The Washington Redskins were given that nickname in 1933. Many terms from that era are no longer appropriate. It's time to change the Washington NFL teams' name.
I've got friends who think the name should be grandfathered in as an offensive relic from another era. In essence, it's always been that way, so why change it now?
Baxter Holmes, a proud Native American of Cherokee and Choctaw lineage, wrote this compelling piece for Esquire. I urge you to read it and come back and share your thoughts on this issue.
The story in my family goes that the term dates back to the institutionalized genocide of Native Americans, most notably when the Massachusetts colonial government placed a bounty on their heads. The grisly particulars of that genocide are listed in a 1755 document called the Phips Proclamation, which zeroed in on the Penobscot Indians, a tribe today based in Maine.
Spencer Phips, a British politician and then Lieutenant Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Province, issued the call, ordering on behalf of British King George II for, “His Majesty’s subjects to Embrace all opportunities of pursuing, captivating, killing and Destroying all and every of the aforesaid Indians.” They paid well – 50 pounds for adult male scalps; 25 for adult female scalps; and 20 for scalps of boys and girls under age 12.
These bloody scalps were known as “redskins.”
In 2014 it's not okay for the American capital to celebrate a football team named for the most offensive word toward Native Americans. It's time for Dan Snyder to change that name.
Do you agree?
