[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 8998-8999]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           LETTER TO THE NFL

  Ms. CANTWELL. Madam President, I come to the floor this afternoon to 
thank my colleagues who have signed on to a letter to the NFL asking 
that they change the name of the Washington football team. I also thank 
Leader Reid for his leadership on this issue and for trying to 
accentuate the care and concern he has for 22 tribes in the State of 
Nevada and their interest in seeing the dignity and respect of those 
tribes with the name change as well.
  I also come to the floor and ask my colleagues who have not signed to 
sign on to a letter asking the NFL to take action as aggressively as 
the NBA took action and to move on this issue. I will be sending a 
letter to each of my colleagues asking them to either sign on to this 
letter or to write their own letter, as one of our colleagues did. I am 
convinced that if each Member of this body speaks on this issue and is 
forceful in their resolve, we can help initiate change.
  I know not everybody in America may understand why this is so 
important. Having personally worked with 29

[[Page 8999]]

tribes in the State of Washington, and for a short period of time 
having served as the chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, and 
having been a Member of that my entire time in the Senate--this may not 
even be the top issue in Indian Country. We certainly have understaffed 
hospitals, challenging school situations, decaying infrastructure 
challenges, and concerns about fishing rights--whether they are the 
challenges that ocean acidification has to our fishing ability in the 
Pacific Northwest or whether it is in Alaska making sure that Alaska 
Natives who are on subsistence fishing are able to continue to do what 
they do.
  There are many issues in what we refer to as Indian Country that are 
about the health, safety, and welfare of those individuals. Yet this 
issue is a reminder to all of us that intolerance in our communities is 
a problem.
  We are here to say that we respect these tribal entities that have 
requested this name change. We are saying that we have a trust 
responsibility with these organizations and these individual tribes.
  So when the National Congress of American Indians--an organization 
that represents millions of Americans with Native American 
backgrounds--calls for a change, the fact that we ignore that is a 
disrespect to those tribal entities.
  There are many organizations across the United States of America who 
have joined this battle as well: the NAACP, the Anti-Defamation League, 
the League of United Latin American Citizens, the New York State 
Assembly, the National Congress of American Indians, the DC city 
council, the Prince George's County council. Even the President of the 
United States has spoken out on this issue.
  So what is it going to take to get the name of this team changed? I 
say to my colleagues that even the Patent Office--the Federal agency 
determining whether a word can be protected in commerce--has said this 
term is derogatory slang and is disparaging to Native Americans.
  We believe Commissioner Goodell should act; that he needs to do what 
the NBA did and make sure that one of their owners puts an end to the 
wrong use of a football term and to join the right side of history. We 
are not going to give up this battle.
  Similarly, like organizations who have a Web site on 
changethemascot.org--which is a great 2-minute to 3-minute video of why 
Native Americans care so much about this issue--we need to continue to 
respect the dignity of these individuals, and it is time to update the 
relationship.
  Yesterday at the White House there was an unbelievable ceremony, of 
which I am of course very proud of--the welcoming of the world champion 
Seahawks football team. They were walking into the White House where 
many Native Americans from the State of Washington were all decked out 
in Seahawks gear. I don't know if it was protocol for the White House. 
Even though they said nobody was to take pictures, telling a crowd from 
Seattle not to use digital devices is pretty hard to accomplish.
  But there they were--Native Americans from our State who are partners 
with the Seattle Seahawks. They are advertising partners. They are 
suite owners. They advertise and participate together. The logo of the 
Seahawks was designed by a Native American. That is the relationship of 
the NFL and Native Americans today in the Pacific Northwest. Juxtapose 
that to here in the Washington, DC, area where many people have spoken 
out and yet the owner remains in opposition of changing a name that has 
been clear to him is found to be racially offensive to Native 
Americans.
  So we are here today to ask our colleagues on the other side of the 
aisle to join us. Join us because it was hard to unite our side, but I 
know with a few of their voices we can move this issue further.
  Why is tolerance so important? In the words of Kofi Annan, the 
Secretary General of the United Nations:

       Tolerance, intercultural dialogue, and respect for 
     diversity are more essential than ever in a world where 
     people are becoming more and more closely interconnected.

  While that is a global view of the challenge we face, we need to 
practice that in reality here. That is why I was so happy we passed the 
Violence Against Women Act with a provision in it making sure that 
women in Indian Country would also be protected. We have to ask 
ourselves why did it take us so long to get that provision.
  Even the U.N. Special Envoy on Indigenous Rights for Peoples around 
the world, James Anaya, also said that the NFL should change, basically 
saying it is a hurtful reminder and represents a long history of 
mistreatment in the United States of America. He cited the U.N. 
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples:

       They use stereotypes to obscure the understanding and 
     reality of Native Americans today and instead help to keep 
     alive a racially discriminatory attitude.

  So even the U.N., the world community, is calling on this community 
to deal with this issue and we should act. I hope my colleagues will 
help us in this effort to get the NFL to do the right thing.
  I thank the Presiding Officer, and I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.

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