Please note!

This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Do many Native Americans support eliminating their caricatures from sports?

Thursday, July 16, 2020

By Samuel Henning

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YES

More than 50 tribal governments and Native American organizations have expressed support for the Washington Redskins decision to find a new name for the team. The National Congress of American Indians, a long-established civil rights organization, began campaigning in 1968 to address stereotypes in U.S. culture and continues to press other teams and brands to retire similar names and images.

The continued use of the tomahawk chop by fans of several professional sports teams, including the Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Braves, is also generally opposed by Native American organizations.

A survey released in February of more than 1,000 Native Americans found 49% thought the Washington team's name was offensive. Those who identified more strongly with Native American tribes and culture tended to be more offended.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

National Congress of American Indians: Ending the era of harmful 'Indian' mascots

UC Berkeley: Name and mascots offend more than previously reported

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Braves’ name, chop are complex and personal issues for Native Americans

Kansas City Star: Is it time for the Chiefs to make a change?

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Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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About fact briefs published on Gigafact

Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.