Oneida Nation leader meets UN official over racist mascot

Friday, January 24, 2014  

Oneida Nation Representative Ray Halbritter is meeting with the a United Nations official today to discuss the Washington professional football team's racist mascot.

Halbritter will discuss the Change the Mascot campaign with Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Šimonović at UN headquarters. Šimonović advises the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on human rights issues.

“I am both humbled and heartened by the opportunity to have a dialogue with the UN regarding the important moral, human, and civil rights issues raised by the Washington NFL team’s continued use of the R-word racial slur,” Halbritter said in a press release. “It is extremely encouraging to see people across the country, as well as national and international leaders, recognizing the harmful impacts of using this term that denigrates Native peoples.”

Get the Story:
Oneida Indian Nation's Halbritter taking complaint about Redskins nickname to UN (AP 1/24)
Debate Over “Redskins” Reaches the United Nations (The Washingtonian 1/24)
Oneida Nation Leader to Meet With UN Human Rights Office Days Before Super Bowl (Indian Country Today 1/24)