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| Redskins owner starts foundation to aid Native American groups | Redskins owner starts foundation to aid Native American groups |
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| Daniel Snyder, the owner of Washington's NFL team, announced on Monday night that he is launching a non-profit organisation to provide aid to Native American groups – but insisted he would not be changing the name that many regard as racist. | |
| Snyder said the Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation is inspired by visits he and his staff made in the past four months to 26 tribal reservations in 20 states, in a letter posted on the NFL team’s website on Monday night. | Snyder said the Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation is inspired by visits he and his staff made in the past four months to 26 tribal reservations in 20 states, in a letter posted on the NFL team’s website on Monday night. |
| "For too long, the struggles of Native Americans have been ignored, unnoticed and unresolved,” Snyder said. “As a team, we have honored them through our words and on the field, but now we will honor them through our actions.” | "For too long, the struggles of Native Americans have been ignored, unnoticed and unresolved,” Snyder said. “As a team, we have honored them through our words and on the field, but now we will honor them through our actions.” |
| Snyder and his staff made the trips amid renewed criticism beginning last fall that the team’s name represents an offensive racial slur. Many Native American groups, sports reporters and members of Congress have called for a name change, and Barack Obama said Snyder should consider making the change. Snyder has said repeatedly that he will not change the team's name. | Snyder and his staff made the trips amid renewed criticism beginning last fall that the team’s name represents an offensive racial slur. Many Native American groups, sports reporters and members of Congress have called for a name change, and Barack Obama said Snyder should consider making the change. Snyder has said repeatedly that he will not change the team's name. |
| In his statement, Snyder said that through speaking to tribal communities about the team name, he learned that Native American communities have "genuine issues they truly are worried about, and our team's name is not one of them." | In his statement, Snyder said that through speaking to tribal communities about the team name, he learned that Native American communities have "genuine issues they truly are worried about, and our team's name is not one of them." |
| Poverty rates among Native Americans are more than 12 percentage points higher than the national average, according to government estimates, and Native Americans have the highest prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the world. Suicide rates far outstrip the rate of the general population, too. | Poverty rates among Native Americans are more than 12 percentage points higher than the national average, according to government estimates, and Native Americans have the highest prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the world. Suicide rates far outstrip the rate of the general population, too. |
| Snyder said: "I've listened. I've learned. And frankly, its heart-wrenching. It's not enough to celebrate the values and heritage of Native Americans. We must do more." | Snyder said: "I've listened. I've learned. And frankly, its heart-wrenching. It's not enough to celebrate the values and heritage of Native Americans. We must do more." |
| Snyder said his group has distributed 3,000 coats to Native American tribes, plus shoes for kids' basketball teams. It has also helped a tribe in Nebraska purchase a backhoe. He said this work has been kept quiet because he is “serious” about it and was respecting tribal leaders. | Snyder said his group has distributed 3,000 coats to Native American tribes, plus shoes for kids' basketball teams. It has also helped a tribe in Nebraska purchase a backhoe. He said this work has been kept quiet because he is “serious” about it and was respecting tribal leaders. |
| Ray Halbritter of the Oneida Indian Nation, who represented the tribe as part of a delegation that met NFL officials in October, said he hoped this announcement meant the team was closer to changing its name. | Ray Halbritter of the Oneida Indian Nation, who represented the tribe as part of a delegation that met NFL officials in October, said he hoped this announcement meant the team was closer to changing its name. |
| “We are glad that after more than a decade of owning the Washington team, Mr Snyder is finally interested in Native American heritage, and we are hopeful that when his team finally stands on the right side of history and changes its name, he will honor the commitment to Native Americans that he is making today,” Halbritter said in a statement. | “We are glad that after more than a decade of owning the Washington team, Mr Snyder is finally interested in Native American heritage, and we are hopeful that when his team finally stands on the right side of history and changes its name, he will honor the commitment to Native Americans that he is making today,” Halbritter said in a statement. |
| ”We are also hopeful that in his new initiative to honor Native Americans’ struggle, Mr Snyder makes sure people do not forget that he and his predecessor, George Preston Marshall, a famous segregationist, have made our people’s lives so much more difficult by using a racial slur as Washington’s team’s name.” | ”We are also hopeful that in his new initiative to honor Native Americans’ struggle, Mr Snyder makes sure people do not forget that he and his predecessor, George Preston Marshall, a famous segregationist, have made our people’s lives so much more difficult by using a racial slur as Washington’s team’s name.” |
| On Monday, before Snyder’s announcement, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league is listening closely to the debate. | On Monday, before Snyder’s announcement, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league is listening closely to the debate. |
| "We have [listened], and we will continue to do so," Goodell said. "We have done a very thorough job of understanding all perspectives on all of this." | "We have [listened], and we will continue to do so," Goodell said. "We have done a very thorough job of understanding all perspectives on all of this." |
| Snyder insisted in Monday’s letter that his feelings about the name have not changed since he defended it in an October letter. “I wrote then – and believe even more firmly now – that our team name captures the best of who we are and who we can be, by staying true to our history and honoring the deep and enduring values our name represents,” he said. | Snyder insisted in Monday’s letter that his feelings about the name have not changed since he defended it in an October letter. “I wrote then – and believe even more firmly now – that our team name captures the best of who we are and who we can be, by staying true to our history and honoring the deep and enduring values our name represents,” he said. |