Washington Commanders

[sk!mom]

I'm not following you. Are you saying that I matter less because of my race/gender?

If so, I disagree with that entire concept in every one of its many, many forms.

Nope. I'm saying that your lack of understanding of the wrong of these names coupled with your long justifications suggests that you do not have the lived experience of those names identifying you or your ancestors.

 

[JimMIA]

Nope. I'm saying that your lack of understanding of the wrong of these names coupled with your long justifications suggests that you do not have the lived experience of those names identifying you or your ancestors.

OK. You have your opinion (which you are certainly entitled to) and I have mine (which I'm entitled to).

Your belief --or my belief -- in any particular point of view doesn't mean we're correct. It's just our opinion.

 

[NotUrsula]

All I hear in my head is Mrs. Packard from Atlantis. “Commander. Commander. Commander. Commander.”

... or Kurt Russell in a rubber leotard

 

[jdb in AZ]

The team sure took a long time to come up with a ho-hum name.

I keep thinking of guys "going commando" -- and now associate that with the team.

 

[shh]

I liked when it was just Washington football team, it’s simple and made me chuckle every time I heard it.

Right? Had a certain generic charm - like "Acme" brand in bugs bunny.

 

[JimMIA]

The team sure took a long time to come up with a ho-hum name.

I keep thinking of guys "going commando" -- and now associate that with the team.

I hope they don't carry that thought over to their uniforms!

 

[JoeA]

For some reason when I see the new name all I can envision is Keanu Reeves playing QB and Gene Hackman coaching on the sideline. And some saucy cheerleaders!!

 

[bcla]

No. They are the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida - a completely separate Federally-recognized tribe.

But it's way more complicated than that. There is enormous overlap, with many clans having members in both tribes, frequent mixing of Green Corn Dance ceremonies, a once-in-a-lifetime option to switch tribes, Mikasuky (rather than Muskogee) being the predominant language spoken at 4 of 5 Seminole reservations in Florida, and much, much more. There is both family and animosity between the two tribes...complicated.

There are also at least several dozen non-affiliated Native Americans of the same ancestry who call themselves "independent Seminoles." The clan camp across the highway from Gator Park Airboat Tours is an independent Seminole group.

And then there are the "Black Seminoles," which is really a totally different topic.

The Seminole Tribe of Florida claims that they were kind of a breakaway faction that established a separate tribe. However, I totally understand that tribes basically banded together to form unified tribes, and I guess they can break up too. We've got one around here that operates one of the most profitable tribal casinos in the country - the United Auburn Indian Community. They had a really messy case with a former tribal chair being essentially excommunicated for a decade.

But this seems like they have different interpretations of how it went down.

https://www.semtribe.com/stof/helpful-linksmain/helpful-links​

Q: What is the difference between the Seminole and Miccosukee Tribes?​

A: The difference is political, not cultural. In 1957, many of the Native Americans in Florida formed a political organization called the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Others, wishing to make political decisions separately, formed the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida in 1962. Today, there are also about 100 individuals living in South Florida, especially near the western end of the Tamiami Trail and the lower Gulf Coast, who qualify for membership in either Tribe but also choose to remain separate. They are referred to as "Independents" or "Traditionals."​

I do remember visiting the Miccosukee casino. Also see their big stadium ads. Didn't like the smell of smoke, but the buffet was cheap and I was hungry. I think I won $4 playing their slots, but I didn't quite under the linked, instant bingo system they had.

 

[HIRyeDVC]

I w have preferred the Washington Swamps! Or Capitol Rioters! Or the Filibusters!

 

[jdb in AZ]

DH wanted the team to be called the Snollygosters (unprincipled politician.)

 

[bcla]

Or the Filibusters!

I already brought that up as another word for pirate.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

No matter what they chose, nothing could have been worse than the Washington Wizards.

I w have preferred the Washington Swamps! Or Capitol Rioters! Or the Filibusters!

Ha! The Washington Insurrectionists would’ve made a splash!

 

[JimMIA]

The Seminole Tribe of Florida claims that they were kind of a breakaway faction that established a separate tribe.

Yeah, like I said, there is both kinship and animosity among the two tribes.

For example, if you ask Seminoles what "Miccosukee" means in their language, they will tell you "pig people." That's because the Spanish brought pigs to Florida with them and the feral pigs were caught and raised by Miccosukees -- and still today are a big component of their diet.

If you ask a Miccosukee what "Seminole" means in their language, they will say "the ones who ran away," meaning those who surrendered at the end of the Second Seminole War.

The truth is, both were part of the Creek Nation but have always spoken different languages and lived in different parts of the SE US.

The Lower Creeks spoke Mikasuky (a derivation of the extinct Hitchiti language) and lived mostly in GA and NE FL, so they had the closest contact with white settlers. In fact, they are responsible for the name "Creek," which is an English word, not any Indian language. The first contact, and longstanding friendly trade relationship whites moving into GA had was with the Indians who lived along a creek in NE GA -- so they were called the "creek Indians."

The ancestors of the Seminoles spoke Muskogee and lived further west and NW, mostly in more mountainous areas of NW GA and Tennessee. So, English settlers called the Indians they traded with "Lower Creeks," and those who lived in the mountains and wouldn't have anything to do with whites "Upper Creeks."

The languages of both groups come from the same roots. The languages share some words, but the words mean different things, and the languages are not mutually understandable. A person who speaks Mikasuky will not understand much of what a Muskogee-speaker says, so they communicate now in English.

The Miccosukees were forced to move south into Florida first as English settlement of Georgia progressed in the 1700's. The "Upper Creeks" didn't move to Florida in any numbers until the aftermath of the Creek War (1813-1814) that made Andrew Jackson famous. Many Upper Creeks were captured and sent to Oklahoma; the rest fled to FL, AL, MS, etc -- mostly FL because there were other tribes in the central Gulf states.

Both fought together tenaciously against the US in the Seminole Wars, and they are still close, but competitive. But they are actually two different groups. They are related, but separated by ancestry, language, and history.

 

[JimMIA]

Looks like for all the Washington Football Team's tender team-naming gymnastics, it's a pretty nasty place to work for women -- according to testimony before a US House of Representatives committee.

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/...fers-detail-sexual-harassment-humiliation-and