Citation:
JESSE, WASHINGTON. "As Debate Over 'Redskins' Name Intensifies, Hard To Tell How Many Indians Think It's A Slur." Canadian Press, The (n.d.): Points of View Reference Center. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.
Summary:
Debate has been intensifying over whether or not the Redskins' name should be changed. More and more Native Americans have been weighing in on the name recently. Tommy Yazzie, superintendent of the Red Mesa school district on the Navajo Nation reservation weighed in, saying that his tribe has better things to worry about. The name of his school team? The Redskins. Other people say the name is respectful, but once other 'skins start calling people by their skins then it becomes racist. In 1932, Owner George Preston chose the name to honor Head Coach William Dietz, an Indian.
This article shed some more light on this debate for me. The fact that the name was created in honor of someone really changed how I look at it. The name was not picked with hate, but to honor someone and their heritage. People are just looking way too into the name.
Link:
http://web.ebscohost.com/pov/detail?vid=6&sid=9f223762-e63b-4a6f-ba5b-87d93f97f0b0%40sessionmgr115&hid=118&bdata=JnNpdGU9cG92LWxpdmU%3d#db=pwh&AN=MYO369276640613
Jesse Washington is a writer who only deals with race and ethnicity issues. He seems pretty credible.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the name has been looked into way too deeply. I had no idea that was the reason behind the name and even so I never thought a team would name itself the Redskins with the intention of the name having a racist connotation. However having read this article and knowing where the name comes from is all the more reason not to change the name. A lot of this kind of information gets lost in the hands of time and people ignorant of the origins of the team can very easily overlook the fact that the name was meant to honor a native american.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely a good little bit to put into your op-ed since a lot of people, including myself, don't have a clue why the name was given to the team.