Controversy over Indian names, mascots in sports

Indians. Braves. Chiefs. Redskins.

Sports has a thing for native names and mascots. More than 900 high school, college or pro teams use American-Indian-related images to pump up players, fire up crowds and sell T-shirts. Teams say the images convey courage and spirit, and their use honors the people they represent.

Critics say such images are racist and insulting. Since 1969, pressure from Indian activists and athletic associations has persuaded 600 teams to shed the native connection.

Some have refused – with Indian backing. When the NCAA ordered Florida State University to lose “Seminoles,” the real Seminoles objected so strongly that the university won a reprieve.

At the College of William and Mary, the NCAA ruled that the “Tribe” could keep its name, but two iconic feathers in its emblem had to go. The college appealed, lost, and plucked the Tribe’s feathers.

Professional teams – with millions of dollars tied up in marketing and merchandise – have been harder to budge. The Washington Redskins have been in and out of court over their trademark since 1992.

Activists say the football team’s name is a racial slur on par with the N-word and that it violates a federal law against offensive trademarks. They say “redskin” has roots in a time when Indians ha d bounties on their heads, and a bloody scalp was proof of a kill.

Those who side with the team say that’s not true. They point to historical descriptions of Indians wearing red pa int and to old writings that quote natives referring to their own people as “the red men.” A Sports Illustrated poll conducted a few years back is often cited: It indicated that most Indians are not offended when teams adopt native nicknames.

As for the Redskins, the team was originally based in Boston and called the Braves. According to its Web site, the name change occurred in 1933, four years before the move to Washington.

The site doesn’t say what prompted the new name, but according to Mike Richman, author of “The Redskins Encyclopedia,” it coincided with the hiring of a new coach, an Indian named Lone Star Dietz.

Dietz had once played with the legendary Jim Thorpe at an Indian school in Kansas. When Dietz joined the Redskins, he brought along half a dozen native players. For their 1933 season opener, the entire team posed in war paint and headdresses.

For now, the Redskins are ahead in court, having won a skirmish last month on what was largely a technicality. But a new batch of activists has filed a fresh complaint with the trademark office.

Joanne Kimberlin, (757) 446-2338, joanne.kimberlin@pilotonline.com