Information about Redskin

"Redskin" is a racial descriptor for Native Americans and one of the color metaphors for race used in North America and Europe since European colonization of America.

The term was used throughout the English-speaking world (and in equivalent transliterations in Europe) throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as a common term of reference for indigenous Americans. The term was once in common use, as evidenced in Western movies, but is now largely considered a pejorative and is seldom used publicly (aside from the football team - see below). As with any term perceived to be discriminatory, different individuals may hold differing opinions of the term's appropriateness.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the term "redskin" came from the reddish skin color of some Native Americans, as in the terms red Indian and red man, and the OED cites instances of its usage in English dating back to the 17th century (and cites a use of red in reference to skin color from 1587). Other origins suggested for this term include the use of natural red paints by Native peoples and the bloody skins of Native people bought and sold by bounty and scalp hunters.

The name Redskins would later be used for a NFL football team. The team was founded in 1932 and was originally known as the Boston Braves, for their landlords, the baseball team called the Boston Braves. In 1933 the name was changed to the synonymous "Boston Redskins" when they left Braves Field for Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox. Some accounts state that the name "Redskins" was chosen to "honor" the team's coach, William "Lone Star" Dietz, who began coaching in 1933, and whose mother was allegedly "Sioux". In 1937 the team moved to Washington, D.C. and became the Washington Redskins, joining Capital Hill as the second football team of Washington, D.C..

In recent years the name has become controversial, with some Native American groups and their supporters arguing that since they view the word "redskin" as an offensive slur that it is inappropriate for a NFL team to continue to use it, regardless of whether any offense is intended. In contrast to amateur teams governed by the NCAA or other organizations, which can level sanctions against member schools, the professional Washington Redskins franchise and nickname are subject only to the other clubs in the NFL and, presumably, approval or disapproval as expressed through ticket and merchandise receipts, or lack thereof, from the public. As there has apparently been no adverse market reaction, there has been little or no incentive to change the name.

In 1997 Jill Cadreau, a Milford High School student, became a young activist for Native American rights when she demanded the word "Redskins" stop being used as the name for the school's mascot and sports teams. Jill and much of the American Indian community thought the word carried a negative connotation and attempted to justify racism that still existed in the school. After long meetings with the Milford School Board and much support from the local American Indian community, the Huron Valley Board of Education ruled in favor of a Native American victory with a 6-0 vote in 1997. Jill was a leader for the campaign that forced her high school to eliminate all references to American Indians in the names and images of school mascots.

Another non-NFL controversy over the term "redskin" took place at James S. Rickards High School in 2000, when the mascot had to be changed from Rickards Redskins to Rickards Raiders due to perceived racial implications of the word.

In 2001, under threats from the Native American Bar Association, Consolidated School District 158 in Huntley, Illinois had to ban use of the Redskin slogan from its high school, changing to the Huntley Red Raiders.

In California, a bill, presented by Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, to ban the name Redskins as a public school mascot was vetoed more than once. There were many supporters against the bill, including students from schools with the Redskin mascot, most prominently Tulare Union High School in Tulare, California, as well as members of the Tachi-Yokut tribe who deemed the fact that schools had Redskin as a mascot incited a sense of pride.

There is another concept for where the term "redskin" came from; Tina Holder, whose origins are Blackfoot, Cherokee and Choctaw, is a longtime opponent of the “Redskins” name. She offers the following description:

“Back not so long ago, when there was a bounty on the heads of the Indian people... the trappers would bring in Indian scalps along with the other skins that they had managed to trap or shoot,” says Holder, whose arguments were included in a recent court filing in support of Harjo's claim. “Trappers and hunters began using the term ‘redskin’ ...they would tell the owner that they had bearskin, deerskins...and ‘redskins.’ The term came from the bloody mess that one saw when looking at the scalp ...thus the term ‘red’...skin... So, you see when we see or hear that term...we don't see a football team... we don't see a game being played...we don't see any ‘honor’...we see the bloody pieces of scalps that were hacked off of our men, women and even our children... we hear the screams as our people were killed...and ‘skinned’ just like animals. So, yes, ...you can safely say that the term is considered extremely offensive.”

External links

[1] Reclaiming James One Star (contains the tue story of William Dietz)

• "I am a Red-Skin": The Adoption of a Native American Expression (1769–1826) (Ives Goddard, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution)
• Redskins Are Denied Trademarks, Washington Post, April 3, 1999
• Harjo: Dirty Word Games
• Redskin: Linguistic Controversy, Ryan M. Dinkgrave, February 4, 2004

[2] - Article describing alternate meaning.





Redskin: Gustine High school