The Washington Redskins are an American football team that plays in the National Football League. The Redskins joined the NFL in 1932 as the Boston Braves, then relocated to Washington D.C. in 1933 and became the Washington Redskins (Washington Redskins Team Encyclopedia). They play in the National Football Conference which is a subdivision of the NFL. They are one of only five teams to have over 600 regular and postseason wins (Washington Redskins Team Encyclopedia). The Redskins have won five championships since the creation of their team. The logo for the Washington Redskins is an Indian Chief, I believe that the team should at least change their logo if not the name as well.
According to the National Congress of American Indians, since the 1960s Native Americans have wanted the Redskins logo to be changed as well as the name changed. The reasoning behind this is because Redskin is a racial slur for a Native American. Native Americans demanding change include tribal nations, national tribal organizations, civil rights organizations, and individuals. The National Congress of American Indians is the largest Native American organization with 1.2 million people as of 2013. Using the names and or symbols resembling any race is considered ethnic stereotyping. Americans thought it was okay to use it for their sports teams because some of the primarily Native American high schools used “redskins” as their team name. But the term “redskin” should be avoided if you are not a Native American.
The way that the teams depict the Native Americans is all the same. Brownish skin, war paint, feathers and long black hair. The issue with the Washington Redskins is not necessarily their team logo but their name. The term “redskin” is like I said before a very offensive racial slur towards Native Americans. Different tribes have all come together and agreed that the name needs to be changed. Many of them have stated that they don’t appreciate the use of Native American names and symbols by non native teams such as the Washington Redskins. They view this as a type of ethnic stereotyping. The Redskins owner, Dan Snyder, has also been a huge problem to the Native American people because he showed no compassion for their culture. He consistently refuses to change the name. In regards to changing the name Snyder wrote the following “we cannot ignore our 81 year history, or the strong feelings of most of our fans as well as Native Americans throughout the country. After 81 years, the team name ‘Redskins’ continues to hold the memories and meaning of where we came from, who we are, and who we want to be in the years to come. To me his response was quite inappropriate because it sounds like he is speaking on behalf of all the Native American people. The Oneida Indian Nation which is a tribe based out of New York has called to meet with Snyder multiple times to discuss the name of the team and multiple times Snyder has refused. Its infuriating to me that every time Snyder is asked about changing the name he comes up with a bullshit excuse on why not to change it.
Another thing about the Washington Redskins that falls right into the category of cultural appropriation is the way the fans behave and dress at games. From August to January every year, every Sunday for over 70 plus years Redskins fans have been dressing up wearing feathers, headdresses resembling those of the Native Americans, spears, war paint, arrowheads and anything that looks like it would be worn by a Native American.
In an article I recently read from the Washington Post the writer, Kevin B. Blackistone, talks about his experiences as a Redskins fan and how he would go to the games and just see thousands of people dressed up in costumes that resembled those of the Native Americans. In the article he makes a pretty genius comparison between the now infamous Rachel Dolezal and the fans of the Washington Redskins. As you may now know Rachel Dolezal is the WHITE woman who claimed she was black so that she could run for president of the NAACP. Dolezal changed how she looked everyday by taking things that were usually accustomed to black people and copying them so that she could fit the part. This is pretty much what Washington Redskins fans are doing by dressing up at the games to look like the native Americans. Blackistone mentions how many of the fans would act like they were Native Americans and would call themselves names that sounded like they were actual Native American names. I’m not even Native American and find this a bit disrespectful. Doesn’t matter what culture someone comes from when someone copies something that is near and dear to their heart such as how their customs im sure that they will get angry. This is the situation the Native American people in the northeast are in. they feel disrespected not only by the ownership of the Washington Redskins but also the NFL, and the fans of the team. The NFL who has been about respect and fairness lately has yet to get involved in the ongoing saga of the Redskins team name. Don’t get me wrong I am a huge NFL fan but it's somewhat annoying when an organization who has been all about doing the right thing lately and trying to make sure the fans are happy doesn’t get involved in one of the most controversial issues in the game right now.