As most of America already knows, the Washington Redskins are locked in a battle with lawmakers who look to strip the team of its moniker after 80+ years of using it. One such lawmaker, U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, spoke today with ABC about the name.
“Personally, I find it surprising that in this day and age, the name is not different. But in talking with tribal leaders, this has not been the issue that they have talked about with me, and I think that there is debate, even among the Native American community, on the Washington Redskins, and certainly there are a lot of people who have pride in that team,” Jewell added. “So, my personal views are not necessarily reflected in the tribes that I talk to.”
Groups such as Native American Redskins Nation (NARN) have been repeating these sentiments for months, some of them years.
Essentially what Jewell said was: she as a white Democrat, thought the name should change, but Native Americans do not view it as an issue amongst their people.
It’s refreshing to hear someone in the current President’s cabinet admit that honestly Native Americans as a whole, really don’t believe the name is a major issue for their people.
What they do believe is the issues are things like poverty and hunger on the reservations all across the United States. They care about getting more non-Federally recognized tribes, recognized by the government. They care about corruption within their own communities; they care about having their own voices heard, whether they support/don’t support the Redskins or don’t care either way.
These are proud people who care more about real issues than the name of a football team.
From an up-close vantage point, it’s obvious that Daniel Snyder is doing more for Native American communities than any government employee or lawmaker, through the Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation.
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