Saturday, June 28, 2014

The Woman Behind the Patent Office's Removal of Trademark Protection for the Washington Redskins

George Will writes:
Amanda Blackhorse, a Navajo who successfully moved a federal agency to withdraw trademark protections from the Washington Redskins because it considers the team’s name derogatory, lives on a reservation where Navajos root for the Red Mesa High School Redskins...
 The name “Redskins” is more problematic than, say, that of the Chicago Blackhawks or Cleveland Indians presumably because “Redskins” refers to skin pigmentation. People offended by this might be similarly distressed if they knew that “Oklahoma” is a compound of two Choctaw words meaning “red” and “people.”...
Blackhorse...says “someone” once told her that teams’ mascots “are meant to be ridiculed,” “to be toyed with,” “to be pushed around and disrespected” and “have stuff thrown at them.” She should supplement the opinion of that someone with information from persons more knowledgeable. But she considers “any team name that references Native Americans” an injurious “appropriation of our culture.” 

3 comments:

  1. hmm wonder what the Feds got in exchange for the withdrawal of the trademark protection..

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  2. Looks like the native community is borrowing the African American community's play book, focusing on non-issues that will in no way actually help their people, who've been decimated by government policy.

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  3. I have moved to Montana for a few months to work. There are plenty of Indians (or native Americans) as they prefer to be called. Mostly Crow and some Cheyenne.

    I have done a very unscientific survey where I asked maybe a coupled of dozen of Indian people I've met, if they're bothered by the Redskin mascot for the Washington football team. To a person, none of them give a damn.

    My great grandmother was a full blood Sac and Fox Indian from Oklahoma. Such stupidity likely would not have bothered her either.

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