Native Americans, allies march on Washington Football Team, demand racist name be changed
On the 28th of December, Native Americans and allies from many communities marched on the final home game of the Washington Football Team. The demand was simple: that the team change their racist name and mascot. The name originated as a reference to bounties paid to mercenaries and vigilantes for the scalps of murdered Native American men, women, and children. At one point the bounty reached $200-in 1800's dollars. To this day it is still deemed "culturally acceptable" to treat Indigenous people as "unpersons," according to multiple rally speakers. Thus, this is the one time the use of racist names and mascots in sports is still widely accepted.
The protest on Dec 28 was announced as the first major protest at Fedex Field, after a year in which Washington Football Team games in areas with strong Indigenous communities often drew protests, in one case by 5,000 people. Present at the FedEx Field was Chief Billy Tayac of the Piscataway Nation, upon whose land the stadium sits. Protesters marched through the streets feeding stadium parking lots, then held a rally just off the main entry route from the Capitol Beltway.
