Indigenous people are not monolithic
“Change your name, change your fate” (Jan. 27) was about the effort to remove Native American names and mascots from the team known as the Washington Football Team. Your readers might be interested to know that a state law in Colorado, passed in 2021, forbids all schools in that state from using Native American names and mascots. A $25,000/month fine is set for noncompliance. The Native American Guardian’s Association (NAGA) filed a lawsuit in response. They contend that more than a dozen schools with Native American students have supporters who self-identified with the Native American names and mascots of their teams and that the Colorado law discriminates against them. What percentage of the Native American population is represented by NAGA’s view is unknown. But the NAGA webpage has endorsements from two high school communities that were pleased to keep the Washington Football Team’s former name.
MARTIN WEISS
Potomac
