The Environmental Crisis on Native American Lands

The invaluable contribution of Native Americans to US sports (especially football) has been lost amid the rampant use of racist names and mascots. It’s time Native Americans and their land and receive recognition and respect from teams that have stereotyped and capitalized on their culture for decades. We’re asking the professional sports franchises to lead the way by officially recognizing the original inhabitants of the land on which their stadiums are built and their games are played. 

1. A moment of acknowledgement during routine opening ceremonies, widely practiced in Canada, is a powerful way to honor those whose land and homes have been lost during centuries of colonization.
2. A plaque of respect and recognition is added to each stadium, signifying respect and recognition to the treaties promised to them by our government.

Sign our petition to help fight racism and undo the damage of Native American names and mascots in professional sports.

This petition began with letters to the owner of The Washington Football Franchise (formerly known as The Washington R*dSk*ns) and the owner of the Kansas City Chiefs. We asked that the teams do more than simply change their name or prohibit fans from wearing headdresses and Native American style face paint, that they take a step towards restoration of racial harm by honoring the land on which their team plays, through land recognition. Beyond the major franchises (Atlanta Braves, Edmonton Eskimos, Chicago Black Hawks, Cleveland Indians) there are still over 2000 High College and College teams that use Native American names and mascots. This petition is also intended for smaller teams and communities to make change by removing harmful stereotypes and derogatory names. 

THE USE OF RACIST NAMES MUST STOP

Using Native American names, mascots, and imagery in sports enforce racist stereotypes and inflict psychological harm. They perpetuate caricatures and misuse cultural symbols and practices. It is past time to end this defamation and name changes are not enough to redress decades of racism, prejudice and harm. 

WHAT IS LAND RECOGNITION? AND WHAT DOES IT ACHIEVE?

Land Recognition is a formal process that recognizes and respects Indigenous Peoples as traditional stewards of this land and the enduring relationship that exists between Indigenous Peoples and their traditional territories. It helps to address centuries of invisibility and disrespect and is inherently healing. Fedex Stadium, home of the Washington Football Team is located in Prince George's County Maryland. It is built on land that once belonged to the Nacotchtank Nation, a people who are now extinct. We believe that if all sports teams, (starting with those that have appropriated the names and mascots of native peoples), honor the land their teams are playing on, all Americans will start to learn the true history of this country as well as the legacy of racism in sports. 

LEARN MORE

Whose land are you standing on? Native Lands app. 

To learn more about our work on Native American justice, please visit 3 Generations.

3 Generations has always known that environmental and climate justice cannot happen without including Native voices. While communities of color, especially Native Americans, are disproportionately impacted by environmental degradation and climate change, they are not in positions of power to make decisions about their individual and community well-being. Many large nonprofits and foundations are fighting for conservation at the expense of Indigenous rights and sovereignty.

The environmental justice movement in the United States has always had a problem with diversity. Environmentally focused non-profits continue to be entrenched in whiteness, including their staff and board composition. Also, funders who support the environmental movement in the US still remain overwhelmingly white.

The composition of environmental nonprofits and the individuals within funding institutions has a direct impact on the voices that are heard, or not heard, and the approaches that are taken, or not taken, to advance environmental justice and combat climate change. For Native communities, this means that their traditional ecological knowledge is often dismissed, trivialized, and minimized in environmental discussions. 

This status quo of the environmental and climate justice movements must not continue. Without including Native voices, there can’t be vibrant environmental change in this country.

We will continue to share information about this and many other social justice issues on our social media and website. Thank you for your continued support of our work.