Peter d'Errico: Washington team makes a colonial invasion

The Washington Redskins new charity, "Original Americans Foundation" (OAF), tills ground tilled long ago by Puritan leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Team owner Dan Snyder, wittingly or not, is reinventing an old plow. He appointed (anointed?) a Cherokee sidekick, Gary Edwards, to help out as Chief Executive Officer.

I don't know if OAF has an official seal, but they can just borrow from the 1629 Massachusetts Puritans, whose seal—by permission of King Charles I—was a cartoon. As described by the Massachusetts Secretary of State, the seal "featured an Indian holding an arrow pointed down in a gesture of peace, with the words 'Come over and help us,'" in a text bubble coming out of his mouth.

Compare this cartoon seal with the way CEO Edwards explained his mission at OAF, as quoted by Jarrett Bell, in a column for USA Today: "I think we're supposed to help people, like the Bible says. I feel like Jesus has a tool in me, and he can make it happen. I'm thankful for that opportunity, and I'm going to do my best to help as many people as I can."

The "redskins" controversy thus reveals deep roots in the colonial invasion of the continent, and reaffirms the missionary commercial zeal that propelled that invasion.