It’s been several years since I had ‘words’ with a fellow coach in my son’s football league over the use of the name ‘Redskins.’  I’ve always contended that the people supposedly being protected from the use of what some call “offensive, racist, bigoted” actually have no issue with the name at all. Now, a New Jersey high school is discussing changing  the Native American mascot logo because it may be too offensive.

At first I referenced the report about the Navajo “Talkers” coming out in favor of the name.  Then today I saw the poll reported in the Washington Post showing that 9 in 10 Native Americans have no issue with the name.  Right, 9 in 10.

So much for the righteous indignation from rich, white, self-important former athletes and ignorant reporters who really ought to stick to sports and not politics.

When will the elitists in America stop talking about what they think is offensive to people of color?  Perhaps one of the reasons Native Americans are not offended by the name is that they realize that is the we continue to purge of names like ‘Redskins’ from our culture in the name of ‘sensitivity’ eventually, the history and understanding of the American Indian warrior will be erased from our national dialogue.

Let’s stop white-washing our history and recognize that we have a past and some of it is ugly.  History is not made in the classroom or at the anchor desk, it’s made on the battlefield.  Good or bad, there’s a part of our history wrapped up in the warriors of the early days of the American experiment.  Names like Redskins honor that history and should be celebrated, not suppressed.

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