WASHINGTON — Native American communities fought for decades to get Washington’s NFL team to drop its controversial name. Now, former President Donald Trump is pushing for the team to bring it back—despite strong opposition from tribal leaders and civil rights groups.
“No Native American child should have to sit through a pep rally or in a stadium where their culture is being mocked,” said Jacqueline De León, senior staff attorney with the Native American Rights Fund.
Over the weekend, Trump threatened to block a proposed new stadium in the nation’s capital unless the Washington Commanders revert to their old name, which many Native Americans consider offensive.
“The Washington ‘Whatevers’ should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I may place a restriction on them if they don’t return to the original name and drop the ridiculous ‘Commanders.’”
He added that Native Americans “in massive numbers” support the change, claiming their “heritage and prestige” is being erased. Trump also suggested the Cleveland Guardians should revert to their former name.
But Native leaders say that’s simply not true.
‘We Are Not Mascots’
“We are language keepers, land protectors, survivors of attempted genocide, and members of sovereign nations,” said Savannah Romero of the Eastern Shoshone Nation, who co-founded the BLIS Collective. “To equate Native people with cartoonish mascots is a dehumanizing tactic that must end.”
The Native American Rights Fund has long fought to eliminate the use of Native imagery in sports, and recently backed a ban in New York prohibiting Native mascots in schools. The Department of Education has called that ban an “unlawful attempt” to suppress celebration of Native culture—an argument De León dismisses.
“Native Americans are being used as tools for a distraction,” she said. “That’s very disrespectful to the pain and suffering imposed on Native people by inaccurately depicting our culture.”
A Painful History
Beth Wright, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna and an attorney with the Native American Rights Fund, noted that the U.S. has spent generations trying to erase Native identity—through boarding schools, outlawing spiritual practices, and seizing Native lands.
“Native people are still trying to reclaim what was nearly erased,” Wright said. “Mascots like these work against that by spreading false ideas about who we are.”
‘It’s a Slur’
In 2013, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights—representing over 200 organizations—passed a resolution urging the NFL team to change its name, citing the harm caused by negative stereotypes and cultural appropriation.
De León, who lived in Washington, D.C., for several years, said seeing fans wearing merchandise with the old name was painful.
“I don’t even like to say the word,” she said. “It’s a slur.”
Despite Trump’s calls to reverse course, Native advocates say the fight for dignity, accurate representation, and respect for their cultures is far from over.
