Edmonton Eskimos must change offensive name, Inuit leader says

[MJK]

I live in Nunavut and have seen some of the conversations around this topic. The term 'Eskimo' is considered a degoretory term created by the 'white man', most do not like it. I compare it to the term 'Newfie', most Newfoundlanders do not like that term either and in both cases they are terms created by 'outsiders'.

That being said, most Inuit here I have seen support Edmonton keeping the name Eskimo's because of it's history with the football team and do not support the proposed change.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by MJK

I live in Nunavut and have seen some of the conversations around this topic. The term 'Eskimo' is considered a degoretory term created by the 'white man', most do not like it. I compare it to the term 'Newfie', most Newfoundlanders do not like that term either and in both cases they are terms created by 'outsiders'.

That being said, most Inuit here I have seen support Edmonton keeping the name Eskimo's because of it's history with the football team and do not support the proposed change.

Thanks for the post from Up North, it cleared up nothing .


I honestly didn't know that Newfies don't like that term. I know a bunch of them, and two go the nicknames: Newf & Newfie (self given).

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

Recently in dealing with some aboriginal work, I've seen the Government of Canada change their Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) department change their name to Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC).

Just an observation. May or may not contribute to this conversation lol.

[FlamesAddiction]

I think they should change the name to the Edmonton Bohunks.

There are probably more "eaters or raw garlic" in Edmonton than there are "eaters of raw meat".

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Dude that is such a stretch it's not even funny.

What peter is saying is changing past names to suit today's fancy. Not resurrecting old names.


I've seen a few roads named "Old Indian Road" in my travels and I don't think we need to actually change those for instance.

Fair enough. But the point is still times and language change. Why would you not change with it?

A billion people around the world see the Redskins play every Sunday. I don't know how many people drive on Old Indian Road, but the difference is why some things deserve more attention than others.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

Fair enough. But the point is still times and language change. Why would you not change with it?

A billion people around the world see the Redskins play every Sunday. I don't know how many people drive on Old Indian Road, but the difference is why some things deserve more attention than others.

I'm definitely not arguing that point. There is certainly a case to be made to change the REdskins name.

Personally, I find the Cleveland Indians logo to be more insensitive/offensive than the actual name Redskins. I think the Redskins logo is a kinda badass.

[Erick Estrada]

You will see the Eskimos change their name right after the Redskins do which is never as long as Snyder owns that team.

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

I'm definitely not arguing that point. There is certainly a case to be made to change the REdskins name.

Personally, I find the Cleveland Indians logo to be more insensitive/offensive than the actual name Redskins. I think the Redskins logo is a kinda badass.

I thought so too this weekend. FSU has exactly the same logo as the Redskins but are called the Seminoles. I went to a game in Tallahassee in 1997 and I've yet to experience anything cooler than 80k lunatics screaming the war chant as loud as possible accompanied by an entire marching band pounding out the drums and Chief Osceola riding out on the field on his bad ass paint horse and planting a flaming spear right at center field. That would give fits to the All Blacks and their Haka.

It's all in the language. Englishman is fine. Chinaman is not. Seminoles are honored. Redskins is the name we gave Seminoles way too long ago.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by jayswin

Wow dude, you simply can't look at it like that, full stop. That's a horrible line of thinking. Looking to a minority group and saying "Well, your opinion doesn't matter because you're only a small percentage of the population" is just awful and shows an egregious lack of understanding and empathy of minority groups.

This is the exact type of thinking that holds minority groups down for centuries, nobody stands up for them and there aren't enough of them to bring about change on their own. I'm not saying this in relation to the Eskimos name, as it's up for debate whether it should be changed, but in a general sense your post is just horrible logic.

So what principle should we use in deciding how and when to circumscribe speech? Who decides what is offensive? How many people need to be offended? Does it take only one? And if minority status factors into the equation, how do we define minorities? Are all women minorities? Jews? Catholics? People who are one-eighth native? Fundamentalist Christians are a minority in Canada. Should we restrict our speech to cater to their sensibilities of what is offensive?

I know a lot of people dislike it when logic and reason are brought into emotional issues. But our legal system is rooted in reason, in universal principles that are applied to different cases. If 'offensive' is to have meaning, it needs to be defined. Otherwise, our public policy will be steered by gusts of emotion roused in mass media and pop culture, which is a terrible way to govern ourselves.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

"Offensive" clearly has meaning. It's a matter of whether it should have teeth. That being said, isn't the proper reaction to do exactly what is being done here and in re: the Redskins?

"We don't like that name, here's why, we want you to change it!"
"We like the name, we're not going to change it and here's why!"

People then weigh in on either side.

I mean, team names are a weird case because there is so little actually at stake on either side. But the result of that low-stakes reality seems to be that people are arguing over what is essentially a non-issue, putting a bunch of energy into it, but at least doing it the way one would want in a free and democratic society. Considering how often this sort of stuff just descends into heckler's vetoes, it's oddly encouraging. Now we just need to extend this to things that matter, I guess? Or am I off base here.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

I thought so too this weekend. FSU has exactly the same logo as the Redskins but are called the Seminoles. I went to a game in Tallahassee in 1997 and I've yet to experience anything cooler than 80k lunatics screaming the war chant as loud as possible accompanied by an entire marching band pounding out the drums and Chief Osceola riding out on the field on his bad ass paint horse and planting a flaming spear right at center field. That would give fits to the All Blacks and their Haka.

It's all in the language. Englishman is fine. Chinaman is not. Seminoles are honored. Redskins is the name we gave Seminoles way too long ago.

FSU is officially approved by the Florida Seminole nation to use the name. Over the years, they have changed some of their pregame and in-game traditions to better represent the Seminoles, as opposed to generic "Indian" stereotypes.

On the other hand, you have North Dakota, which used to be called the Fighting Sioux, but the Sioux nation did not agree to approve that usage, so they have been forced by the NCAA to change their name. It was announced a couple of weeks ago that they will now be known as the Fighting Hawks.

[Shazam]

Huh. I always thought a seminole was half a nole, whatever the hell that was.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

I thought so too this weekend. FSU has exactly the same logo as the Redskins but are called the Seminoles. I went to a game in Tallahassee in 1997 and I've yet to experience anything cooler than 80k lunatics screaming the war chant as loud as possible accompanied by an entire marching band pounding out the drums and Chief Osceola riding out on the field on his bad ass paint horse and planting a flaming spear right at center field. That would give fits to the All Blacks and their Haka.

It's all in the language. Englishman is fine. Chinaman is not. Seminoles are honored. Redskins is the name we gave Seminoles way too long ago.

At least with the Seminoles, it represents a local indigenous group. Assuming the term Eskimo is even acceptable for a sports team, they are not even a local indigenous group for Edmonton. Historical Inuit territory is more than 1,000 km from Edmonton. It's about as relevant as a sports team from Toronto calling themselves the Seminoles.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

I thought so too this weekend. FSU has exactly the same logo as the Redskins but are called the Seminoles. I went to a game in Tallahassee in 1997 and I've yet to experience anything cooler than 80k lunatics screaming the war chant as loud as possible accompanied by an entire marching band pounding out the drums and Chief Osceola riding out on the field on his bad ass paint horse and planting a flaming spear right at center field. That would give fits to the All Blacks and their Haka.

It's all in the language. Englishman is fine. Chinaman is not. Seminoles are honored. Redskins is the name we gave Seminoles way too long ago.

That is pretty sweet actually. But in this hyper sensitive world, I bet it's only a matter of time before someone claims the Seminoles are offensive is some way, shape or form as well.

[MoneyGuy]

Not that it's a big deal because I don't think it is but the Eskimos can do a lot to turn this thing around.

The term Eskimo is somewhat derogatory but I also believe that most Inuit either don't care about the name or don't want the Esks to change it. I think it's very small group who want a name change.

The Esks can honour Inuit members at games much as they do for members of the Canadian armed forces. President Len Rhodes regularly hosts groups in his box for games and he can do this for Inuit members. They can send players up for speaking engagements and school visits. They can sponsor some post-secondary scholarships.

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Huh. I always thought a seminole was half a nole, whatever the hell that was.

Your joke is bad and you should feel bad.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

At least with the Seminoles, it represents a local indigenous group. Assuming the term Eskimo is even acceptable for a sports team, they are not even a local indigenous group for Edmonton. Historical Inuit territory is more than 1,000 km from Edmonton. It's about as relevant as a sports team from Toronto calling themselves the Seminoles.

Seminoles has no history as a derogatory term and that's what's important here IMO

[Shazam]

Other racist words:

Hooligan
Vandal
Hip hip hooray
Barbarian
Bugger
Cannibal
Gyp

[Zarley]

Apparently, the most commonly accepted origin of the term Eskimo means "snowshoe netter," not "eaters of raw meat."

Also, the term Eskimo is a broader category that includes both the Inuit and Yupik. Here in Canada, the north is home to Inuit exclusively, which is why we have seen a transition away from the term Eskimo. The term remains in use for arctic inhabitants as a whole, especially outside Canada.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by Zarley

Apparently, the most commonly accepted origin of the term Eskimo means "snowshoe netter," not "eaters of raw meat."

Also, the term Eskimo is a broader category that includes both the Inuit and Yupik. Here in Canada, the north is home to Inuit exclusively, which is why we have seen a transition away from the term Eskimo. The term remains in use for arctic inhabitants as a whole, especially outside Canada.

Apparently it's completely muddled.

Does the word "Eskimos" really mean "eaters of raw flesh" in Cree?

A: Actually, the etymology of the word Eskimo is uncertain. Cree people today definitely associate the name with the Cree word askâwa, which does mean raw meat or eggs. One Cree speaker suggested the original word that became corrupted to Eskimo might have been askamiciw (which means "he eats it raw,") and the Inuit are referred to in some Cree texts as askipiw (which means "eats something raw.")

On the other hand, some linguists have recently suggested that this might be a 'folk etymology'--an origin for a word which, though believed by many speakers of the language, isn't historically true. (An example of folk etymology in English is the word '#####rdly,' which many people incorrectly think is related to the similar-sounding racial slur '######.') The Cree word askimew means "he laces snowshoes," and these linguists believe that may have been the original name the Crees used to refer to their Inuit neighbors.

Either of these theories is possible. In our own opinion, the biggest problem with the snowshoe theory is that lacing snowshoes was not a distinguishing trait of the Inuit--nearly every American Indian tribe in Canada used laced snowshoes, with the style of snowshoe varying from tribe to tribe. For the Cree to call the Inuit "snowshoe-lacers" would have been like the Germans calling the French "shoe-wearers." Why would they do that? Since the Inuit and Aleut did and still do eat some fish uncooked, which the Cree do not, that would have been a much more sensible name (and not necessarily an insulting one, at least originally.) On the other hand, English corruptions of Native American names are often much abbreviated ("Sioux" comes from the last two syllables of the Ojibway name Naadawesiwag, for example,) so it's certainly possible that the original name could have meant "he makes circular snowshoes" or something else meaningfully descriptive.

In any event, regardless of the name's origins, many Inuit people do not like the word "Eskimo" today. Like the word "######" (which originally only meant "black"), "Eskimo" has often been used in a racist or demeaning way over the years, so although some communities do continue to use the word, others prefer to be called by their native name for themselves, Inuit.

http://www.native-languages.org/iaq23.htm