Representatives of the Oneida Indian Nation, a group that believes the Washington Redskins name is offensive and would like it to be changed, met with NFL officials Wednesday.
NFL senior vice president Adolpho Birch and executive vice presidents Jeff Pash and Paul Hicks spoke on behalf of the league for a little more than an hour at the league office in New York. The NFL released a statement shortly after the meeting, which was held at the request of Oneida Indian Nation CEO Ray Halbritter.
"We listened and respectfully discussed the views of Mr. Halbritter, Oneida Nation Wolf Clan Representative Keller George and their colleagues as well as the sharply differing views of many other Native Americans and fans in general," the statement said. "The meeting was part of an ongoing dialogue to facilitate listening and learning, consistent with the commissioner's comments earlier this year."
Redskins owner Daniel Snyder still has no plans to change the team's name, which the Oneida Indian Nation has called the "R-word." Snyder met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday to address how the franchise would approach the situation, per The Washington Post.
NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Wednesday on NFL Network's "Around the League Live" that one Oneida Indian Nation source found the lack of movement on the issue "disappointing." However, the source also told Rapoport that Goodell and Snyder would be invited to visit the reservation in upstate New York, and that the movement "isn't going away."
According to the U.S. Department of the Interior/Indian Affairs, the Oneida Indian Nation has approximately 1,000 enrolled members and is one of 566 federally recognized sovereign Native American nations.
