BEMIDJI -- Ten days after saying they’d review their team name, the Washington Redskins announced Monday, July 13, that they will retire their nickname and logo. The news was long awaited by Native American advocates who, for years, have urged the team to ditch a moniker that is a dictionary-defined racial slur.
LeRoy Staples Fairbanks, a Tribal Council member for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, is one such advocate.
When Washington came to Minneapolis to play in Super Bowl XXVI in 1992, he was there protesting the name. He’s been back other times to take part in protests when Washington has played in Minnesota.
“We see the fruits of the labor of the people who have fought this issue for so long, and it’s finally come to fruition,” Fairbanks said. “This is the first team (to change its name). It’s not going to be the last team.”
Washington’s move comes in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis in May. His death and other instances of police brutality have resulted in widespread protests against systemic racism.
Not long after Washington said it would review its team name, the Cleveland Indians announced they’d do the same, though no decision has yet been made by the latter.
“I think fundamentally, America is obviously having a racial reckoning right now after the George Floyd murder,” said Anton Treuer, a professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University and a Leech Lake member. “There’s been a reexamination and a more intense reexamination of all things racist. I think it’s about time that these teams do away with racist mascots.”
“I don’t see people honoring us,” Treuer said. “I see people playing Halloween and making a mockery of our traditions, things like wearing eagle feathers. … I don’t feel supported or respected or honored.”
Washington’s name change happened after corporations like FedEx, Bank of America and PepsiCo publicly encouraged such a move, and after Nike, Walmart, Target and Amazon removed the team’s merchandise from their stores.
“Frankly, I don’t think the NFL or (Major League Baseball) is really having a racial awakening. They’re just afraid of losing money,” Treuer said. “But if their fear of losing money is the reason that they do the right thing, well, it’s always the right time to do the right thing. I support that and I applaud the effort.”