Redskin
The Washington Redskins are a nationally beloved team that is rich with history. They have three super bowl and fourteen divisional championship wins. Likewise, they also have the most controversial name in professional sports. The strong aversion to the team's name the Redskins, which refers to their Native American mascot, is due to its dark origin. There have been numerous petitions and political debates on whether or not the word is appropriate in the modern era; supporters of the current name claim tradition and history as their opposition to the name haters(SB#1).
The first known usage the word ‘redskin’ is under presumably positive pretences. In a letter from Chief Mosquito to an English officer at Fort de Chartres, Mosquito writes (translated from french),"I shall be pleased to have you come to speak to me yourself if you pity our women and our children; and, if any redskins do you harm, I shall be able to look out for you even at the peril of my life," (“Redskin…”) The word was born without a negative connotation, but simply a passive way…show more content… An excerpt from The Daily Republican newspaper printed in Winona, Wisconsin reads, “The State reward for dead Indians has been increased to $200 for every red-skin sent to Purgatory,” (Holmes). In the beginning, to prove the slaying of a native, the slayer would drag the corpse into a nearby fort or town and collect his money. According to history, this became to graphic for the women and children. The practice then changed as it became custom to scalp the dead; this slice of skin was referred to as a redskin to discern it from the beaver skins and deer hides that would also be transported in for a profit. This negative connotation of the word has weathered the years, still standing today. The only real day to day usage is in reference to the Washington Redskins, who too, will one day phase out the
