what was the first name of the washington redskins?
Boston Redskins
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 Although often assumed to be a debate of recent origins , the local Washington , DC newspapers have published news items on the controversy many times since at least 1971 , all in response to Native American individuals or organizations asking for the name to be changed . National protests began in 1988 , after the team 's Super Bowl XXII victory , prompting numerous Native Americans wrote letters to Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke while others boycotted Redskins products and protested , but Cooke rejected the possibility of change . There was a protest of about 2 @,@ 000 people at the 1992 Super Bowl between the Redskins and the Buffalo Bills . The American Indian Movement 's ( AIM ) Vernon Bellecourt was one of the main organizers of the protest . 

contradiction
 The Redskins released a two @-@ minute video on YouTube entitled " Redskins is a Powerful Name " in which a number of Native Americans express their support for the team . Of the fourteen individuals ; five are members of the Chippewa Cree tribe on the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation in Montana and are associated with the Team Redskins Rodeo club . Two are Mike Wetzel and Don Wetzel , Jr . ( Blackfeet ) , descendants of the logo designer , and the six others are members of various tribes and state that they are fans of the team and find nothing wrong with the name , or think it is positive . One of the individuals in the video is Mark One Wolf , who was reported as being born Mark E. Yancey in Washington , DC of African @-@ American and Japanese descent . 

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 In 1933 the football team that shared both the name and playing field with the Boston Braves baseball team moved to Fenway Park , already home to the Boston Red Sox . Co @-@ owner George Preston Marshall changed the name to the Redskins , more likely to avoid confusion while retaining the " Indian " imagery of the team than to honor coach William Henry " Lone Star " Dietz . The logo for the NFL Braves was similar to the current logo , a Native American head in profile with braids and trailing feathers . The current logo , proposed by Walter Wetzel , a former Blackfeet tribal chairman and president of the National Congress of American Indians , was introduced in 1972 and is modeled after the likeness on the Buffalo nickel . Members of the Blackfeet tribe today express a range of opinions , from support to indifference to strong opposition to the Redskins name based upon their personal experiences . 

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 The Washington Redskins name controversy involves the name and logo of the National Football League ( NFL ) franchise located in the Washington , D.C. , metropolitan area . Native American individuals , tribes and organizations have been questioning the use of the name and image for decades . Over 115 professional organizations representing civil rights , educational , athletic , and scientific experts have published resolutions or policies that state that the use of Native American names and / or symbols by non @-@ native sports teams is a harmful form of ethnic stereotyping that promotes misunderstanding and prejudice which contributes to other problems faced by Native Americans . The Washington , D.C. team is only one example of the larger controversy , but it receives the most public attention due to the name itself being defined as derogatory or insulting in modern dictionaries , and the prominence of the team representing the nation 's capital . 

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 Following the February 2013 symposium " Racist Stereotypes and Cultural Appropriation in American Sports " at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian , ten members of Congress sent a letter to the team owner and the NFL Commissioner requesting that the name be changed since it is offensive to Native Americans . In response , team owner Daniel Snyder famously told USA Today : " We 'll never change the name . ... It 's that simple . NEVER — you can use caps . " Snyder sent an open letter to fans that was published in The Washington Post on October 9 , 2013 in which he stated that the most important meaning of the name Redskins is the association that fans have to memories of their personal history with the team . Snyder also states that the name was chosen in 1933 to honor Native Americans in general and the coach and four players at that time who were Native American ; and that in 1971 the then coach George Allen consulted with the Red Cloud Indian Fund on the Pine Ridge reservation when designing the logo . In 2013 the Red Cloud Athletic Fund sent a letter to the Washington Post stating that " As an organization , Red Cloud Indian School has never — and will never — endorse the use of the name " Redskins . " Like many Native American organizations across the country , members of our staff and extended community find the name offensive . " 
