Native American advocates on Wednesday launched an elaborate hoax, creating authentic-looking Web pages of major media that purported to report that the NFL’s Washington Redskins had changed their name to the Redhawks.
The campaign, led by a group called the Rising Hearts Coalition, created Web pages that appeared strikingly similar to the real pages of those of the Washington Post, ESPN, Sports Illustrated and Bleacher Report, plus one for the team itself with a new Redhawks logo.
Some Native Americans consider the Redskins name highly offensive and evocative of the genocide of North American tribes by settlers of European descent.
“We created this action to show the NFL and the Washington football franchise how easy, popular and powerful changing the name could be,” Rebecca Nagle of the Cherokee Nation said in a news release that identified her as “one of the organizers of the stunt.”
“What we’re asking for changes only four letters. Just four letters! Certainly the harm that the mascot does to Native Americans outweighs the very, very minor changes the franchise would need to make,” Nagle said.
All of the online pages had disclaimers announcing the Web site as a parody and not endorsed by nor affiliated with sites they were imitating.
A Washington Post poll released last year found 90 percent of Native Americans were not offended by the name, but a rival study by the Center for Indigenous Peoples Studies at California State University, San Bernardino found 67 percent of Native Americans considered the name racist.
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