Navajo woman challenges Washington Redskins “offensive” name – Cronkite News

9.3.13

Navajo woman challenges Washington Redskins “offensive” name – Cronkite News: Cronkite News

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Navajo woman was in Virginia on Thursday to argue that the Washington Redskins should not be allowed to trademark what she and other Native Americans see as a racial slur.

“I think enough people have spoken out,” said Kayenta resident Amanda Blackhorse, of the number of people who have called the team name offensive. “One is too many.”

Blackhorse was one of several Indians telling the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that Pro-Football Inc., the team’s parent company, should not be able to trademark the “Redskins.” In a petition first filed in 2006, the group of six plaintiffs said the team’s trademark should be canceled because it is used offensively, a violation of federal law.