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“This new poll, which purports to survey individuals who self-identify as Native Americans with no ability to confirm their identity, is equally as flawed and unreliable as the Washington Post’s 2016 poll. It proves nothing, nor does it absolve the NFL of its moral obligation to discard the longstanding symbol of racism and division that serves as the mascot of its Washington franchise,” said Kevin Allis, CEO of the National Congress of American Indians. “The fact is that hundreds of tribal nations and Native organizations representing hundreds of thousands of Native people across this country are on record formally opposing the continued use of harmful ‘Indian’ themed mascots, with the dictionary defined ‘R*dskins’ racial slur the most offensive among them. From the Penobscot Nation in Maine to the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi in Michigan to the Nez Perce and Shoshone-Bannock tribes in Idaho, tribal nations are educating state governments, sports leagues, and school boards with increasing success about the need to do away with these mascots once and for all. The National Congress of American Indians has worked for the past five decades towards this end, and we will not rest until every single disrespectful ‘Indian’ mascot that demeans our peoples is gone from sports and popular culture.”
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The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is the oldest, largest, and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization serving the broad interests of tribal governments and communities. It has been leading Indian Country’s movement to eradicate offensive “Indian” mascots from sports and popular culture for the past 50 years by educating schools, sports leagues, and the general public about the many harms they cause Native people. To learn more, please click here.
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