indians that I know care either way. The recommended method is to refer to a person by their tribe, if that information is known. The reason is that the Native peoples of North America are incredibly diverse. It would be like referring both a Romanian and an Irishman as European. It's true that they are both from Europe but their people have very different histories, cultures, and languages.."
National Congress of American Indians
The National Congress of American Indians associated with the video campaign to change the name has this in their policy regarding Anti-Defamation & Mascots..
"In general, NCAI strongly opposes the use of derogatory Native sports mascots. However, in the case where mascots refer to a particular Native nation or nations, NCAI respects the right of individual tribal nations to work with universities and athletic programs to decide how to protect and celebrate their respective tribal heritage.
Indian mascots and stereotypes present a misleading image of Indian people and feed the historic myths that have been used to whitewash a history of oppression. Despite decades of work to eliminate the use of discrimination and derogatory images in American sports, the practice has not gone away."
Name Controversy
Supporters of keeping the name and logo, most predominantly the owner and the NFL commissioner, state their belief that the name is a positive reference to Native Americans, invoking qualites of strength and courage.
Advoates of changing the team's name argue that sterotyping of Native Americans must be understood in the context of history which includes conquest, forced relocation, and orgnaized efforts to eradicate native cultures, which separated young Native Americans from their families in order to educate them as Euro-Americans. Research also demonstrates the harm done to society by stereotyping of any kind, with studies showing that exposure to any stereotypes increased the likelihood of stereotypical thinking with regard to other groups.
Supporters of ChangetheMascot.org can take action by:
- Write to Roger Goodell at NFL Commissioner, 345 Park Ave., New York, NY 10154
- Call the NFL league office at 212-450-2000.
- Send a message to Commissioner Goodell on Twitter @nflcommish with the hashtag, #ChangeTheMascot.
