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Columnist Robert McCartney talks to members of the American Indian Society of Washington, D.C., who oppose the Washington NFL team's racist mascot:
I contacted the society to inquire what Washington-area Native Americans thought about the R-word as the football season began. Though wary of the media, chapter members agreed to a group interview at the end of their Sept. 3 meeting. Twelve were in attendance, all enrolled tribal members. Eight strongly opposed the team name on grounds that it is innately disrespectful. “It blows my mind that people could think it’s not racist — it’s so obvious,” Nicklaus Gibbs-Hill, a Six Nations Seneca, said. “I am egregiously offended by the term,” said Apesanahkwat or “Black Cloud,” a former chairman of the Menominee tribe. “It’s time for change,” Theresa Hill-Snay, president of the group and a Six Nations Seneca, said. “If you have a group of natives saying it’s offensive, then it’s offensive.”Get the Story:
Robert McCartney: If Dan Snyder is so sure Indians support team name, then he should visit local ones (The Washington Post 9/14) Another Opinion:
Maureen Dowd: Throw the Bums Out (The New York Times 9/14)
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