Recently, there has been a lot of buzz regarding the next Super Bowl champion or the next Stanley Cup champion and also the team names themselves. There have been many recent showings of the distaste of teams with American Native related names.

The Washington Redskins have been a common target of protests held by groups of Native American descent. People have lined up outside of the stadium after games and outside of the facilities after practices in an effort to show their discomfort and discontent with the team names.

“There may have been a time when it was acceptable, just as there was a time when slavery was acceptable,” Johnnie Jay, a native descent, told AP.

Even with all of this happening the owner of the Redskins, Dan Snyder, does not plan on changing the name of the team. He plans on keeping the team name as well as the team logo for the seasons to come.

In a letter about the controversy, Snyder released many statements confirming that the team will not be changing its name. He came up with this after extensive research in how the tribes feel about the team name.

“There are Native Americans everywhere that 100% support the name,” Torres-Martinez, Desert Cahuilla Indians told Snyder in his research.

Snyder embarked on many visits to tribes and gathered a lot of information on their position. While many people show dislike, a lot of natives support the team names and believe that it brings recognition to many of the overlooked American tribes in the country.

At this point there will be no change despite pressure on the NFL and other sports teams but the future  will show how much this will hold true.

FSA Connection Questions

1. What is the main idea of the story?
2. How do the natives feel about this issue?
3. What is the subject of the story?
4. What is the author’s point of view?
5. What is the context of the word tribe?