Washington Post poll says 90% of Native Americans not offended by Redskins’ nickname

A new poll from The Washington Post has sparked the debate over whether or not the Washington Redskins should continue using their nickname. If this latest poll is any indication, that nickname is not going anywhere.

It seems the conversation over the name of the Washington Redskins will never go away, but the talk continues to heat up in a world where image and public relations moves are becoming more and more sensitive to various cultures. A new poll published by The Washington Post on Thursday reported nine in 10 Native Americans are not offended by the term “Redskins” being used as the name of the NFL franchise.

Over the years there have been a number of surveys conducted regarding the sensitive nature of the name of the football team. For this Washington Post poll, a random national sample of 504 Native American adults were surveyed. Of those 504 Native Americans, 44 percent said in the survey they currently enrolled as a member of a Native American tribe. An astounding 90 percent said the Redskins team name did not bother them, with a consistent 90 percent from both tribe and non-tribe members.

That seems like a decisive response showing a lack of offensiveness toward the nickname of the Washington football team, but of course there are plenty of Native Americans who strongly oppose the nickname. Dr. Adrienne Keene, a writer for Native Appropriations took to Twitter to challenge The Washington Post’s findings…

Hey @washingtonpost, saw the survey. You found 373 Natives who don't find "Redsk*ns" offensive? Here's 5859 who do: https://t.co/gCwFRFYZ1a

— Adrienne Keene (@NativeApprops) May 19, 2016

Yes, that is a significantly higher number of Native Americans opposing the nickname than discovered in the poll. Her follow-up point, below, helps strengthen her case by suggesting those with a tribal connection will tend to have a stronger emotion on the subject.

And, @washingtonpost, please note that ALL of them have tribal affiliations. Not only 36% of them.

— Adrienne Keene (@NativeApprops) May 19, 2016

There have been many calls to change the name of the Redskins, and some outlets and media types have even gone so far as to refer to the team simply as “The Washington Football Team,” or something along those lines. This battle is not going to go away any time soon, certainly not with Dan Snyder in control of the franchise and pushing his own agenda on the nickname. There is also this piece of information, courtesy of Dave Zirin…

Every Native American tribal council has voted for R****** name to change. Didn't make it into this article 🤔🤔🤔 https://t.co/Pm0tVJpu3N

— Dave Zirin (@EdgeofSports) May 19, 2016

This poll suggests this is not going to change any time soon.

[Washington Post]