Column: Washington team name not drawing cheers from all

Monday, October 3, 2011  

"Since the Washington football team is playing against the only NFL quarterback whom many Native American peoples proudly claim as their own this weekend, I thought I would stroll over to the National Museum of the American Indian on Thursday and see if I could find some conflicted souls.

So who’s it going to be: Sam Bradford, the quarterback of the St. Louis Rams who is listed as an official citizen on the Cherokee Nation’s tribe rolls, or those hometown Washington Redskins from Burgundy and Gold Nation?

Ben Norman, a member of the Pamunkey tribe of Virginia working the museum’s front desk Thursday afternoon, looked at me quizzically.

“The majority of the native people are against the name; you know that, right?” he said. “I mean, the museum is not supposed to have an official opinion. But for me, the way I look at it is, if you’re going to be taken seriously you can’t be a cartoon or somebody’s mascot.”"

Get the Story:
Mike Wise: Washington nickname not hailed by all (The Washington Post 10/1)