‘Not Your Mascot’ Protest in Minnesota Takes Aim at Washington Football Team Name
Minneapolis, MN – Native American activists and allies, along with a coalition of tribal governments and organizations, are protesting to urge the National Football League team ‘Redskins’ to change their name. This is part of a national movement called #NotYourMascot urging institutions to not use Indian head logos or anti-Native slurs for branding.
Unicorn Riot is covering the event, set to begin in Peavey Field Park in Minneapolis’ Phillips neighborhood.
The National Coalition against Racism in Sports and Media, along with the Red Circle Agency and Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures, released a video that defines ‘Redskins’ as “the scalped head of a Native American, collected by government bounty hunters and sold for $50 cash.“
The NFL team has continued to fight to use the name despite mounting pressure to change it. In 2014, the Washington Redskins lost their trademark and logo rights when courts stated that they were disparaging to Native Americans. The court decisions were rescinded in 2018, but the record still shows that the name was found to be disparaging to Native Americans.
Native activist groups have long held that Native American mascots are damaging to native peoples in the United States. A group called IllumiNatives, created and led by native peoples, says that Indigenous people living in the United States still endure invisibility and the use of native ‘mascots’ fills spaces wherein native peoples could otherwise be seen and heard.
“The invisibility of contemporary native peoples, voices, contributions, and issues creates a void that is filled with toxic stereotypes and misperceptions.” @_IllumiNatives #VoicesSummit19 pic.twitter.com/01WKAIwPfY
— VoicesForHealthyKids (@Voices4HK) October 24, 2019
Protesters hope to continue to push for the Washington National Football League team to change their name.
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