by Chris Talkalai
The name “Redskin” is a term used for Native Americans, but for some, they consider offensive toward Indigenous people. Recently, Haskell premiered the documentary, “More Than a Word.” It expresses the opinions of Native Americans toward the football team named, Washington “Redskins.” John and Kenneth Little documented the view point of Native Americans’ issue toward the name, and said that one day, it will be changed, because they’re not giving up. Non-Native people celebrate the name and say it wasn’t supposed to be offensive, but more like honoring them.
During the film, a poll conducted said that ninety percent of Native Americans don’t care about the issue. But when looking into how the poll was conducted, there was actually no verification on if the people
who responded were actually Native. The poll was conducted over the phone.
If they came to Haskell, and survey ed students, it would be more reliable because it’s an all Native school. The issue still remain, and will they
change the name one day? We’ll have to wait and see.
