Posted on 09/24/2004 9:49:29 PM PDT by El Conservador
WASHINGTON - A poll of American Indians found that an overwhelming majority of them are not bothered by the name of the Washington Redskins (news).
Only 9 percent of those polled said the name of the NFL team is "offensive," while 90 percent said it's acceptable, according to the University of Pennsylvania's National Annenberg Election Survey, released Friday.
Annenberg polled 768 Indians in every state except Hawaii and Alaska from Oct. 7, 2003, to Sept. 20, 2004.
The survey found little disparity between men and women or young and old. However, 13 percent of Indians with college degrees said the name is offensive, compared with 9 percent of those with some college and 6 percent of those with a high school education or less. Among self-identified liberals, 14 percent found the term disparaging, compared with 6 percent of conservatives.
The franchise began in Boston as the Braves but was purchased in 1932 by George Preston Marshall, who changed the name to honor head coach William "Lone Star" Dietz, an American Indian. The team kept its monicker after moving to the nation's capital in 1937.
The name and feather-wearing mascot have since been challenged.
A panel of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office canceled the team's trademarks in 1999 on the grounds that the name disparages American Indians in violation of federal trademark law. But last year, a federal judge ruled the team can keep its name, finding insufficient evidence to conclude it is an insult to American Indians.
Some Indian leaders are still pressing their case, noting that many schools with similar mascots referencing Indians have made name changes in recent years.
You don't say... (/sarc)
Sink that poll quick, because a whole lot of white college professors have made their careers off Indian hides.
I'm suprised that the Cleveland Indians' logo of the grinning Indian hasn't gotten more flak. That's a heck more offensive that calling a team "Indians" or "Redskins" or "Braves."
Ping.
Very true. The only people I have ever met who had an issue with team names were white liberal professors.
I agree. I'm amazed Chief Wahoo has made it into the 21st Century. Thought he would go the way of Chief Nock-A-Homa, who used to do a dance around his tepee when the Braves hit a home run.
I've looked into this in some detail. It all boils down to a handful of professional "native-american activists" who prefer to hog camera and microphone time to actually working for a living, and their media enablers who are behind this. Your average injun could hardly care less.
Oh, please not this again,
.
This is one of those PC things that make many shake their heads -
just my opinion -
How 'bout them "Fighiting Whities". Kinda brings a tear of pride to your eye.
http://www.cafepress.com/fightinwhite
But if we want to talk about truly slanderous names try the "Boilermakers"
http://www.purdue.edu/helpdesk/pages/survival_guide/traditions.html
In fact as professor (and card-carrying Commanche) David Yeagley has pointed out in some of his articles for Frontpagemag.com, a number of these professional and collegiate athletic associations sought and received official blessing from tribal elders when they formed their teams back in the day.
You can thank Herbert Marcuse for that PC BS.
It's time for another Indian Head Nickle, adjusted for inflation.
The neighborhood highschool mascot is the Indian. We just battled to keep this and won. The school board was even wanting to change it. They wanted us to rename the mascot the "wave".
Can you imagine John Burroughs Marching Waves???????
Where in Calif are you located? J. Burroughs High?
Hoosiers is an interesting name. In Indiana it is a name used with pride that signifies the earliest white settlers of Indiana traveling from the eastern states. Go over to Missouri and the name Hoosier is much worse than calling somebody a hillybilly or white trash.
Where I live, in Canada, most Indians (whoops, the pc name here is first nations members) where Redskins and Cleveland Indians logo gear. A local band has had an indoor lacrosse (box lacrosse) team. The name: North Shore Indians. People who ruminate about this need to get a life.
most of us should be so lucky to have something named for us....
ever hear of the "Fighting Jews"????
or the "Buffalo Polskis"....
me neither......
But EVERYONE knows that the Redskins real origin is in a little town called Pottsville, PA. The Boston Braves REALLY started in good old Pottville, home of Yuengling beer - America's oldest brewery, as the Pottsville Maroons. You can read all about them here - http://www.pottsvillemaroons.com/ and follow the official goings on(team moving, not memebers of the NFL for a year here and there, etc..) here - http://www.football.com/history/index.shtml
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