National | Sports

NFL set to meet with Oneida Nation to discuss racist mascot

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Audio: CBSDC has the entire audio of the symposium at cbswashington.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/10-07-13-oneida-indian-nation-symposium-raw.mp3

The NFL reached out to the Oneida Nation of New York and has agreed to meet with the tribe to discuss the Washington team's racist mascot.

The meeting is set to take place sometime next month, according to news reports. The development came as the tribe held a Change the Mascot symposium in Washington, D.C., on Monday, at the same hotel where the NFL is holding its annual meeting.

“They know we’re not going away,” Oneida Nation Representative Ray Halbritter told The Washington Post. He said the upcoming meeting with the NFL is “a move in the right direction.”

Activist Suzan Shown Harjo led the first attempt to cancel the trademarks of the Washington team and was successful until the team won a decision in federal court. A younger generation of activists has taken up the cause, which is pending before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

Nearly every Indian organization has called for the elimination of racist mascots in professional sports and in public schools.

Get the Story:
Audio: Oneida Indian Nation Symposium On Redskins Name (CBSDC / AP 10/7)
NFL says it will meet with representatives of Indian tribe that wants Redskins to change name (AP 10/7)
Redskins Name-Change Symposium: Where Were Snyder and Goodell (Indian Country Today 10/7)
Indian tribe pushes for Washington Redskins name change as NFL owners gather (The Washington Post 10/8)