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What Winning Should Really Look Like for the Washington Football Team
While the Washington Football Team’s NFC East championship and team owner Dan Snyder’s decision to rename the franchise (though only after succumbing to political and investor pressure) are major victories in the fight for dismantling harmful stereotypes, the organization’s underlying sexist culture must still be addressed.
Aviva Kempner and Jessie Atkin discuss the underlying sexist culture in the Washington Football organization and the intersection of sexism and racism across our popular culture.
Dan Snyder promised transparency about his team’s work culture. Why are there still so many secrets?
“A FULL, unbiased investigation.” That is what Washington Football Team owner Daniel Snyder promised in July after The Post detailed the sexual harassment and verbal abuse that more than a dozen women said they experienced while working for the team. He hired a lawyer with a stellar reputation and said she would have free rein. That same lawyer is now being sued by team lawyers to prevent her from disclosing a confidential settlement that appears to involve troubling allegations about Mr. Snyder’s own behavior. So much for getting to the bottom of things. Let’s hope that the National Football League, which took control of the inquiry, will follow through and deliver on the promise of a full and fair investigation. Equally important is the question of what will it do if it finds wrongdoing.

Before sports get credit for doing the right thing, remember how long it took to get there
Kevin Blackistone, producer of “Imagining the Indian: The Fight Against Native American Mascoting” reflects on The Washington Football Team, The Cleveland Baseball Team, Major League Baseball and the Negro Leagues, and the real timeline behind these changes.

It’s 2020. Indigenous Team Names in Sports Have to Go.
The Chiefs, Braves, Blackhawks and Seminoles need to follow the Cleveland baseball team in dropping their offensive names.

Cleveland’s Baseball Team Will Drop Its Indians Team Name
After years of protests from fans and Native American groups, the Cleveland Indians have decided to change their team name, moving away from a moniker that has long been criticized as racist, three people familiar with the decision said Sunday.

Imagining the Indian won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Short!

Washington Football Team ends relationship with Daniel Snyder’s charitable foundation for Native Americans
“As a part of our evolution into a franchise of the future, the Washington Football Team’s new leadership is reviewing our philanthropic strategy,” the team said in its statement. “As part of this review, the Washington Football Team will focus its philanthropic and charitable work through its own foundation, and will no longer make contributions to the Original Americans Foundation.”

Native American Veterans Memorial
National Native American Veterans Memorial now open in Washington, DC.

Special “Imagining the Indian” Work in Progress Screening, Nov. 15
Join us and KVIE PBS on the occasion of Native American Heritage Month for a sneak peek screening of the work in progress of our upcoming documentary, “Imagining the Indian” on November 15. Registration is now open!

Maine high school gets a new mascot after years of wrangling over its Native American name
A Maine high school is getting a new mascot to replace the controversial Native American one it retired last year.

Mars drops Uncle Ben’s, reveals new name for rice brand
The Uncle Ben’s rice brand is getting a new name: Ben’s Original.
Parent firm Mars Inc. unveiled the change Wednesday for the 70-year-old brand, the latest company to drop a logo criticized as a racial stereotype. Packaging with the new name will hit stores next year.
“We listened to our associates and our customers and the time is right to make meaningful changes across society,” said Fiona Dawson, global president for Mars Food, multisales and global customers. “When you are making these changes, you are not going to please everyone. But it’s about doing the right thing, not the easy thing.”
Press Coverage
Witness the films traction, as several news outlets, subject matter experts and concerned citizens voice their support.
What Winning Should Really Look Like for the Washington Football Team
While the Washington Football Team’s NFC East championship and team owner Dan Snyder’s decision to rename the franchise (though only after succumbing to political and investor pressure) are major victories in the fight for dismantling harmful stereotypes, the organization’s underlying sexist culture must still be addressed.
Aviva Kempner and Jessie Atkin discuss the underlying sexist culture in the Washington Football organization and the intersection of sexism and racism across our popular culture.

Before sports get credit for doing the right thing, remember how long it took to get there
Kevin Blackistone, producer of “Imagining the Indian: The Fight Against Native American Mascoting” reflects on The Washington Football Team, The Cleveland Baseball Team, Major League Baseball and the Negro Leagues, and the real timeline behind these changes.

Imagining the Indian won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Short!

Racism in Native American Names & Mascots
Studio Sacramento, of PBS KVIE, interviewed a panel, including our own Ben West (co-Director of Imagining the Indian) and Kevin Blackstone (Producer of Imagining the Indian) about the history and prevalence of Native American names and mascots in sports today. You can watch the full segment here.
Colorlines – WATCH: ‘Imagining the Indian’ Tells the History of the Movement Against Mascots
COLORLINES – WATCH: ‘Imagining the Indian’ Tells the History of the Movement Against Mascots
The battle to remove Native American names and imagery from mascots and logos has been a longstanding fight and the Ciesla Foundation is producing a new documentary film titled, “Imagining the Indian” that captures the activism around that movement while also educating viewers on its history.
ESPN – The Sporting Life with Jeremy Schaap
Kevin Blackistone, the co-producer of an upcoming film about the Washington Redskins and the push to change their name, explains why he has long been an opponent of the Redskins name.
Washington Should Avoid ‘Warriors’ or ‘Red Tails’ for New Team Name, ‘Imagining the Indian’ Directors Say
“I hope that it’s done responsibly. I think some of the names being kicked around right now are problematic, and anything including ‘Red’ in it, we need to start with a clean slate here, not try to hang onto any of the holdover from previous names and imagery,” West, a member of the Cheyenne nation, said of some of the popular options being floated around, such as Washington Warriors or Washington Red Tails. “In this case, the obvious problem is that if you replace the current name with that, aren’t all the same people in face paint playing Indian going to continue to do the same thing?”
WTOP – DC’s NFL team needs to get away from red and apologize
Blackstone, one of the co-producers’ of a documentary film in production called “Imagining the Indian” about the movement to eradicate Native American names, logos and mascots in the world of sports and beyond, applauds the name change decision, but there is concern over the team’s messaging.
The Kojo Nnamdi Show – After Decades Of Pushback, The Washington Football Team Is Retiring Its Name
A discussion of the latest news in the football team’s name change and how indigenous communities have been stereotyped with Kevin Blackstone, Ray Halbritter and Tom Sherwood.
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Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation
Lead Executive Producer | Website
Aviva Kempner
Director & Producer | View Bio
Ben West
Director & Producer | View Bio
Sam Bardley
Producer | View Bio
Kevin Blackistone
Producer | View Bio
Barbara Ballow
Editor | View Bio
Yancey Burns
Associate Producer | View Bio
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