Bushkin.

This is an I-Heart podcast.

This is Solvable. I'm Ronald Young Jr.

These representations are more than just like it makes me

personally as a native person feel bad. It's actually a lot deeper than that. Our existence as

native people really challenges the fundamental values of what we know is the United States.

The existence of native people and the challenges

to the fundamental values of the United States

partially came to a head in July 2020

when the Washington football team finally decided

to change its mascot in name

from a harmful and violent slur against Native people.

While this was a highly visible and highly publicized move applauded by many, for Native folks,

this fight is about a lot more than professional sports teams taking symbols and icons without permission.

When we define it as just taking from a culture that is not your own, that misses the whole power piece of it.

The United States has a long and violent history of oppressing native and indigenous people.

There are over 574 federally recognized tribes in the United States and many others not recognized by the federal government.

That represents a lot of land and a lot of life.

And beyond the government, in television, film, fashion, native culture is regularly depicted or appropriated without an eye toward accurate or respectful representation.

Dr. Adrian Keene thinks it's time for a shift, and that the shift is both urgent and possible.

Moving the conversation from just sort of like representation matters for representation's sake

to representation matters

...