The Native American group that sued the NFL’s Washington Commanders for attempting to erase Indian heritage defended its legal action on social media on Saturday, noting that its lawsuit is part of a larger effort to prevent liberals from eradicating history.
The Native American Guardians Association sued the Commanders and owner Josh Harris back in September for defamation, civil conspiracy and civil rights violations for working to suppress Native American history, media accounts noted at the time.
They demanded that the team, known for more than 80 years as the Redskins, bring back the former nickname. Former owner Dan Snyder made the change, which liberals had long pushed for, in 2020 in response to the George Floyd protests.
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“NAGA’s members were huge Redskin fans precisely because they were the Redskins,” the lawsuit argued. “It was the only team in the NFL to honor an actual Native American. They were proud to watch professional football players engage in a different kind of battle, with the stoic face of Chief White Calf on their helmets.”
Fox News reported at the time that Chief John Two Guns White Calf, among his other contributions to Native American history, forced the U.S government to recognize and honor Blackfoot tribal claims.
Fox added that the Redskins’ original name and logo were inspired by 17th-century Lenni Lenape Chief Tammany, who was celebrated by colonists fighting the American Revolution as “the Patron Saint of America.”
On Friday, an historian named M.F. Khan posted a story about the lawsuit on X, which NAGA reposted.
The story renewed the debate on X over whether the team should have been renamed.
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In response to a critic who cheered that a “slur of a name and stereotypical logo” were gone, NAGA noted other examples where liberals removed Native American references.
These included art exhibits that were pulled in the name of “cultural sensitivity” and a map showing 10 upstate New York high schools that have changed their logos from Indian references.
“Do you really think this is about a Name (sic) Redskins still?” NAGA answered in a post.
As for the original lawsuit, filed in federal court in North Dakota, NAGA asserted that “the powerful are pushing the delete button” on Native American history. They also accused Harris and the Commanders of a “coordinated and willful effort” to defame the group by labeling the nonprofit “fake.”
NAGA also submitted a Change.org petition that urges the revival of the Redskins name and logo. Today, that petition has garnered more than 138,000 signatures.
In September, Chad LaVeglia, NAGA’s lawyer, told Newsweek that the lawsuit was “a big leap forward for Native Americans, and all Americans, who have been canceled or personally attacked for voicing their opinion.”
“The Native American Guardian’s Association is exemplifying the bravery and courage of their ancestors by fighting back against a giant, powerful foe,” he added. “If only a small percentage of Americans show the same courage, we can return to a country that prospers from healthy debate.”
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