Hi Matthew!
It’s clear you put a lot of work and passion into this piece! I especially liked your second source, the Langston Hughes poem. I feel like this source helps supplement your position well. I thoroughly agree with a lot of the sentiments expressed in this poem and feel that your incorporation of these sentiments was very powerful. I think your expression of America through an “illusion of freedom” is also very powerful and thought-provoking. I would love to see more about this idea from you!

This was very interesting to read about because my school had to change our mascot for the same reason. I always supported the idea of changing it but I never really understood the more specific reasons behind why having a Native American inspired mascot can be harmful. This helped me understand it more and I think that more people should be aware of this.

Hi Matthew, this article really intrigued me. Especially of recently with the NFL making the Washington Redskins change their name but also because recently within the last couple years my high school had to change somethings with our logo because it had to do with Native Americans. I didn’t understand why it would be such a big and why it is but now I do kind of realize like these things are important to these people and they don’t want anything changing the it or the meaning of it.

This was an interesting article to read because I’ve been fascinated by the recent sports- name changing controversy across all leagues in the U.S. The surge to change the Washington Redskins name was going around for over 20 years before the official change of the name that emerged from the madness of 2020. It interests me what native American names are deemed appropriate and what are offensive. For example, the Cleveland Indians have indicated plans to change their name as well in the midst of the Washington debate. However, thousands of other sports teams have Native American related names such as the Atlanta Braves or the Chicago Blackhawks. It is just interesting to where is the line between appreciating native American culture and racist depictions.

I really enjoyed this article, it was super well written and informative! As this issue continues to grow and grab the attention of schools and sports teams across the country, I am glad people are starting to understand the severity and harm this brings to the Native American community. Unfortunately, verbal slander to indigenous people is not the only form of discrimination they receive. It would have been interesting to include how these sport teams and schools names make us desensitized to the the widespread acceptance of a offensive categorization, such as the “Redskins”. As well as the direct effects it has on these communities because of the NFL’s actions of justifying/defending the team name for so long. Great post!