GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Another professional sports team is dropping their Native American moniker, and it’s receiving praise from those in Northeast Wisconsin.
The Cleveland Indians will be known as the Cleveland Guardians, starting at the end of this current season. The Oneida Nation has rallied against the use of Native American names and imagery in sports for years.
“I think it’s another great but small victory in seeing the removal of the derogatory mascots that exude racism and stereotypes,” said Oneida Nation Public Relations Director, Bobbi Webster. “Guardian is defined as a defender and protector, which is a much more principled term. There [are] still national sports teams that we hope will follow suit and begin to re brand and change those images.”
Webster credits the major league franchise for the decision, which she says has been a long time coming.
“They’ve taken under consideration the concerns of a lot of sovereign nations across the country, as well as I think the sponsors have weighed in on this on a number of instances,” Webster told WTAQ News. “It’s just a matter of people beginning to look at how we can be more respectful to one another.”
As for the impact of the decision, Webster hopes it moves the needle enough to see even more change on local prep athletics.
“We can only hope that educators would fall in line with what society and communities are doing right now. If you can’t rely on your educators to fall in line, then maybe we need to re educate them as well,” Webster said.
When the Washington Football Team played the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field under a previous nickname in 2019, the Oneida Nation decided to shift the focus away from protesting and instead began a video campaign focusing on cultural pride. “I am Oneida” was played on the Lambeau Field video board during the game.
Unlike the Cleveland baseball, team, the Washington Football Team has not announced a decision on a new nickname.
