When the Washington Redskins chose their team name, their intent was to epitomise Native American qualities, yet they inadvertently defined what it is to be Native American, made use of a culture that was not theirs to take, and in the process, offended a number of people. Writers and poets like Winona Linn and Rita Phyllis provide insight on what it is like to have to prove that they are American in light of stereotypes. Phyllis writes, “Apparently, as Indians go, I’m a flop, an embarrassment to my racial stereotype,” (Phyllis). Having a sports team named “The Redskins” validates these stereotypes. As stated by Debra Kohl, a journalist in Arizona,“These terms make it easier for people to think of us Indians as not really American.” (Barry). Another thing to consider is the idea that Native American culture is not for the Washington Redskins to take. This is because they are part of the dominant culture, which indicates that there is history. The memory of the Sac and Meskwaki people being forced to leave by American settlers, for example, can make racial slurs much more powerful. It should also be noted that the sports team does not have the same understanding of the culture as someone of Aboriginal descent, causing this slur to misrepresent Native American values by associating “Redskins” with objects like tomahawks, feathers and warpaint. The name does no justice to the variety of lifestyles, customs, art forms and beliefs that characterise the culture. Although not all Native Americans feel this strongly about it, there is still a significant number of people that do. A poll conducted by the Washington Post concluded that 9 out of 10 Native Americans said they took no offence to the name of the Washington Redskins; however, it must be noted that only 504 people took part in the poll and that they cannot represent the feelings of 5.2 million Native Americans (Barry). Even if they had all voted in the poll and most were in favour of the name, there would still be a percentage of people offended by it. In the end, if a sizeable group of people is offended by something, something is wrong. These reasons should be enough to make the Washington Redskins at least consider changing their name.
Works Cited
Phyllis, Rita. “Sorry for not being a stereotype”, Chicago Sun-Times, 2004
Barry, Dan. “A Heated Linguistic Debate: What Makes ‘Redskins’ a Slur?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 May 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/05/22/sports/football/redskins-poll-prompts-a-linguistic-debate.html.