Awfully Honored

Documenting the ways & sayings of Redsk*ns fans as they "Honor" Indigenous people.

[allusive-enigma-deactivated2014]

This sunday during the SuperBowl natives on twitter have planned a movement to get all racist mascots banned. Originally we were planning to trend #changethename but as many know we have been told our ht will be filtered as spam. In an attempt to counter this censorship we have planned to use a…

[awfullyhonored]

So you might ask yourself, "Why does it matter?  Aren't there more important things for Native people to concern themselves about?" You might also be asking yourself, "If all I know or care to know about Native people (who still control most of the future Energy resources in the United States and are huge land owners, more so than Canada or China) is a clownish mascot then how does that diminish the way my elected officials deal with the very real concerns of Native people?  Do they know as little as I do?  Does this (it does) affect the way schools, hospitals and veterans' care are funded on reservations?"  Does your knowledge and interest of American Indians stop at the performance of Native Mascotry?  Do your elected officials know anything about the concerns of real Native people today?  Are the misperceptions perpetuated by the performance of Native Mascotry reflected in the way they vote on bad laws and policy that continue to harm Native people? (Once again, they do.)

Have you read any books by Native writers and thinkers like Vine Deloria, Jr. (Standing Rock Sioux) pictured above with a photo of his great-grandfather Owl Man, Saswe Deloria taken at the White House in Washington DC (future home of the Redsk*ns Football franchise) in 1867 while a member of the Yankton Dakota Sioux treaty delegation? How do you think Owl Man would have felt at the clownish use of a headdress meant to be a sign of the faith and love his people held for him?

[awfullyhonored]

As you can see from the discussion that followed, many did not share our concern.  In fact, their main concern was that we were concerned at all.  Apparently, Native families with children who patronize Sonic Drive-ins must from now on just look away and go elsewhere. 

Certainly, Native people have "traditionally" practiced such avoidance behavior during the days of Jim Crow when border town businesses hung signs that said "No Dogs or Indians Allowed."

The respondents' reasoning being (and this was by far the most popular answer given on the NBC news site with 96 up votes), that Native families must do this for the good of the country or all Americans would face the very real danger of becoming "wimps".

In order to avoid this terrible turn of events in America, we would like to suggest that Sonic Drive-ins could purchase this lovely neon version model.  It would go nicely with the Sonic architectural style.  And being from the era of carhops, be of the right era.

And we learned for our research, that there is a tribe called the "Chiefs" and that the"Redsk*ns" name is actually derived from the name of a tribe as well. 

[awfullyhonored]

We had been enjoying a very exciting game, the score was 38-7, and the Redsk*ns fans at FexEx Field (formerly Redsk*ns Field) were all wearing red and dressed as empty seats for a reason we have yet to determine.  One of the announcers said, obviously channeling the spirit of the holiday season, "Just ridiculous, Redsk*ns should pelt them with snowballs.” In the midst of all this team spirit, the Sonic sign began to be shared all over social media.  Our dedicated research team diligently continued our data collection on number of times the word "Redsk*n" was uttered during the broadcast of the ritual and shared this data with the FCC but we also began monitoring the Redsk*ns fan reaction.

And yes, as you see above, we did retweet the NBA's tweet.  Sadly, even our twitter account has more fans than were in FedEx Field that day. 

[awfullyhonored]

And yes, we felt a bit like these concerned fans.

"I can't believe, Kip, that some fans can be so insensitive!"

[awfullyhonored]

And then in the middle of our team's research, this happened:

BELTON, Mo. -- A Missouri restaurant has apologized for a sign many thought was racist. A Sonic Drive-in promoted Sunday's Kansas City Chiefs football game against the Washington Redskins.

The sign read: "Chiefs will scalp the Redskins... feed them whiskey...  send to reservation." The sign was taken down hours later.

It comes as the Redskins are facing increasing pressure by Native American groups, politicians and church leaders to change their name.

[awfullyhonored]

As can be seen here, male closeness is maintained through the "honoring" activities prescribed by the group for Indigenous people.  But still, the touching of lips, a taboo act is prevented.

[awfullyhonored]

Attempts to interview "Redsk*ns" fans by our research team concerning the meaning of their "honoring" of Indigenous people led us to conclude the "honoring" is in fact, a form of"acting out" through ritual in order to push the socially taboo behavior away and encode it in more acceptable forms of behavior.  Specifically, as noted by the respondent above, the fear of male romance and the pressing of lips of two male members of their group together. 

[awfullyhonored]

The inspiration of our blog, Awfully Honored. Mr. "Hey Redskin!  See?  I'm honoring you!"  Don't you just feel so honored?