As I’m sure you know by now, on Wednesday, June 18th, the US Trademark and Patent office officially cancelled the Redsk*ns trademark, calling the name “disparaging to Native Americans.” It was a huge win, 22 years in the making. In the aftermath, there have been hundreds of articles, tons of news commentary, and people saying a whole lot of racist BS in defense of the name. But as it all has swirled, I kept wanting a collective list of ALL the folks who have spoken out against the team name. So I decided to make one.
I got started and realized that even with my browser bookmarks and resources, there’s no way I could get everything. So I need your help. This is just the framework/start, but I want to crowdsource filling in the rest. Send me links in the comments or on FB, and I’ll plug them in where they belong. Especially if your tribe has spoken out. I know there are more, but the news doesn’t tend to cover tribal voices nearly as much as celebrities and professional athletes.
Here we go!
ETA (6/23): Changethemascot.org has an ongoing list as well! I should have known my idea was not unique. Check it out. Great resource.
(American Indian Sports Team Mascots (AISTM) has a couple of great running lists as well–and you can see these go back to the early/mid 1990’s. List 1, List 2.)
Tribal Councils/Tribal Leaders/Tribal Members (thanks to changethename.org for a lot of these)
- Navajo Nation
- Cherokee Nation
- Choctaw Nation
- Chickasaw Nation
- Seminole Nation of Oklahoma
- Muscogee (Creek) Nation
- Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation
- Oneida Nation of New York
- United Tribes of Michigan
- Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin
- Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians
- Hoh Indian Tribe
- Penobscot Nation
- Samish Indian Nation
- Shoshone-Bannock Tribes
- Inter Tribal Council of Arizona
- Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians Gun Lake Tribe
- Native American Finance Officers Association (NAFOA)
- Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians
- Poarch Band of Creek Indians
- Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians
- The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation
- The Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes
- The Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation
- 67% of Native Americans in a new survey
- The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples James Anaya
National Organizations (Native):
- National Congress of American Indians (NCAI)
- National Indian Education Association (NIEA)**
- American Indian Movement (AIM)
- Wisconsin Indian Education Association**
- Oregon Indian Education Association**
- Kansas Association for Native American Education**
- National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA)
- Native American Financial Officers Association
- Society of American Indian Government Employees
- Native American Contractors Association
- Eradicating Offensive Native Mascotry (EONM)
National Organizations (non-Native):
- United Church of Christ
- 61 faith leaders in Washington DC
- The American Jewish Committee
- American Sociological Association
- American Psychological Association
- National Coalition for Equity in Public Service
- United States Black Chambers, Inc.
- BIG – Blacks in Government
Publications (This is lifted mostly from Poynter.org’s list compiled by Andrew Beaujon):
- San Francisco Chronicle
- Sports Illustrated’s Peter King
- Slate
- The Buffalo News’ Tim Graham
- Philadelphia Daily News’ John Smallwood
- The Kansas City Star
- Mother Jones
- The New Republic
- Washington City Paper
- The Oregonian
- Christine Brennan (USA Today)
- Mike Freeman (Bleacher Report)
- Seattle Times
Athletes
- Champ Bailey (former Redsk*ns player)
- Martina Navratilova
- Billy Mills (Oglala Lakota)
- Notah Begay III (Navajo)
- Richard Sherman
- Joe Theismann* (former Redsk*ns player)
- Fred Smoot* (former Redsk*ns player)
- Mike Tyson
- Jason Taylor (former Redsk*ns player)
- London Fletcher* (former Redsk*ns player)
- Chris Kluwe
- Deangelo Hall* (current Redsk*ns player)
- NFL Coach Mike Holmgren
- John Carlos
Politicians
- President Obama*
- 50 Democratic Senators (I’d list them all out, but you know…)
Celebrities/Other Public Figures
- Howard Stern
- John Oliver
- Keith Olberman
- John Legend
- Larry King
- Terry Bradshaw
- Jon Stewart
- Bob Costas
- Jesse Ventura
- Reed Hundt (former FCC chair)
Ok, now your turn–who am I missing? I know there are more. Share in the comments, and this list will be constantly updated as more articles come out!
Update! Are you a Native individual who wants to lend your name to the fight? (Because all the haterz say we don’t exist…)
Check out the full constantly-updating list of Native individuals against the Redsk*ns here: http://nativeappropriations.com/nativesagainstredskins
*= kinda weaksauce support, like “I’m on the side of doing what’s right” or “I’d think about changing it,” not necessarily explicit THE NAME IS RACIST kinda thing.
**=passed resolutions against Native mascots generally, not just the Redsk*ns
Comments
James Anaya (UN Special Rapporteur), Bob Costas, John Carlos, Jesse Ventura, Stephen Colbert (sort of), NIGA, Reed Hundt (former FCC chairman), Jack Abramoff.
Thanks Rob! I’ll get to updating…
Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians (my tribe)
http://www.changethemascot.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Mascot-Oppose-Letter-AP.pdf
Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians Gun Lake Tribe
http://www.changethemascot.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Gun-Lake-Tribal-Council-Resolution-13-810-Supporting-the-Renaming-of-the-DC-NFL-Franchise.pdf
Poarch Band of Creek Indians
http://www.changethemascot.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Ltr-from-Poarch-to-Cantwell-re-DC-NFL-franchise-name-9-23-13.pdf
Hoh Indian Tribe
http://www.changethemascot.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/ltr-from-Hoh-to-Sen-Cantwell-re-DC-NFL-franchise-name-change-10-17-13.pdf
Samish Indian Nation
http://www.changethemascot.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/ltr-from-Samish-re-DC-NFL-mascot-name-10-23-13.pdf
Shoshone-Bannock Tribes
http://www.changethemascot.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/ltr-from-Sho-Ban-to-Crapo-re-Redskins-Mascot-Oct2013.pdf
Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians
http://www.changethemascot.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/ATNI.pdf
Penobscot Nation
http://www.changethemascot.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/ltr-from-Penobscot-to-Sen-Cantwell-opposing-NFL-DC-franchise-name-.pdf
Native American Financial Officers Association
http://www.changethemascot.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/20131007_NAFOA_Board_Letter_Redskins_Use.pdf
The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation
http://www.changethemascot.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Colville-letter-on-mascots-3134892_1.pdf
The Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes
http://www.changethemascot.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Intertribal-Council-of-Five-Civilized-Tribes-Washington-Sports-Team-Resolution.pdf
Inter Tribal Council of Arizona
http://www.changethemascot.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Inter-Tribal-Council-of-Arizona-Letter.pdf
The Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation
http://www.changethemascot.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Ft-Berthold-Resolution.pdf
Society of American Indian Government Employees
http://saige.org/words/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/SAIGE-Position-on-Mascots.pdf
Native American Contractors Association
http://www.changethemascot.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Native-American_African-American-Communities_Against_Racism-051314.pdf
National Indian Gaming Association
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/04/14/supporting-derogatory-depictions-not-option-niga-154447
American Psychological Association
http://www.changethemascot.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/APA-Resolution.pdfhttp://www.changethemascot.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/APA-Resolution.pdf
National Coalition for Equity in Public Service
http://saige.org/words/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/NCEPSPressReleaserevised92513.pdf
United Church of Christ
http://www.changethemascot.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/UCC_Washington-National-Football-Team-Resolution.pdf
United States Black Chambers, Inc.
http://www.changethemascot.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Native-American_African-American-Communities_Against_Racism-051314.pdf
BIG – Blacks in Government
https://saige.org/words/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/MascotBIGresolution.pdf
This is AMAZING! Thank you!
Who cares?
All the people on the list, presumably.
Meanwhile, who cares if you don’t care?
I care about professional victims mucking up the works for everyone. I don’t think the majority of people in this country care what the Indians linked to this movement think. That includes the majority of real American Indians.
I would second rob. Who cares what you think? If you don’t care, go do something else. Leave. See? easy.
Define “real American Indians.” And prove what they think with something other than a bogus 10-year-old “poll.”
Meanwhile, the list includes many of the biggest tribes as well as “67% of Native Americans in a new survey.” So I’d guess you’re wrong about what most Indians think.
DJ NDN of the band A Tribe Called Red has been vocal about changing this and all Native-related sports team names.
leadership conference on civil and human rights (http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/full-text-resolution-on-the-changing-of-the-washington-redskins-name/2013/12/12/b002f130-6342-11e3-91b3-f2bb96304e34_story.html).
members of the PIscataway Indian Nation as well as the Piscataway-Conoy Tribe, (both native to MD/VA/DC area), have also spoken out against the name on local news.
Pew Research Center.
How Media Organizations are Handling the ‘Redskins’ Name
http://www.pewresearch.org/2013/10/30/how-media-organizations-are-handling-the-redskins-name/
18MillionRising: http://act.engagementlab.org/sign/18mr_snyder_NotYourMascot/
The Intellectual Property Issues in Cultural Heritage Project http://www.sfu.ca/ipinch/outputs/blog/seven-lessons-native-american-sports-mascot-controversy
Don’t forget to add the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, of Brooks, CA to your list of tribes. They paid for the airtime for the ad that was run during the NBA finals, in several major markets. The Tribal Chairman, and another council member (Chair: Marshall McKay, and Sec’y James C. Kinter) also put out their own video on why sports mascots were harmful to our children and community.
Little River Band of Odawa Indians
Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians
Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi
You can find PDF letters/resolutions here:
http://mcarsm.com/resolutions.html
Gene Collier, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/gene-collier/2014/06/25/Gene-Collier-Everything-Redskins-must-go/stories/201406250085
Does anyone know if Adrienne responds to mails on facebook?
I do sometimes. I get way too much to be able to respond to everything, unfortunately. You can also email me: nativeappropriations@gmail.com
thanks for the answear! I actually wrote you there too and after that on facebook. I guess you were just too busy but if you have the time to read it that would be great. My name ist Natalie Munk 🙂
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/07/10/legendary-quarterback-sonny-sixkiller-redskins-name-racist-me-155765
Add Sonny Sixkiller to the list of athletes. He may be the most prominent Native in major-league sports in the last half century.
P.S. I’d say NAFOA belongs in the “national organization” group.