The Washington Redskins Controversy: An Interview with Amanda Blackhorse
For most of us, today is Thanksgiving! For a small segment of the population, today is the 2009 National Day of Mourning. The United American Indians of New England describe the day as:
An annual tradition since 1970, Day of Mourning is a solemn, spiritual and highly political day. Many of us fast from sundown the day before through the afternoon of that day (and have a social after Day of Mourning so that participants in DOM can break their fasts). We are mourning our ancestors and the genocide of our peoples and the theft of our lands. NDOM is a day when we mourn, but we also feel our strength in political action. Over the years, participants in Day of Mourning have buried Plymouth Rock a number of times, boarded the Mayflower replica, and placed ku klux klan sheets on the statue of William Bradford, etc.
The arrival of white folks from across the sea led to a Native American holocaust, theft of native lands, and the trivialization of Native American culture for the sake of national and college team mascots.
We’ve written a few times about the Native American battle to get the Washington Redskins football team to change its name. After a 17-year battle, the Native Americans lost a trademark suit against the team. The Supreme Court denied cert for the case earlier this month, meaning that the Redskins and their attorneys at Quinn Emanuel kept their laches victory. (As you certainly remember, not everyone at Quinn was pleased about that.)
In our post about the Supreme Court ruling, we asked:
Are we really going to make it through this entire case without any judge having to rule on whether or not it is appropriate to put “redskins” on a football helmet? Maybe not.
Drinker Biddle & Reath partner Philip Mause, who is representing the Native American plaintiffs, has another petition regarding the Redskins name pending before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. The Board previously ruled in 1992 that “redskins” is defamatory and cannot be trademarked. But that decision was overturned in federal court due to the laches issue. The new case, though, is led by Amanda Blackhorse of the Navajo Nation; Blackhorse and her co-petitioners were in their late teens and twenties when they filed their petition, so the courts won’t be able to dismiss the case based on the time elapsed/age issue.
This petition means there might be a Drinker Biddle v. Quinn Emanuel, round two. We’ve got an interview with lead petitioner Amanda Blackhorse after the jump.
The Blackhorse petition filed with the Trademark Board in 2006 was put on hold pending the outcome of Harjo v. Pro-Football. Now that the Harjo case has run its legal course, Blackhorse’s case will come back to life.
Here’s some background on the Blackhorse case from Indian Country Today:
The appeal to the high court centered on a 2003 decision by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly who found that the plaintiffs waited too long to challenge the trademark for the team, which was first issued in 1967.The judge later clarified her decision, writing that the youngest plaintiff turned 18 in 1984 and therefore waited almost eight years after coming of age to join the lawsuit.
Kollar-Kotelly indicated that if the name was truly disparaging, the suit should have been filed earlier - implying that someone needed to file a suit as soon as they were legally able.
No judges have ever addressed whether the Redskins trademark is offensive or racist.
Now, a legal team is prepping to try to meet the perimeters of Kollar-Kotelly’s judgment.
Six younger Indian plaintiffs who range in age from 18 to 24 have already been assembled and have filed a similar suit, Blackhorse v. Pro-Football, to challenge the offensive team name and logo.
We interviewed the lead petitioner, Amanda Blackhorse, last week. Blackhorse, now 27, grew up on the Navajo Reservation, graduated from Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas, and is now a social worker in Phoenix working with severely mentally ill adults. Here’s a synopsis of our Q and A:
ATL: What was your reaction to the Harjo decision?
Blackhorse: I was saddened by it. But our case is now going to move forward. For legal questions, please talk to our attorney, Philip Mause [partner at Drinker Biddle].
ATL: When did you start thinking about team mascots this way?
Blackhorse: During my sophomore year at the University of Kansas [Ed. note: she later transferred], I started to become aware of my history as a Native American. I grew up on a Navajo reservation but never learned my history. A major thing shared between tribes is oppression. I literally cried when I realized our social problems stemmed from this.
ATL: How did you get involved with the case against the Redskins?
Blackhorse: In 2005, my friends and I decided to protest at a Redskins - Kansas Chiefs game in Kansas City. I was shocked to see the way people thought we were. They didn’t consider us human beings. People threw beers at us, told us to go home, yelled racial slurs. After that, I knew I needed to do something.
ATL: Have you ever heard “redskin” used as a slur?
Blackhorse: Yes. A lot of people shorten it to “skin.” It makes my skin crawl. Native peoples don’t have a sense of belonging in this country. Names like this, making us exist as mascots and symbols, make it worse.
ATL: What other team names would you want to see changed?
Blackhorse: There are so many. I don’t think it ends here. The Braves, [Kansas] Chiefs, [Cleveland] Indians… Any depiction that uses Native American culture. We chose the Redskins because it is the most racist name you can call a Native American person.
If Blackhorse’s petition succeeds, the Redskins wouldn’t be forced to change their name, but the name would lose trademark protection, likely resulting in a major loss of revenue.
Changing team names has happened before in Washington, D.C.. The NBA’s Washington Wizards used to be the Bullets. Owner Abe Pollin (R.I.P.) changed the name in 1995, due to discomfort over the high crime and homicide rate in the District
Petition seeks to cancel ‘Redskins’ trademark [Indian Country Today]
Building a new generation to take on the Redskins case [Indian Country Today]
Earlier: Eeek: SCOTUS Denies Cert in Redskins Case
Quinn Emanuel Associate Has Reservations About ‘Redskin’ Victory
(132) 
Comments
Comments hidden for your protection. Show them anyway!
If I sold the island of Manhattan for a handful of silver trinkets, my face would be red, too.
We took their LAND!
Killing them off was the appropriate response to their raping our white women.
What was the last thing Jesus said to the indians?
Her name is Amanda "Blackhorse"? Is Ms. Blackhorse aware that horses were extinct in North America until the Spanish re-introduced them in the 16th Century. Thus, she doesn't even have an authentic Navajo last name. Even her name is Eurocentric.
Indians lost, give it up
skinsfan here ...
it's inevitable, snyder should just rip the band-aid off as quickly as possible, and endure the shitstorm of white people whining about political correctness and how we're losing ARE COUNTRY
". . .the name would lose trademark protection..."
How? A trademark need not be registered to be protectable. The owners of the mark would still have common law rights, which includes the right to exclude.
scooped again
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202435866606&Chadbourne_Associates_Staff_to_Recoup_Lost_Pay
As a peer physician who attended a peer medical school and interned at a peer hospital, I can assure the ungrateful red men and women who survive to this day that they owe their existence to the white man. Had they been left to their own devices they'd now be working in a factory owned by the Chinese government, making the equivalent of three cents a day. That is all.
Abe Pollin changed the name of the Bullets primarily due to the assassination of his friend, Yitzhak Rabin. http://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/12/sports/sports-of-the-times-say-goodbye-to-bullets-as-nickname.html
and scooped another time
http://media.www.thebrownandwhite.com/media/storage/paper1233/news/2009/11/24/News/Charges.To.Be.Withdrawn.Against.Two.Students.Who.Refused.To.Tip.At.Lehigh.Pub-3837030.shtml
You went on for six words too many, 3: "Killing them off was the appropriate response."
We won, they lost, it's our country now.
"Native peoples don’t have a sense of belonging in this country."
Perhaps that's because it's no longer their country.
Don't do anything until I come back.
-4
"Native peoples don't have a sense of belonging in this country"
Maybe that's because they don't contribute anything to it (other than drunkeness and disorder).
seriously, they should change their name, take the moral high ground, put out a great press release, and then sell millions of dollars of new merch to their fans.
it's a pretty stupid name anyway -- imagine having a football team in LA called the "Wetbacks."
douche bags.
The pligt of the American Indians shows that law makes a mockery of justice. In the end, might makes right. The law has nothing to do with it.
Sad, but true. The racist comments that will inevitably fill this post will make my case. There is no remorse for the genocide that this country has committed. Imagine if the Indians looked like white people. Then we'd cry about it. But the fact remains tha we condemn the Nazis for what they did, yet turn a blind eye toward our own genocidal crimes. Oh wait, we plaster racist imagery on our sports teams. This makes me sick.
We should have sent the Indians to Africa with the all the Blacks after the Civil War.
I would love to watch a team called the L.A. Wetbacks, I would cheer against them every week. Plus the team would make billions selling jerseys as racist groups everywhere would buy them to burn them. Hmmm, anyone want to invest in a football team with me? We buy the Jags and move them to L.A. Who's in?
You lose the wars, we get to make fun of you. Sorry injuns.
"In the end, might makes right. The law has nothing to do with it."
Where do you think "the law" gets its power and authority, dipshit?
Be careful folks. After a few more Obama appointees to the federal bench, even animals will have standing. Better be safe and name teams after only mythical creatures, like "unicorns" or "blacks with 180 LSATs."
Does 7 realize it's "our country" not "are country?" Better get to that next Palin booksigning real quick, #7.
7 appears to be anti-Right Wing, 24. Perhaps you should work on your reading comprehension.
23: are you equating Indians with animals? Classy.
Sensible liberals like 7 must feel like their efforts are all for nothing when they see people like 24 are also on their side.
22 - stfu you moron. Go fuck yourself.
THIS WOULD NEVER HAPPEN IN A PALIN ADMINISTRATION!
PALIN/BACHMANN 2012
Seriously, how will a LLM in Law & Jewish Civilization help you?
Um, no native american I know celebrates this BS "day of mourning" where they fast all day. ATL just found the most extreme activist group that didn't even purport to speak for all native americans. "many of us" is not "most of us," and doesn't even say who the "us" is.
Why are black people so afraid of dogs?
I am so tired of people throwing around the word "genocide." It's an insult to groups that have actually faced that horror. There was never any coherent policy of ridding the country of native americans. In fact, the governement explicity condemned the actions of several rogue generals who launched unnecessary attacks against native american groups. There is no proof of any "cholera-blanket" conspiracy, save 2 mentions as afterthoughs in the postscripts of 2 letters. There is no proof of it ever actually being done. The natural spread of disease killed far more than war ever did.
When doe s the bitterness end? There's no one left on earth that had anything to do with the problem. We can admit we were wrong, and most of us do (though I stand by the statement that there was no "genocide") but it can't change the past. The westerners weren't saints, it's true, but the native americans launched their share of unprovoked attacks on people who had just as much right to a plot of land as they did. Let's call it even and move on. What is productive or fulfilling about starving and "mourning," instead of being thankful for what you do have during a time when 98% of people are joyfully spending time together?
"Bitterness is like taking poison, then waiting for the other person to die."
These pretzels are making me thirdythirdsty!
Find the craziest group out there and promote their suit. Why not interview NAMBLA and ask their thoughts on things too?
The political posts of this site are turning me off and with no PE to keep me entertained may not come back as often. How would the advertisers feel about that? Can you pay for the bandwith and salaries without the ad revenue? Just think about it.
Exactly, 35. This site has gone to shit in large part because two stupid liberals now use it as a platform to spread their inanity. The laziness and incompetence of one of the liberals is also a cause of the decline.
This is how history works. Civilizations move and collide. Often, one civilization, through technology, ruthlessness, numbers, or dumb luck, defeats the other civilization and takes the land. The defeated civilization must adjust to the new reality, or disappear.
Native Americans are not being actively persecuted anymore, but they aren't getting their land back either. They can assimilate into American society and build a better life for their kids, or keep drinking.
Good point, 5.
I'm a little biased because I'm a Redskins fan, but who's to say that "Redskin" as an ethnic stereotype team name is any more offensive than "Celtic" or "fightin' Irish"? There are actual Native American Redskins fans - does it matter that they're NOT offended? Frankly no sane person should be wedded to a sports team name if they don't own the team, but isn't anything better than putting Snyder in a posiion to change the team name to the "Washington Avalanche" with new purple and teal uniforms, completing the reduction of every sports team in the city to a total laughingstock?
Ah, the theory of the noble Native Americans. The fact is that many of the tribes were busy fighting, enslaving and stealing land from other tribes. There was no noble society in which the Native Americans lived in a land undistrubed by others. Indeed, Ms. Balckhorse may want to ask the Hopi what they think of how they were treated by the Navajo before casting stones at other's ancesters. Alternatively she might want to investigate why there were Native American scouts in the U.S. Army during the late 1800's.
I would also point out that a number of colleges have worked with associated Indian tribes to secure the tribes recent approval of use of the Indian name. Last I checked, the Seminoles were in complete support of Florida State's use of that name.
So once Ms. Blackhorse takes a chill pill, she may actually attempt to read and understand the history of the interaction of the European settlers and the Native Americans. There is no "good" versus "bad" story that applies all of the time.
I wonder if the Redskins (and here I mean the NFL team) might not have a trademark disparagement claim against Ms. Blackhorse. Maybe Elie could look into this. I'm not sure the 'skins could recover much from a 27 year old Squaw with a social work degree from Nations University, but it would send a powerful statement nonetheless -- kind of like putting Ku Klux Klan sheets on a statue of William Bradford.
"For the sake of national or college team mascots"? I think you mean professional or college team mascots. Both are part of "national" organizations (the NFL and NCAA). And as far as I know, the Redskins are not the mascot of any nation.
F""k the Redskins and their fans. Worst, most annoying, "this is the year" fans ever. Your team sucks and now they're going to lose their name. The best QB you guys have had in the last 10 years is TODD COLLINS.
YOU LOST TO THE LIONS AT HOME.
There's no way they should lose their name. This PC bullshi*t is destroying America. But let's face it, we're talking about the Redskins. They lose. They don't win. Even when they win, they lose. They will probably lose this lawsuit.
10 FTW
The racism here is disgusting and you should all be ashamed of yourselves.
What if there were sports teams called "N*ggers" or "Shylocks" or "Hymies" or "Spics"? But because it's Native Americans, it's okay because they are nearly "extinct" and because it's okay to hate them.
I hope each and every one of you racists gets your ass beat for being so damn ignorant.
47 is exactly right. Violence is not the monopoly of the exploiters and as such the exploited can use it too and, moreover, ought to use it when the moment arrives.
I too hope that anyone who supports free speech gets his or her "ass beat."
31: You are wrong. This group speaks for all persons of this race, whether they are intelligent enough to support it, or not. We must use every weapon against the capitalist oppressors. "Consistency" and "honesty" are formalistic buzzwords that serve class interests. As such, they are only important where they serve to attack the white, male power structure. ATL recognizes this, and should be lauded.
I'm pretty far right politically but think the redskins should change their name. You'd NEVER see a demeaning team name referring to African Americans. We're still moving (albeit) slowly on demeaning names/comments about Asians, so we're behind with Native Americans too. But persistence will pay off and so keep up the fight, Amanda.! One day we'll look back and say "Shoot. Can't believe we kept using the Skins name so long" just like we now cringe when old people still use "Colored folk". You go girl.
You politically correct losers who have a problem with the name should go find some actual controversy or injustice to pay attention.
Redskins is here to stay.
obama sucks
There are three things in life that anyone can depend on:
1. Death
2. Taxes
3. Educated people (who ought to know better) making disgusting bigoted comments on ATL.
One of the issues here is that there is little or no evidence that the team name was introduced as a deliberate perjorative. I can understand a certain part of the populace being offended by the mere use of a word considered to be a "racial" insult. (I believe we all belong to one race, the human variety.) It's an interesting case, but hey, that's why it's going to the Federal bar to be adjudicated, not here in the comments section.
P. S. Obama/liberal haters: suck. on. this. January, 2013. At least. How witless are you to think that a McCain/Palin administration would be anything better? An old man and a functional illiterate. Don't think so.
"BLACKhorse"? Isn't the pot calling the kettle black here?
Not to mention that the so-called Native Americans actually emigrated here from Asia across the Bering Strait. Homo Sapiens are not native to the Americas.
Mexicans are taking over the Southwest and white people are leaving the area by the millions. Does this count as genocide? The illegals have killed many of our people.
Maybe ATL can hop on this case.
SO they can "bury Plymouth Rock" but they still can't bury the hatchet?
SO they can "bury Plymouth Rock" but they still can't bury the hatchet?
SO they can "bury Plymouth Rock" but they still can't bury the hatchet?
CHECK YOU PEACE PIPES.
59 comments and no one has said this yet? ATL comments are full of epic fail.
My turkey on Thanksgiving was yumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyum,
The funny thing about the dogs who post racist or borderline-racist things on this blog is that they would never, ever say such things in public. Ah, the sweet reality of pimple-faced racist losers typing furiously behind the screen of their porn-ridden laptop sitting in their parents' basement :)
41 = 10 = wormtail = wormfail.
I am so sick of hearing from the stupid injuns. We trivialize their culture through sports mascots? Give me a break. At least we remember their culture. At least we give them reservations. At least we give them a monopoly on local gaming. If sports mascots trivialize a culture so much, why dont we see the Munich Futball Jewballs? Why dont other cultures trivialize the cultures that lost out in their land area? Get over it.
Until I get reparations for the Injuns inadequate hospitality for General Custer, they get nothing from me. Certaintly not sympathy. Our "disadvantaged" minorities have it better than any minority group in the world. Somehow all they wanna do is bitch.
To 37 - that is to assume that there are discrete, insular "civilizations" for us to speak of. WTF do you mean by "Western" or "American" civilization to begin with? Are you a Sam Huntington fan (a.k.a. f------ moron)? By "Western" do you mean a bunch of obese, child-molesting, cousin-banging cretins like you and your family? Please advise.
Seriously guys, cant we all just get along? Clearly somebody should rename the redskins the bubbling brooks, or they swaying trees, or some dumb shit like that. That would be totally unoffensive. And extremely stupid.
Native Americans- should have fought harder you pussies.
66 - should've signed your name, pussy.
47, 50 and 54:
The role of intent is interesting.
The last I heard, the last two initials in the acronym NAACP consisted of "colored people" (or colored persons--whatever).
Were what we now refer to as blacks or African-Americans intending to demean themselves? That's unlikely.
In granting the legal status of nonprofit benefit corporation to the NAACP, was the State officially sanctioning a racist or offensive term? That's a stretch.
Should an aggrieved black now be able to sue to compel a change in the name of the NAACP? We could probably think of a better use of tax dollars, and all agree that such a black had too much time on his hands.
By contrast--per 47--"nigger", "spic" and "hymies" are and always have been consciously intended as slurs.
[PS: I'm not much into being nervous about the word nigger. Blacks use it among themselves. Moreover, If Lenny Bruce and George Carlin--paragons of liberal cultural criticism against the benighted censors of the Right--were right that these are just WORDS, and the rest of society should just relax and get real, then be consistent.
[I mean, the Bruce/Carlin critique shouldn't apply selectively, to words only like "fuck", "shit" and "cunt"--which, interestingly, have just about completely lost their ability to shock in the intervening decades. I wonder what would happen to the word "nigger" if queasy liberals stopped drawing attention to their own self-supposed virtue by inserting asterisks, which does nothing to mask the meaning of the term].
So why is it different with Redskins? Were the originators of that term intending something that was, at the time of origination, a deliberately offensive term? I don't see it.
Now, the "Atlanta Braves"--THAT'S a racist and sexist caricature. I suppose all Native American males are war-like? And what about their war-like "squaws"?
(Oops, there I go again. I resolutely refuse to go to The Ski Resort Otherwise Known as Squaw Valley this year, in honor of cultural sensitivities)
Wasn't Thanksgiving a celebration of the harvest. . .
Shouldn't they mourn Columbus Day? (But that would offend the Italians) Take it a step further should they mourn the day Leif Ericson found Newfoundland or dare I say it, the day their ancestors crossed the Bering Strait?
You'd thing they would have their history straight so they knew the correct day to mourn.
The name "San Francisco Giants" minimizes the achievements of all vertically-challenged people. Danny DeVito and Mickey Rooney did not choose their absence of stature; it was a cruel accident foisted upon them by Fate. I'm surprised that our glorious City by the Bay has not risen up against it.
And "Oakland Athletics"? How often does that remind of the cruel vagaries of our youth when, solely because God chose not to make us Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson, we were the last ones chosen in picking teams?
The term "Yankees" constitutes a cruel disparagement of the great contributions made by Southern-Americans, disproportionately black, to the life and times of our nation.
The "Bucks"? How often was that term used in the racist past to refer to a strapping young black man? I found it, frankly, incredible that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ever agreed to play for that franchise. But what do you expect of a bunch of undereducated, beer-besotted Eastern Europeans in Wisconsin?
Finally, the name "Buccaneers" makes a cruel joke of the suffering of those merchants and sailors who lost their hard-earned wealth, and not infrequently their lives, to BlackBeard and his evil henchmen.
Uh, 67--just a suggestion here.
If you were meaning to highlight 66's supposed lack of courage in choosing to post anonymously, your argument would be more compelling if you did not do the same. And I don't mean with some phony shtick, like JaKe or that fucking duck.
Name, e-mail address and PO Box (assuming you don't want to furnish your home address). Social Security Number is optional.
65 - Keep drinking. Thanks.
- 37
Hey White Man.
I'll give you $24, and you give me back Manhattan.
Deal?
The Redskins have a long list of problems they need to address. Offending oversensitive native americans is towards the bottom.
The Redskins have a long list of problems they need to address. Offending oversensitive native americans is towards the bottom.
11 - did you even read the article you linked to?
"Abe Pollin decided months ago that it was wrong to call his Washington basketball team the Bullets."
only the timing was changed due to the killing of someone who would be turning over in his grave if he knew how his country is committing suicide "in his name"
5 - you're an idiot, and you prove Ms. Blackhorse's point. The entire concept of last-names is a Western innovation. I'm sure some ancestor of hers was named Blackhorse, and then it was converted to a lastname, thus Amanda Blackhorse. Your argument suggests that even Crazy Horse wasn't really an authentic native american.
Did anyone notice that in the article the participants fast from sundown the day before until the afternoon the day of? Ummm, it's Thanksgiving. I do that, too. It's called working up an appetite.
Regardless of what I feel about the political issue, being that I am Native American, I just find this so-called "fast" a little hypocritical. Do they have turkey with all the trimmings in the afternoon after their "fast?"
37 and 40 win. My thoughts are as follows.
I'm sure that the name Redskins stings for a lot of Native Americans. The problem for Native Americans is that most people don't mind using the name Redskins because the history of the oppression of Native Americans is forgotten to them, and they don't know enough Native Americans to care. If African-Americans' numbers in the U.S. dwindled to Native Americans' current numbers and then 100 years went by, I doubt that the use of the word n*gger would bother that many people.
The argument that the use of the name Redskins should be OK because it was not intended as a pejorative doesn't hold water. That argument would legitimize the use of the word n*gger by anyone who doesn't intend it as a pejorative. The reason people believe this argument is outlined in the prior paragraph.
BTW, I grew up as a Redskins fan. Snyder sucks and so does the team. However, I don't really care because I live in NYC and I don't really care so much for football. Until they de-engineer helmets (perhaps a return to leather?) so that head contact becomes less a part of the game, I am going to have a hard time supporting the game. As the game is currently played, it is essentially modern-day gladiatorial combat. The worst part of it is that the combatants don't know they're suffering brain injuries at the time. (Recent press reports indicate that it's not just the concussions that cause injury -- even the little head bumps that lineman have on almost every play have a cumulative effect.) I really feel for these retired players. Depression, dementia, etc. Merrill Hoge gets lost driving home? He's only 44 for Christ's sake!
"As the game is currently played, it is essentially modern-day gladiatorial combat."
You've summed up why football is the most popular game in the USA. That and its TV friendly format. It's sad really, given that baseball is so much more interesting and nuanced.
77 - "The entire concept of last-names is a Western innovation."
Not true. Give eastern cultures their due too. Eurocentrism sucks.
Eeeek!!!!
in the end, thought, we have a first amendment. they are mad at the message sent, and guess what? in a free society you are allowed to send whatever message you want. the government is not in the message control business, or at least it shouldn't be.
Blackhorse is a racist name. Please moderate.
This just in.....Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that all white people will be tried in a military tribunal for reaping the gains of war crimes against Native Americans. The Attorney General explained that he chose a military tribunal as a result of a thorough consideration of the issues during a conversation with a friend that actually knows a Native American. The White House announced that although consulted, the President was not involved in the decision. Mr Obama bowed and apologized to Native Americans for not moving sooner to redress this horrible crime, but noted that the Bush Administration had left the issue a mess and that it took time to clean things up. Further, the President noted that he fully supported the Attorney General's decision but vowed to revisit the issue of venue and suggested that a trial in a civilian court might be more approriate.
This woman wants to remove "[a]ny depiction that uses Native American culture."
That is, she wants to prevent non-Indians from using Indian trademarks, regardless of how offensive they might or might not be. So even "the Fightin' Illinis" could be objectionable to her.
What she really wants, then, is licensing power to control all use of Indians as trademarks, even if they are not offensive.
83 -- good point. there is a still a first amendment, notwithstanding the current administration's "war" against a news organization. (And yes, I know Fox sucks, but that doesnt mean the executive branch of the federal goverment should attempt to silence it. And no I am not a Republican. And no I did not support George W Bush. And yes I voted for Obama but attempting to silence a news organization -- however biased -- is a disgrace)
What do you mean I wouldn't say these things to an Indian's face?
When I was railing some Squaw and her daughter on a pool table in Chicken, Alaska a month ago, I was calling them every name in the book. Kinky chicks.
White people rise.
Indians fall.
QUINN remains.
White people rise.
Indians fall.
QUINN remains.
77
You're a dolt, the point of 5 is the word HORSE being used, not the last name. Re-read, think about, ask someon if still don't understand, then 1000 word memo on why you're a moron.
-Management
We need to keep bombing the indians back to the stone age!
-DOJ Secure
47: you posted four slurs, comparing them to the "Redskins". However, only one of the four merited an asterisk.
Is that because the term "spic" or "hymie" is somehow less offensive than the N-Word (you know, The Word That Cannot Be Spoken?) But if that's true, why did you lump them all together as examples of hate that are so bad that racists deserve to "get [their] ass beat for being so ignorant"?
Explain.
Sorry if this was said 35 times throughout this thread, but can someone please explain why intra-Indian p0wnership, which took place for centuries prior the arrival of the Spanish, let alone the English and Dutch, is somehow less morally culpable of guilt-inducing than what the Europeans ultimately did? The only difference was means available to the belligerents - not the intent - which is always to take land (and dem hos).
What did the Indian virgin say the first time she had sex?
Careful Dad
81 - "Eurocentrism sucks."
European culture = civilization. Go run down a buffalo and shit in a tepee if you think that the "genocide" is so horrible. HTH.
"Mr. Horse, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Oh, the pleasure is mine. And you can call me Crazy. Mr. Horse is my father."
Several of these comments demonstrate how racism remains prevalent in this country. How pathetic and disheartening.
Here's what I don't get. Indian sports mascots generally portray Native Americans as strong, athletic, courageous, & powerful. This is insulting? If so, why aren't people of Scandinavian ancestry upset by the Minnesota Vikings?
I find it interesting that Native Americans never seemed to have a problem with these mascots until about the 1960s when a small group of activists decided to make it into a political football (no pun intended). It's considered offensive not because it is in any way insulting, but because people have been told they should be offended by it and people, being sheep, eventually believe what they are repeatedly told.
97 - Hitler would be proud of you. I'm ashamed to think that you're probably a lawyer.
In actuality, I find that there is a greater number of white supremacists in the legal profession than in other learned fields like medicine and engineering. It's weird.
97 - readingcomprehensionPWNED. 81 was arguing that last names is not a western innovation because practically every culture in Asia also has a similar idea. But you responded by contrasting Europe with American Indians - a non sequitur at best. Go back to your LSAT studies and give yourself a medal for idiocy.
American Indians are incapable of governing themselves. This is why their mestizo descendants from Central and South America behave as they do, having severe problems with alcohol and other negative social pathologies. If not for the "white man," they'd be scalping each other and cutting each other's hearts out.
This site has gone to shit in large part because stupid closet racists (who supposedly have or are getting JDs) now use it as a platform to spout off their racist comments about anyone that isn't a WASP and blame the liberals for everything.
Everything that isn't a WASP? I'm not a WASP you moron, but I recognize racial realities. You've bought into the liberal platform, hook, line, and sinker.
Hey, we gave you casinos as reparations, so shut up and count your beads.
Besides, you have NO chance of beating Bob Raskopf or anybody at Quinn. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
103 - you made a generalization based on something specific. I responded to the generalization, not your babbling about last names.
I took the LSAT twice, high score was over 170. HTH.
105 - You are brain-dead. Recognizing that people who devoted their lives to scalping and torturing each other produced a crappy civilization is hardly objectionable.
And I'm not a WASP. HTH.
I am proud to read so many racist comments here. Keep up the good work!
A. Hitler
Reductio ad hitlerum! Always a winner!
111 = liberal arts student with no job prospective. "reductio ad hitlerum" instead of "reduction to hitler". america is proud of you. bravo!
Feel free to discuss facts any time, 110. I'll begin the discussion by asking you to describe the characteristics of Native American "culture" that you admire. I'll understand if it takes you a few days or more to come up with an answer.
Why do Black people always think the white man is keeping them down?
As a white man, I am profoundly sorry for the transgressions of my ancestors. To make up for it, I am giving everything away. I will leave the keys to my home, car, etc. in my mailbox. Feel free. Anyone who wants my stuff is free to come and get it, provided they are a minority. In order to open employment options for non whites, I will also be quitting my job. I will walk, barefoot and jobless, from my home. I just ask that some kind soul give me a ride. I need to go down to the welfare office and fill out some paper work.
You miserable people have been reduced to whining about the conditions on your gulags/reservations, and taking the fight to the white man's football team logos.
Look in the mirror and ask yourself why you haven't killed self yet.
48, thats not even a good imitation
where is partner emeritus!!!!
who is PE!
I believe the School name is Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence Kansas Not Nations University
Trivialization my ass. They picked the name because it's fearsome--if anything this is a backhanded compliment with an unfortunate association with racial discrimination and hatred.
the term genocide is way extreme for what happened. I watched the show, America Before Columus, on National Geographic channel (which was excellent, btw) and the Americas was won by biology. Disease killed off like 90% of the native population before whites even reached the US.
The term genocide is way extreme for what happened.
I watched the show, Americas Before Columus, on the National Geographic channel (which was excellent, btw) and the Americas were won mainly by biology.
Disease killed off like 90% of the native population before whites even reached the US.
Also, the introduction of pigs by the Spanish wreaked havoc on the native populations' corn plantings which didn't help.
Just in case you missed it -- disease killed off like 90% of the native population before whites even reached the US.
It's HASKELL INDIAN Nations University, not "NATIONS University"
blackhorse is a fucking retard.
122 - Where are you getting your information from?:
"Disease killed off like 90% of the native population before whites even reached the US."
In the B.C. (Before Columbus) time period, Native Americans prospered without the benefit of European influence. They developed their own cultures that were every bit as civilized as the European culture. Columbus' arrival introduced new plants, animals and diseases, which is also referred to the "Columbian Exchange." White people infected Native American Indians with the bubonic plague, chicken pox, cholera,
influenza, leprosy, malaria, measles, scarlet fever, smallpox, typhoid, typhus, yellow fever, and yaws. These diseases are the reason that millions of Indigenous peoples lost their lives.
As for the name "Blackhorse," it is not racist. It is true that a majority of Native Americans don't have last names. The name comes from our Great Grandfather. It was translated to english after the government granted us citizenship in 1924, as they (white men) felt we needed first and last names they could pronounce.
K.Blackhorse
(Amanda's Sister)
122 - Where are you getting your information from?:
"Disease killed off like 90% of the native population before whites even reached the US."
In the B.C. (Before Columbus) time period, Native Americans prospered without the benefit of European influence. They developed their own cultures that were every bit as civilized as the European culture. Columbus' arrival introduced new plants, animals and diseases, which is also referred to the "Columbian Exchange." White people infected Native American Indians with the bubonic plague, chicken pox, cholera,
influenza, leprosy, malaria, measles, scarlet fever, smallpox, typhoid, typhus, yellow fever, and yaws. These diseases are the reason that millions of Indigenous peoples lost their lives.
As for the name "Blackhorse," it is not racist. It is true that a majority of Native Americans don't have last names. The name comes from our Great Grandfather. It was translated to english after the government granted us citizenship in 1924, as they (white men) felt we needed first and last names they could pronounce.
K.Blackhorse
(Amanda's Sister)
122 - Where are you getting your information from?:
"Disease killed off like 90% of the native population before whites even reached the US."
In the B.C. (Before Columbus) time period, Native Americans prospered without the benefit of European influence. They developed their own cultures that were every bit as civilized as the European culture. Columbus' arrival introduced new plants, animals and diseases, which is also referred to the "Columbian Exchange." White people infected Native American Indians with the bubonic plague, chicken pox, cholera,
influenza, leprosy, malaria, measles, scarlet fever, smallpox, typhoid, typhus, yellow fever, and yaws. These diseases are the reason that millions of Indigenous peoples lost their lives.
As for the name "Blackhorse," it is not racist. It is true that a majority of Native Americans don't have last names. The name comes from our Great Grandfather. It was translated to english after the government granted us citizenship in 1924, as they (white men) felt we needed first and last names they could pronounce.
K.Blackhorse
(Amanda's Sister)
83 - unfortunately for your argument, government IS in the trademark registration business, and the law states that disparaging marks cannot be registered. freedom of speech, while an easy rallying point, has nothing to do with it.
Dan Snyder is free to call his football team whatever he wants; the government is not going to stop him. If he wants the benefits the government provides to registered trademarks, however, he's got to play by the government's rules.
These comments leave me hoping that the small pox off the blankets comes back and takes us all out. Humanity=one big epic FAIL
129 - I agree.
To the moronic person who commented about there being no genocide occurring in the USA....you are completely wrong. You obviously need to do some more research. You are also probably one of those people that say that jews weren't killed during WW2. What I can't believe is the racism that still exists today. Most of you sound uneducated and there's no shocker there. You folks are the reason why we are fast becoming the richest 3rd world nation on the planet. Having the the team named Washington Redskins is like calling it the Washington "Any Racial Slur Here". Bunch of fools.
To the moronic person who commented about there being no genocide occurring in the USA....you are completely wrong. You obviously need to do some more research. You are also probably one of those people that say that jews weren't killed during WW2. What I can't believe is the racism that still exists today. Most of you sound uneducated and there's no shocker there. You folks are the reason why we are fast becoming the richest 3rd world nation on the planet. Having the the team named Washington Redskins is like calling it the Washington "Any Racial Slur Here". Bunch of fools.