Native Americans Want Washington Redskins Name Back

The R-word is bad, isn’t it? What R-word you might ask? In Australia, up until recently, supermarkets sold a brand of lolly, a raspberry-flavoured sweet, called Allen’s Red Skins. This is actually a screenshot of the current Woolworths website (link below). My children still call them Red Skins and my daughter’s only 8 years old. It’s because the name only changed very recently, and good luck getting kids to change what they call things.

In November 2020, less than three years ago, the Nestle company in order to avoid marginalising people rebranded Red Skins to Red Ripper. Unfortunately for Nestle, the largest food company in the world, they hadn’t heard of Google three years ago and failed to realise that Red Ripper was the nickname of Soviet serial killer Andrei Chikatilo. Consequently, they renamed the brand again to the current incarnation of Red Ripperz with a ‘z’. To me, that just sounds like the plural form of the Russian mass-murderer.

Also in 2020, the Washington Redskins, an American Football team, were deemed the Washington Racists by some, and were essentially forced to change their name. This is despite the left-leaning Washington Post finding that 90% of Native Americans were not offended by the Redskins name, at least, not in 2016. The team are currently known as the Washington Commanders with a giant W as a logo.

However, the controversy is still not over. The Native American Guardian’s Association, NAGA, who “celebrates and promotes the rich history, legacies, and many national contributions of First Nation’s people which have historically been woven into the fabric of American identity”, as per their website, well, they do not agree with the mainstream narrative on this one. They state, “Misconception: Redskins / Redmen is Racist. Redskins is a Native American iconic name and is revered by the vast majority of Native Americans and general public alike. Redskins represents honour, respect and pride for Native American culture. Redskins is and has been a self-identifying term for Natives since the early 1800s.”

They’re also currently running a campaign to rename the Washington Commanders back to their original Washington Redskins name. They even have a petition on change.org if you’re interested in signing (link below). It currently has over 90,000 signatures. They state that not only is the name change unpopular, it’s erasing Native American history. “We firmly believe that there are alternative ways to honour and respect Native American heritage without erasing it. By reclaiming the Redskins name, we have the opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue, educational initiatives, and collaborations with Native American communities.” So it turns out that the powers that be decided that the term Redskins was offensive for Native Americans, didn’t actually consult with the people it was supposedly offensive to. It seems rather paternalistic. We know what’s good for you more than you do yourself.

As NAGA say on their website, “Educate NOT Eradicate”. They “advocate for increased education about Native Americans, especially in public educational institutions, and greater recognition of Native American Heritage through high profile venues of sports and other public platforms”.

So what do you think? Should we honour Native Americans wishes, or should we continue full steam ahead with cancelling things we deem offensive, even if the offendees aren’t even offended?

CHANGE THE WASHINGTON COMMANDERS BACK TO THE WASHINGTON REDSKINS
https://www.change.org/ReclaimTheRedskins

ALLEN’S RED SKINS 220G BAG
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/759987

NESTLE RENAMES ALLEN’S RED SKINS TO RED RIPPER TO AVOID MARGINALISING PEOPLE
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-16/red-ripper-and-cheekies-the-new-name-of-allens-red-skin-chicos/12887278

REDSKINS REBRANDING ACCIDENTALLY NAMES LOLLY AFTER NOTORIOUS SERIAL KILLER
https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/food/redskins-rebranding-accidentally-names-lolly-after-notorious-serial-killer-c-1598105

ALLEN'S RED RIPPERZ LOLLIES 330G
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/682191/allen-s-red-ripperz-lollies

NEW POLL FINDS 9 IN 10 NATIVE AMERICANS AREN’T OFFENDED BY REDSKINS NAME
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/new-poll-finds-9-in-10-native-americans-arent-offended-by-redskins-name/2016/05/18/3ea11cfa-161a-11e6-924d-838753295f9a_story.html

NATIVE AMERICAN GUARDIAN’S ASSOCIATION
https://www.nagaeducation.org/

MISCONCEPTION: “REDSKINS / REDMEN IS RACIST”
https://www.nagaeducation.org/misconception-redskins-is-racist

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