"Are you offended by the nickname Redskins or any of their imagery? What do you think most Native Americans that you know feel about this? Do other teams that have Native American mascots or logos offend you? If so, which ones? Please let me know your feelings on this. Thanks!"
And so far I have some very differing opinions:
R.Y. said, "Personally, I don't have a problem with any sports teams using native mascots. I've always felt like it's a compliment to us that the men and women who play the games want to be like us. The majority of people around here (Cherokee, NC) I talked to about the subject, feel the same as I do. Most of the opposition to it comes from strict traditional people who can't seem to practice forgiveness for the ill treatment long years ago."
B.R.S. said, "I am offended by Redskin as a name for a variety of reasons. I believe the obvious is that American Indian Tribes are not red skinned. I realize in art we have been portrayed as having a copper type skin that appears red in certain light. If that was leading issue behind the name, I would say that is not a real reason to be offended. But, you need to ask some of the American Indian Tribes that have almost been wiped out by that name. In colonial times traders and local government paid for skins. There was a certain price paid for various animal skins. On that list was the term "Red-skin," which referred to bloody scalps of American Indians. Most of the affected Tribes were Penobscots, Passamaquoddy, Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), Mashpee Wampanoag and others along the New England coast line. The reason they were paid for these scalps, the colonists were working to eradicate the American Indian presence to take over land. My friends from that area do not generally support the "Redskins." In fact one of the Tribes I mentioned is the iconic Tribe the US based its historic view of the pilgrims and Indians had a Thanksgiving dinner. They will say I am a Washington fan (and not even say Redskins). This mascot name has never been an honor. American Indians have had their name placed on cars, appliances, motorcycles, rivers, towns, etc. Should the football team continue to have the name. I believe it does two things now that you know this. I perpetuates upset feelings. It also shows public ignorance. I don't make that last statement in a pejorative fashion. I say that because we should work to understand and discover. Many people are not aware of the origin of the word redskin. Some may even say the team name is and always will be Redskin. That needs to change. Have the Dallas Cowboys always been the Dallas Cowboys? No, they changed their name decades ago from Dallas Texans. Now with the urge to change, I believe Indian County should feel obligated to help find a new name if they truly want to honor American Indians. I think Indian Country has a great opportunity to educate, repair a slur, educate the world on its existence and principles, and better foster a great American tradition of the game of football. There is a lot more I can say. But, I think you get the point. By the way I am Dallas Cowboy fan. Imagine an Cherokee Indian as Cowboy fan? Dallas is America's Team!
H.O. said "Personally, I am not offended at all. Heck, my high school mascot was the "Warriors" and the local university (UNC-Pembroke) is the "Braves". I would like to think that most schools choose a mascot that reflects strength, cunning, ability, etc so I'm sure there is no ill will toward those groups of people (native Americans, etc). To me, this is just Political Correctness gone haywire. I hate all this PC crap. Next thing you know, the PCs will be claiming groups like "Pirates" are offensive! What about the "Fightin' Irish", "Ragin' Cajuns", or "Mountaineers"? There is a long history of this and many claim the use of native American mascots is actually "honoring" their heritage. As for the commercialization of them, Native Americans utilize various means to commercialize themselves. Do you remember the wrestler "Chief Wahoo McDaniel"? Also, just go up the road to Cherokee. The Cherokee never even wore feather headdresses. They wore turbans. So if Native Americans have no problem using their heritage to commercialize themselves, I have no problem with others using it as well to market their athletics."
P.T. says "I do not feel offended in any way. It should be an honor for those names to be used."
Interesting stuff.. So far, it's 3 to 1 in favor of nickname.. and the 1 is admittedly a Cowboys fan.
As I get more opinions in, I will update.
In the meantime let's look at some history of the Native American mascot controversies:
The Seminole Tribe of Florida officially sanctions the use of the Seminole as Florida State University’s nickname and of Osceola as FSU's symbol. In July 2005, the Seminole Nation General Council, the legislative body for the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, voted 18-2 not to oppose the use of Native American names and mascots by college sports teams.
Other Indian tribes have also supported the use of their tribal names as a tribute to their heritage. The Ute Tribe approved the use of the name "Utes" for the University of Utah and the NCAA granted a waiver to allow the name to remain.
The Central Michigan University nickname, the Chippewas was originally placed on the “hostile or abusive” list but was removed when the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Nation of Michigan gave its support to the nickname.
The University of North Dakota's former athletic logo, a Native American figure, was recently dropped. Due to the NCAA's perception that the term "Fighting Sioux" and the accompanying logo are offensive to native Americans, the NCAA pressured the university to discontinue use of the logo. When UND moved in the fall of 2009 to change its nickname, one of the two Sioux tribal councils in the state sued to have the name retained.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, however, is permitted to use the name "Illini" owing to the NCAA ruling that the name is closely related to the name of the state and not directly associated with Native Americans. The term Fighting Illini is in fact a reference to veterans from Illinois who fought during World War I. The symbol Chief Illiniwek was ruled "hostile and abusive" and was retired in 2007 to comply with the NCAA's ruling, and the following year, in compliance with a related NCAA ruling, both U of I and Northwestern University retired their then-current rivalry trophy, the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk.
The College of William and Mary, founded in 1693 with a charter to, among other things, educate and evangelize the native population, voluntarily changed its sports nickname from "Indians" to the "Tribe" in the late 1970's. However, the NCAA forced the school to remove the two tribal feathers stemming from their logo In 2006 due to "insensitivity" towards Native Americans. The fact that the local Pamunkey and Mattaponi tribes supported the College's use of the feathers was not enough for the NCAA.
The Arkansas State University officially removed its mascot, the "Indians," in 2008, replacing it with the "Red Wolves" at the request of the Osage tribe.
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