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Racism In Native American Culture

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Never Say Never

It’s hard to believe in this day and age that racism is still presently typical as the latest turmoil over the Washington Redskins football team’s name and image. Yet some fans and the owner of the team defend the name like it was a biblical symbol. It is hard to fathom their defiance and meaningless excuses like the quote from the owner “ I will never, change the name! Washington Redskins’ is much more than just a name. It stands for strength, courage, and respect—the very values that are so intrinsic to Native American culture 1.” If that was the case then why are the real communities of First Nations people not backing the owner and fan’s reasoning? The owner of the Redskins is a man named Dan Snyder, a Jew who you would …show more content…
The team is contracted to play at Braves Field, and are called "The Braves." On July 8, 1933, the team moves out of Braves field into Fenway and the name is changed to Redskins. Feb. 13, 1937,
the Washington Redskins are officially born and the team moves from Boston Redskins franchise to Washington, D.C.2 Later in 1937, the owner creates the first volunteer band to entertain the fans. Marshall’s wife writes the song” Hail to the Redskins.” The first lyrics reflected what the people of the time thought and represented the Native American warrior imagery. However, the lyrics were insulting and later changed to be less odious to represent modern sensibilities …show more content…
In 2014, in Washington DC, Major Vincent Gray made it clear if Snyder wanted to relocate within the city he would have to change the name. In addition, 10 members of Congress sent letters to FEDEX, a major sponsor, asking to change the name 6. President Obama has weighed on controversy saying “If I were the owner of the team and I knew that there was a name of my team — even if it had a storied history — that was offending a sizeable group of people, I’d think about changing it.”7 The First nations people have also expressed their feelings on the matter. The Center for Indigenous Peoples Studies at California State University, have conducted a study on racial and ethnic perspectives on the team name Redskins and associated issues, and found that the large majority of American Indians 67% agree that the Redskins team name is a racial or racist word and symbol.8
Unfortunately, there are groups and individuals who are still in the mindset that the name and symbol are not racist. In the same study conducted by California state,
Whites were 33% in agreement, 26% neutral, and 41% disagreed the term was racial, generally the reverse of American Indian responses.9 To add insult to injury, NFL commissioner Rodger Goodell, defended owner Snyder saying “Redskins from its origin represented a positive

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