Edmonton Eskimos must change offensive name, Inuit leader says

[corporatejay]

I have no idea if this is offensive or not. I thought it wasn't, now this guy says it is. Is he representative of the majority or even a large segment of the inuit population or is this just one guy?

Happy to open up the dialogue.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by calgaryblood

That a big enough issue for you to care about?

Why go so big when a member of the military moving from one part of a base to another seems sufficient

I agree with you. The claim of "there are bigger issues" is no defence at all. There are always bigger issues.

That said, I feel like there's got to be a bigger dialogue on this stuff. Is it offensive? To how many? How offensive? I'm getting pretty tired of people coming out and saying something is offensive to the media and expecting a result. Let's have these people actually talk with the offenders, and let's have these (in this case, teams) talk with the offended and maybe come to a resolution.

[GirlySports]

We need a team called The Woks

[ranchlandsselling]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

Is this the thread where white people tell non-white people how to feel?

[transplant99]

From my admittedly limited understanding, the term Eskimo is perfectly fine and even preferred by certain segments (majority IIRC) of northern indigenous "tribes", while others find it offensive as it was used in a derogatory way against them by both other native groups as well as the white man.

So its a bit of a clusterfata.

[Playfair]

Now that I think of it, I always thought the Flames was offending to fire

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by calgaryblood

Why can't we be upset at more than one issue?

Every time something offensive comes up and when no one has a defence but they really feel like they should say "there are worse things in the world"

Like ok let's talk about all the missing and exploited aboriginal women in Canada. That a big enough issue for you to care about?

That's a much bigger and more important issue absolutely,

the name Edmonton Eskimos came directly from the back and forth battle of alberta, not from being detrimental racists slurs it was a shot against the city of Edmonton by Calgarians, and the Edmonton football team adopted it as their name.

[GirlySports]

If eskimos and redskins is offensive so is cowboys and stampeders..

In other words its not

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

If eskimos and redskins is offensive so is cowboys and stampeders..

In other words its not

For sure.

Giants, Kings, Oilers, Chinks, Blue Bombers, Raiders, Kikes, Dodgers, Knicks, ######s, Cornhuskers, Royals, Canadiens, Wetbacks, 76ers, Padres, Texans, Wops, Astros...

Anyone who would have a problem with any of these team names is just too goddamn sensitive.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

If eskimos and redskins is offensive so is cowboys and stampeders..

In other words its not

I would imagine you're just doing that thing where you try to insert a slightly controversial remark to get discussion going?

[Slanter]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

I have no idea if this is offensive or not. I thought it wasn't, now this guy says it is. Is he representative of the majority or even a large segment of the inuit population or is this just one guy?

Happy to open up the dialogue.

He's the president of ITK, which is the most important national Inuit organization. Just like any democratic organization, there will be those who don't agree with him. But, if you wanted to ask one person to speak on behalf of Inuit in Canada, this is probably your guy.

[flylock shox]

I'm not sure it matters a lot whether the term is derogatory or not.

Even if it's a proper term, it's still just making an ethnic group into a mascot.

It'd be like going from Edmonton Negros to Edmonton African-Americans or something. It's still not quite right.

They're like the Cleveland Indians of the North but with a better logo.

[VladtheImpaler]

Ah, as much as I hate all PC whining, just change it to Tennessee Waterfalls and be done with it. That has the added advantage of being representative of the community.

[FlamesAddiction]

According to the ITK, which is a national Inuit organization in Canada (from a private conversation I had with a prominent member):

Whether Eskimo is derogatory or not depends a lot on who you are talking to, the circumstances and who's doing the talking. There is no cut and dry answer. It is best not to use the term unless you are clear that it is respectful under the circumstances. Eskimo is not a word in any of the Inuit languages. The correct term for aboriginal people from Inuit Nunaat is "Inuit". It is also worth noting that Inuit are not First Nations, more info terminology can be found at https://www.itk.ca/note-terminology-inuit-metis-first-nations-and-aboriginal

I'm not sure if that clears anything up though. The impression that I get from the one Inuit friend that I ever talked to about this, is that it isn't "n-word" bad, but it's a gear grinder.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by flylock shox

I'm not sure it matters a lot whether the term is derogatory or not.

Even if it's a proper term, it's still just making an ethnic group into a mascot.

It'd be like going from Edmonton Negros to Edmonton African-Americans or something. It's still not quite right.

They're like the Cleveland Indians of the North but with a better logo.

Well nobody cares about the Vikings or the Trojans.

But Redskins has got to go.

[ranchlandsselling]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

For sure.

Giants, Kings, Oilers, Chinks, Blue Bombers, Raiders, Kikes, Dodgers, Knicks, ######s, Cornhuskers, Royals, Canadiens, Wetbacks, 76ers, Padres, Texans, Wops, Astros...

Anyone who would have a problem with any of these team names is just too goddamn sensitive.

So did you pick one word of all the racial slurs to not say or did the forum censor it?

Upon my little test it looks like ###### is censored. Looks like some are worse then others. One day maybe it'll be Vancouver #######.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by jayswin

I would imagine you're just doing that thing where you try to insert a slightly controversial remark to get discussion going?

I wanted to make a comparison. If people are saying indians are offensive then so are cowboys. Cowboys and Indians are the same.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

I wanted to make a comparison. If people are saying indians are offensive then so are cowboys. Cowboys and Indians are the same.

Isn't cowboy more of an occupation?

[flylock shox]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Well nobody cares about the Vikings or the Trojans.

But Redskins has got to go.

I think people associate Vikings and Trojans with warriors. Kind of like Chiefs or Braves. There's a certain honorific value associating a sports team with a warrior. Hell, even the Irish are Fighting.

Also, isn't cowboy a job title?

[GirlySports]

i don't think it was in the 1800s where the term cowboys and indians came from. Every white dude was a cowboy.