UN official condemns "Redskins" name

UN Special Rapporteur Calls Washington NFL Team Offensive

‘Redskins’ Team mascot hurtful reminder of past suffering of Native AmericansIn a news release issued from Geneva, Switzerland, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, James Anaya, today called on the owners of the Washington Redskins Football team, to consider “the hurtful reminder that the term ‘redskins’ represents of the long history of mistreatment of Native American people in the United States.”

“While I am aware that there are some divergent views on this issue,” the human rights expert said, “I urge the team owners to consider that the term ‘redskin’ for many is inextricably linked to a history of suffering and dispossession. It is understood to be a pejorative and disparaging term that fails to respect and honour the historical and cultural legacy of the Native Americans in the US.”

The National Congress of American Indians, the oldest national American Indian organization in the United States, was quick to applaud Mr. Anaya’s statement.

“The United Nations is the latest to dispel the absurd claim by Washington’s football team and its owner Dan Snyder that the term ‘redskins’ honors Native Americans,” Oneida Indian Nation Representative Ray Halbritter and NCAI Executive Director Jackie Pata stated in the news release.

“This word is widely recognized throughout the globe as a racial slur. If the NFL wants to be a global brand that contributes to the positive image of the United States across the world, it needs to stop promoting this slur and change the name.”U.N. expert: Redskins' name 'hurtful' and 'disparaging'

By David SteeleAnaya, appointed to his U.N. position in 2008, is a professor of human rights law and policy at the University of Arizona. He operates independently of the U.N. and its member nations.

He cited the U.N.'s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and his own 2012 report on indigenous people in the United States, in which he said, “The use of stereotypes obscures understanding of the reality of Native Americans today and instead help to keep alive racially discriminatory attitudes.”

Snyder and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell have been under increasing pressure to change the name; last month, Snyder announced the formation of the Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation "to address the challenges that plague the Native American community,” he said in a much-criticized letter.

In January, Anaya met with members of the Oneida Indian Nation, who have been in the forefront of the name-change effort. The Oneida Nation and the National Congress of American Indians jointly applauded Anaya in a statement: “The United Nations is the latest to dispel the absurd claim by Washington's football team and its owner Dan Snyder that the term ‘redskins’ honors Native Americans."Oneida Indian Nation and National Congress of American Indians Applaud the UN for Condemning the Hurtful Name of Washington’s NFL Team

By Oneida Indian NationHuman rights expert and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples James Anaya today called the Washington NFL team’s current R-word team name a “hurtful reminder of past suffering of Native Americans.” The Oneida Indian Nation and its Change the Mascot campaign, as well as the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), are praising the UN for its powerful statement, which comes on the heels of Oneida Indian Nation Representative Ray Halbritter’s January meeting with the UN on the topic.

“The United Nations is the latest to dispel the absurd claim by Washington's football team and its owner Dan Snyder that the term ‘redskins’ honors Native Americans,” said Oneida Indian Nation Representative Ray Halbritter and NCAI Executive Director Jackie Pata. “This word is widely recognized throughout the globe as a racial slur. If the NFL wants to be a global brand that contributes to the positive image of the United States across the world, it needs to stop promoting this slur and change the name.”Comment:  For more on the UN Special Rapporteur, see Baby Veronica Case Violates Sovereignty and Pe'Sla Auction Canceled.