It’s Not Just The Redskins
The use of Native American names for sports franchises extends far beyond the professional level. Hayley Munguia figured out how far.
I searched the database and found 2,129 sports teams that reference Braves, Chiefs, Indians, Orangemen, Raiders, Redmen, Reds, Redskins, Savages, Squaws, Tribe and Warriors, as well as tribe names such as Apaches, Arapahoe, Aztecs, Cherokees, Chickasaws, Chinooks, Chippewas, Choctaws, Comanches, Eskimos, Mohawks, Mohicans, Seminoles, Sioux and Utes. (Not all teams with the names “Raiders” and “Warriors” are referencing Native Americans, but we spot-checked 20 schools with each name and a majority of each did.)
There is a lot of work to do.
Copyright 2014 Liberaland
By: Stuart Shapiro
Stuart is a professor and the Director of the Public Policy
program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers
University. He teaches economics and cost-benefit analysis and studies
regulation in the United States at both the federal and state levels.
Prior to coming to Rutgers, Stuart worked for five years at the Office
of Management and Budget in Washington under Presidents Clinton and
George W. Bush.
crc3 September 5th, 2014 at 21:49
Is it politically correct to be politically correct?
Groot939 September 6th, 2014 at 12:43
Good point. It may not have been the writer’s intent to stir up a firestorm, but what the heck, this is the internet. How ’bout a category that shows tribes that support the nickname? Seminoles embrace FSU and love Chief Osceola. Still, fwiw, Redskins is an awful nickname
Saint_Augustine September 17th, 2014 at 06:58
Not if their mascot was a potato!
crc3 September 5th, 2014 at 21:49
Is it politically correct to be politically correct?
Groot939 September 6th, 2014 at 12:43
Good point. It may not have been the writer’s intent to stir up a firestorm, but what the heck, this is the internet. How ’bout a category that shows tribes that support the nickname? Seminoles embrace FSU and love Chief Osceola. Still, fwiw, Redskins is an awful nickname
Saint_Augustine September 17th, 2014 at 06:58
Not if their mascot was a potato!
mea_mark September 5th, 2014 at 21:56
Not all those names have negative connotations.
Orangemen? — What does that got to do with Native Americans, that sounds like a red state team that likes Boehner way too much.
Stuart Shapiro September 5th, 2014 at 22:00
I had the same reaction. However it is only 3 of the 2129 instances. Even if you take out Raiders and Warriors (which Munguia says, “Not all teams with the names “Raiders” and “Warriors” are referencing
Native Americans, but we spot-checked 20 schools with each name and a
majority of each did”) there are still over 1000 clearly offensive names.
mea_mark September 5th, 2014 at 22:09
Maybe I am missing something. Is “Chiefs/Chieftains” considered derogatory to Native Americans? It could be I am just ignorant but some of those names don’t seem derogatory, where some clearly seem to be. Some could be questionable and best avoided but I just don’t see them all as bad.
Stuart Shapiro September 5th, 2014 at 22:11
My understanding is that most teams that use the name “Chiefs” originated as referrals to “Indian chiefs.”
R.J. Carter September 6th, 2014 at 19:05
So?
mea_mark September 5th, 2014 at 21:56
Not all those names have negative connotations.
Orangemen? — What does that got to do with Native Americans, that sounds like a red state team that likes Boehner way too much.
Stuart Shapiro September 5th, 2014 at 22:00
I had the same reaction. However it is only 3 of the 2129 instances. Even if you take out Raiders and Warriors (which Munguia says, “Not all teams with the names “Raiders” and “Warriors” are referencing
Native Americans, but we spot-checked 20 schools with each name and a
majority of each did”) there are still over 1000 clearly offensive names.
mea_mark September 5th, 2014 at 22:09
Maybe I am missing something. Is “Chiefs/Chieftains” considered derogatory to Native Americans? It could be I am just ignorant but some of those names don’t seem derogatory, where some clearly seem to be. Some could be questionable and best avoided but I just don’t see them all as bad.
Stuart Shapiro September 5th, 2014 at 22:11
My understanding is that most teams that use the name “Chiefs” originated as referrals to “Indian chiefs.”
R.J. Carter September 6th, 2014 at 19:05
So?
wpadon September 6th, 2014 at 00:08
When you mention the Reds, I think of a large baseball with red socks and sleeves.
wpadon September 6th, 2014 at 00:08
When you mention the Reds, I think of a large baseball with red socks and sleeves.
whatthe46 September 6th, 2014 at 05:54
i have some issues with some of the names, but SAVAGES i HATE period!
R.J. Carter September 6th, 2014 at 19:05
I suppose it’s a fear-striking name. Is their mascot image that of an Native American? That would be the defining factor.
whatthe46 September 6th, 2014 at 05:54
i have some issues with some of the names, but SAVAGES i HATE period!
R.J. Carter September 6th, 2014 at 19:05
I suppose it’s a fear-striking name. Is their mascot image that of an Native American? That would be the defining factor.
Gindy51 September 6th, 2014 at 07:17
Warriors? Really? That can apply to any war like bunch of folks not just Native Americans. Raiders, hey why not get rid of the Vikings as well they were raiders after all. Cheifs, so do we get rid of the title chief for police and such?
Putting common language terms in with the truly obscene (savages, redskins, etc.) is just diluting the pot. Focus on the nastiest of the names not the ones that are in no way indicative of Native Americans.
Stuart Shapiro September 6th, 2014 at 08:40
Munguia says in the link, “Munguia says, “Not all teams with the names “Raiders” and “Warriors” are referencing Native Americans, but we spot-checked 20 schools with each name and a majority of each did.” The fact that the names originated as descriptions of Native Americans is important in my view. That said, I agree that they are not all equal and if we were to prioritize savages and redskins would be at the top of the list.
rg9rts September 6th, 2014 at 15:05
They are after the chiefs…good thing GM ditched Pontiac
rg9rts September 6th, 2014 at 15:06
Can you imagine the Jihadists??? LOL
Stuart Shapiro September 6th, 2014 at 08:40
Munguia says in the link, “Not all teams with the names “Raiders” and “Warriors” are referencing Native Americans, but we spot-checked 20 schools with each name and a majority of each did.” The fact that the names originated as descriptions of Native Americans is important in my view. That said, I agree that they are not all equal and if we were to prioritize savages and redskins would be at the top of the list.
rg9rts September 6th, 2014 at 15:04
Do you think the church should be upset with my High School….we were the Crusaders..
rg9rts September 6th, 2014 at 15:04
Do you think the church should be upset with my High School….we were the Crusaders..
rg9rts September 6th, 2014 at 15:05
They are after the chiefs…good thing GM ditched Pontiac
rg9rts September 6th, 2014 at 15:06
Can you imagine the Jihadists??? LOL
dorothyshay2147 September 6th, 2014 at 18:54
Don’t people have more to worry about than sports team mascots?
R.J. Carter September 6th, 2014 at 19:04
Not once the inch has been taken, and the mile is there to be consumed.
Doug Kinney September 6th, 2014 at 18:54
Don’t people have more to worry about than sports team mascots?
R.J. Carter September 6th, 2014 at 19:04
Not once the inch has been taken, and the mile is there to be consumed.
R.J. Carter September 6th, 2014 at 19:03
So are all of the references considered to be racial slurs? “Indians?” “Braves?” Official tribal names? (The Seminoles have given their blessing, I believe.)
Raiders are pirates. (Although given that the last few at-sea piracy stories I’ve read have been Muslim pirates, that could be considered racist.)
R.J. Carter September 6th, 2014 at 19:03
So are all of the references considered to be racial slurs? “Indians?” “Braves?” Official tribal names? (The Seminoles have given their blessing, I believe.)
Raiders are pirates. (Although given that the last few at-sea piracy stories I’ve read have been Muslim pirates, that could be considered racist.)
Robert M. Snyder September 6th, 2014 at 19:38
Some of the inhabitants of the island of Lesbos raised a fuss a few years ago about the word Lesbian. Of course you could say that there’s nothing wrong with homosexuality, so it isn’t an insult. But then again, there’s nothing wrong with being Brave, or having Red Skin.
If you’ve ever said that you were “gypped”, or that someone is a “barbarian”, then you might have insulted the Roma people or the inhabitants of the Barbary Coast of Northern Africa.
The English language is a little like my front lawn. If you start pulling out a few weeds, and then a few more, eventually there’s not much left.
Robert M. Snyder September 6th, 2014 at 19:38
Some of the inhabitants of the island of Lesbos raised a fuss a few years ago about the word Lesbian. Of course you could say that there’s nothing wrong with homosexuality, so it isn’t an insult. But then again, there’s nothing wrong with being Brave, or having Red Skin.
If you’ve ever said that you were “gypped”, or that someone is a “barbarian”, then you might have insulted the Roma people or the inhabitants of the Barbary Coast of Northern Africa.
The English language is a little like my front lawn. If you start pulling out a few weeds, and then a few more, eventually there’s not much left.