
Native American groups slam Trump call to bring back Redskins name
In Sunday posts on his Truth Social platform, Trump said there was "a big clamoring" for the team, which has been called the Commanders since 2022, to revert to its former name and that "our great Indian people" want it to happen.
Trump also urged Major League Baseball's Cleveland Guardians, who changed their name from Indians in 2021, to follow suit.
But some Native American groups slammed Trump for pushing for a return to what they called harmful names.
"These mascots and names do not honor Native Peoples — they reduce us to caricatures," the Association on American Indian Affairs said in a statement. "Our diverse Peoples and cultures are not relics of the past or mascots for entertainment."
"Native Nations are sovereign, contemporary cultures who deserve respect and self-determination, not misrepresentation."
After decades of criticism that the name was a racial slur, the Washington NFL team in July 2020 retired the Redskins name and logo -- featuring the profile of a red-faced Native American with feathers in his hair -- that had been in place since 1933.
The National Congress of American Indians said it opposes any effort to revive what it called racist mascots that demean Indigenous communities, calling it "an affront to Tribal sovereignty."
"For seventy-five years, NCAI has held an unbroken voice: Imagery and fan behaviors that mock, demean, and dehumanize Native people have no place in modern society," NCAI President Mark Macarro said in a statement.
Because Congress retains oversight of D.C. under its home-rule law, Trump could try to influence federal funding or approvals tied to the stadium, but he lacks direct authority to block it.
Congress, controlled by Trump's Republicans, also has the power to override decisions by the Democratic-dominated Washington, D.C., City Council, though it rarely exercises this authority.
The team, which has been in suburban Landover, Maryland, since 1997, reached an agreement with the District of Columbia government in April to return to the city with a new stadium expected to open in 2030.
The White House did not respond to a request for further comment on Trump's post. The Commanders and NFL also did not respond to requests for comment.
While some groups oppose the Commanders returning to the former name, the Native American Guardians Association said it supported Trump's desire to bring back the Redskins name.
"The Native American Guardians Association stands with the President of the United States in the call to return common sense and sanity back to our nation," the group said in a statement.
"Virtually all Americans, to include American Indians, are fed up with cancel culture."
The Commanders have won three Super Bowls and are one of the NFL's marquee franchises, ranked by Forbes last year as the league's 10th most valuable franchise at $6.3 billion.
Many American professional and collegiate sports teams have Native American-themed names. Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves, the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks and NFL's Kansas City Chiefs have said they have no plans to change their names.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
24 minutes ago
- The Independent
Inside the Republican revolt in the House over the Epstein files that led to the early summer recess for Congress
House Republicans revolted against GOP leadership over the Trump administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files in the days before Speaker Mike Johnson ushered in the chamber's early summer recess to avoid dealing with the crisis, according to a report. As controversy over the administration's refusal to release all government files related to the sex offender continues, Johnson faced a 'growing crisis' of his own among key GOP allies as leadership refused to bring any action on Epstein to the House floor, Politico reports. Behind the scenes, GOP leaders faced a 'standoff' with rank-and-file members who were 'incensed' when they were forced to vote against a Democratic-led effort to release the Epstein files a week before, according to the outlet. Some lawmakers reportedly 'begged' for action on Epstein in closed-door meetings as they warned Republican leadership that the problem wasn't going away. The new reported details illustrate the chaos of what was happening behind the scenes as President Donald Trump continues to be plagued by the case of the convicted pedophile. GOP Rep. Virginia Foxx of Virginia, chair of the House Rules Committee that serves as a final gatekeeper to legislation where a simple majority vote is required, threatened to bring activity on the House floor to a halt unless a better solution to the Epstein issue was put forward, two people with knowledge of the conversation told Politico. The rebellion prompted Trump to meet with GOP members of the House Rules Committee in the Oval Office Tuesday, according to the outlet. Johnson moved to shut down the committee, which meant that the House will not be able to tee up votes to pass many of the spending bills that Congress hoped to pass before the August recess, when members break to go back to their districts. But Johnson likely faces further rebellion in September. 'I think the administration will put more stuff out in August … if they don't, then I promise you, there's going to be some more looking at this in the first week of September,' warned Rep. Chip Roy of Texas. Republican lawmakers have expressed anger over the Epstein fallout, and said they are under intense pressure from constituents on the issue. The rebellion of House Republicans who favored releasing more documents in the Epstein case came as a 'surprise' to White House officials, according to Politico. One anonymous GOP member told CNN that members wanted a chance to vote on the issue. 'To be accused of trying to cover up for a pedophile, it's detestable,' they told the network. Word had got out that Democrats were planning to force an Epstein-related vote Monday. At a meeting with GOP Rules Committee members that evening, Johnson reportedly presented three options on how to proceed. Ultimately, leadership opted to halt the action of the House Rules Committee. 'The rule was going down anyway,' a source with knowledge of the meeting told Politico. 'So the choice was clear.' Johnson defended effectively shutting down the House while speaking with reporters Wednesday. 'No one in Congress is blocking Epstein documents,' he said. The rebellion follows recent revelations that the Department of Justice told Trump that his name appears multiple times in the Epstein files, according to multiple senior administration sources. The sources told The Wall Street Journal that Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy, Todd Blanche, informed the president during a May meeting at the White House that the president's name emerged after they sifted through a 'truckload' of documents related to Epstein. Following the Journal's report, sources familiar with the exchange confirmed the account to both The New York Times and CNN. Appearing in the files does not indicate that an individual has committed any wrongdoing, nor has Trump ever been accused of misconduct in connection with the Epstein case. 'This is another fake news story, just like the previous story by The Wall Street Journal,' White House communications director Steven Cheung said about the claims Trump was named.


Reuters
24 minutes ago
- Reuters
FEMA chief would report directly to US president under new bill
WASHINGTON, July 24 (Reuters) - The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency would report directly to the U.S. president instead of the Homeland Security secretary, under a bipartisan bill announced in the House of Representatives on Thursday. The bill would also allow FEMA to reimburse states for the cost to shelter emergency personnel after natural disasters. The measure is backed by House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves, a Republican from Missouri, and ranking member Rick Larsen, a Democrat from Washington state. The bill adds to the debate over the agency's future. President Donald Trump has said he wants to shutter FEMA. He tasked a committee of governors, mayors and emergency managers from disaster-prone states to recommend changes by the fall.


Reuters
24 minutes ago
- Reuters
Trump says he wants Musk and his companies to thrive in US
July 24 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would not destroy Elon Musk's companies by taking away federal subsidies and that he wants the billionaire tech-entrepreneur's businesses to thrive. "Everyone is stating that I will destroy Elon's companies by taking away some, if not all, of the large scale subsidies he receives from the U.S. Government. This is not so!," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "I want Elon, and all businesses within our Country, to THRIVE."