One of the biggest lessons of the past few years is that no one and nothing is safe from cancel culture.
Aunt Jemima, Land O’Lakes, and Uncle Ben’s have been sent off to the afterlife due to accusations of racism. Individuals have lost their jobs because of past comments or actions that the online mob dug up. And the few who have tried to resist (think, NFL owner Dan Snyder) have been forced to submit just the same.
But there are still a few brave holdouts. The Spokane Indians, a minor league baseball team in Washington state, said this week that it will not change its team name, even as other prominent sports teams, such as the Cleveland Indians and the Washington Redskins (which is now known as the Washington Football Team) agree to rebrand.
The baseball team’s name is not offensive, nor is it racist, according to the players and nearby residents. In fact, it’s the exact opposite: The team name is a tribute to the Spokane Tribe of Indians, a group the team has partnered with for years. The relationship between the two “has grown like a family partnership unit, where we have a lot of respect for one another,” said Carol Evans, the chairwoman of the Spokane Tribal Council.
The tribe has actually encouraged the team to keep its name as it is. Nearly 14 years ago, the Spokane Indians volunteered to abandon the name, but tribal leadership encouraged them not to. Since then, the team and the tribe actively communicate and work with each other on various things, such as uniform design, stadium exhibits, and outreach programs, according to the New York Times.
And the community is better for it, because the team has taken seriously its vow to honor the tribe. Players’ uniforms feature a phrase in Salish, the local Native American language. Their mascot is a trout, which is the traditional food source for the Spokane tribe. The team’s logo includes a feather drawn by a local Spokane artist. Throughout the stadium, signs feature both English and Salish. And by working together, the Spokane Indians were able to help the tribe restock the local rivers with salmon.
Still, there are many who have argued that the team’s name is in and of itself a problem that must be remedied.
“There is no such thing as respectable treatment of any mascot or team name that has a native theme in sports,” said Suzan Shown Harjo, a Native American activist. “There is just no such thing, no matter how you package it.”
The Spokane tribe seems to disagree. But it’s only a matter of time before they’re canceled too.
