As a disclaimer, I will start by saying that I am 1/32 Cherokee Indian. It may be the lowest classification used by Native American tribes to determine membership, but it’s still a part of my heritage.
But it’s time for American sports teams to step away from associating with Native American terms.
It’s not that I personally take offense to the names. It’s that there are still tribes residing in the United States that do. Groups like the Oneida Indian Nation have been fighting for years to get the Washington Redskins of the NFL to change their name, but now, even the NFL has backed Washington’s decision to keep its name.
Even an Associated Press-GFK poll reported 79 percent of 1,000 polled did not feel the Redskins needed a name change. As a response, the Oneida Indian Nation released its own poll, finding 59 percent of 500 Washington, D.C., residents agreed that Native American’s have a right to find the Redskins’ name offensive.
It’s hard to build a fanbase when you alienate people, even a small minority of the population. Along with the Redskins, the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs and MLB’s Cleveland Indians have spent years fighting against a name change.
All three have very weak connections to Native American culture if any at all. The Redskins, deemed the most offensive of names, were named for first coach William Dietz, who may or may not have actually been a Sioux Indian. The Chiefs were named for Kansas City Mayor Harold Roe, whose nickname was “the Chief,” and the Indians were simply named by the media in connection to the Atlanta Braves.
Even the Braves, whose name comes from the Native American term for “warrior,” have been met with criticism for the chant and the tomahawk chop, which is also used by the Chiefs and Florida State University Seminoles. The chant is used to rally the teams, but lately, it is being used more to rally opposition from advocacy groups.
None of these reasons provide a deep connection with Native Americans, and they should not continue using offensive terms or images in association with their team. Fans stop going to games when their team isn’t winning, not because a team changed its name.
Change the name to something better suited for the team, and it may just gain a few more fans. Teams like the Green Bay Packers or the Pittsburgh Steelers instill pride in their fans because of the deep connection their names have to the history of those cities. Why shouldn’t these teams change their names to inspire pride, not shame?
