The Washington, D.C. football team will soon have a new name — finally dropping a slur Native Americans found offensive. Some Massachusetts school have followed suit, dropping names and customs that have long been controversial. Black Lives Matter protests this summer spurred individuals and institutions to begin the process of dismantling the vestiges of systemic racism. That includes revisiting a history of offensive cultural representation of Native Americans. Are Native Americans finally being heard? And will this moment of racial reckoning become permanent change?
Guest:
Darren Edward Lone Fight, enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes — which includes Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation — and faculty member of the American studies department at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA.
Listen to our guest Darren Edward Lone Fight discuss Joy Harjo, the incumbent United States poet laureate and first Native American to hold that honor.
