How many of you who are not offended by 'redskin' are not Native American?

Question

Do any of you even know a Native American?

Don't bother quibbling about the meaning of the word 'native'. You know what I mean.

Answer 1

I am native american well at least mostly....

Answer 2

I, personally, am not offended by it, but I can see how Native Americans would be offended by it. Redskins is a term that has traditionally been used as a derogatory term for Native Americans. It would be the equivalent of having ateam called the wetbacks or the n-words. Most Native Americans I have met are disturbed by Redskins but not as much by teams calling themselves Indians or the name of a tribe like the Seminoles but dislike the representation of the mascots such as the Grinning Indian of Cleveland or the Tomahawk Chop. In summary Redskins is offensive because it is a derogatory term not necessarily because it is a name of a Native American.

Answer 3

It has been the team name for so long that its kinda hard to get upset about it now. However, if( hypothetically speaking) the NFL or any other sports league announced that there would be an NFL team called the Redskins today with a Native American on their helmet, it would piss alot of people off. Point is if it hadnt been a round so long more people would be angry and do something about it. That doesnt mean its right though.

*Edit*
Yeah my boy friend is Native American. He hates the Redskins but only because he is a Cowgirls fan.

Answer 4

I don't know what these people are talking about. I highly doubt that some of these people who say they are Native are active in their communities. They probably just claim it to sound cool. And for someone who knows a Native.. You cannot speak for them. For the guy who lives near a Native town, what gives you the right to speak for them? Like the guy who is part Native and his friend is full. Obviously you aren't involved in your community. Why? Because your blood quantum doesn't matter when it comes to deciding if something is racist... come on!

Native people who are Active in their comunities don't believe in racist mascots. You can use any excuse you want to justify it people but it isn't right. I can argue each point but I am so sick of hearing it. And Redskin doesn't mean red skin, it means the bloody scalp of Native people. Look into my questions post, I put in evidence of this (under racist terms post).

Can people please get educated. Can we spread cultural tolerance and understanding instead of cultural ignornace?

Answer 5

It seems like everything offends someone these days. Let's just call all teams by their city or school names....Duke, Missouri, Dallas ect. Even then, someone named George or Louis would get upset. I am surprised a group of cowboys aren't offended or the ACLU hasn't jumped all over the Saints. And yes I have several friends and also my wife that is part or mostly native Americans and they could care less. And besides, if there was an American Indian University, what do you think they would call themselves?

Answer 6

I am a Native American and am not offended by the team name of Redskins but I am offended by that logo that they use. A Redskin can mean any person that has red skin maybe even like a red neck but that logo is implying that the name is geared towards Native Americans which I think is wrong. Our skin color is NOT red so why are they implying that it is by using a Native American in their logo? I think they should change the logo and not include any refrences to Native Americans in their stadium but they can keep the damn name.

Answer 7

I AM part Native American and I'm not offended. One of my friends and former coworkers is a full blooded native American and he is not offended either So the next time you get the urge to speak on the behalf of everyone else...don't.

Unlike you we are not still living in the 1800s we have moved on with our lives.

Answer 8

I have a slight amount of Native American in me, and I'm not offended by the Redskins at all. I'm also not offended by the Cleveland Indians and Chief Wahoo. It's just something that's never bothered me I guess, but I'm sorry that it offends you so much...

Answer 9

I live a town over from Native land. And I know quite a few they take pride in the use of professional teams using the names for mascots.I do beleive that the people who complain about the use of Indian names truly don't understand that the names are used as strong names. I wish they would just get over it. What's next animal rights activists complainig about the use of animal names as mascots?

Answer 10

I am a full blood Mohawk and this is one of the most sensitive subjects our people face in sports. If their is a tribe of people who democratically vote in council to allow their name tobe used ( i.e. Seminoles ) then we should respect the tribes decision. But to put a vauge moniker like Redskins to a teams name is maybe not deliberatly meant to offend but it is somewhat insensative to our people. I am not suggesting that anyone who roots for these unfortunatly named teams is anti-native but I would ask that they put themselves in our shoes. how would they feel ?

Answer 11

I'm white, and yeah...I guess I'm not offended by it. I have a friend who is Native American...I'm pretty sure he is indifferent to the whole ordeal, but he is hardly in touch with his roots at all, I just think of him as another guy.

I think my way of rationalizing it is that I wouldn't care if someone made a team called the palefaces etc...I'd probably just think it's funny. But it's whatever, up to you guys and the folks in washington if you want it changed or not.