Edmonton Eskimos defend racist name as Redskins look to change theirs

Jul 3 2020, 11:57 pm

A Canadian Football League team with a name that’s a racial slur against the Inuit is once again standing by its moniker as an NFL team south of the border finally contemplates changing its offensive name.

The Washington Redskins, widely seen as a racist name that’s derogatory toward Indigenous peoples, launched a review Friday after criticism from sponsor FedEx.

NFL insider Ian Rapoport is reporting today that a name change is “likely.”

Here in Canada, many people are once again calling on the Edmonton Eskimos to change their name as well.

“I’m a real live Inuk and I’m here to say change the name,” tweeted Amy Beatrice.

In a tweet Friday, Edmonton’s football team referred to a review it conducted several months ago where it found “no consensus among the Inuit people and considerable support for the Eskimos name among Inuit in various parts of northern Canada.”

The team isn’t planning to change its name, but said it would “ramp up” engagement with the “Inuit communities to assess their views.”

Many on Twitter criticized the team for concluding a lack of consensus should mean keeping the name, including Nunavut MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq who also pointed out their incorrect use of the word “Inuit.”

Megan DevlinMegan Devlin

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