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Tribal ad slams NFL’s ‘Redskins’

An image captured from the minute-long ad "Proud to Be," critical of the Washington Redskins name. (AP Photo: Courtesy, Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation.)

An impassioned, 60-second ad financed by the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation urges a change in the name of the NFL’s Washington Redskins, which offends many in the tribal communities.

The ad, which aired this week during the NBA finals, shows images of the members of numerous tribes, then intersperses them with historic Indian figures, including legendary tribal chieftains and athlete Jim Thorpe.

At the end, the narrator notes that, “Native Americans call themselves many things,” but there’s “one thing they don’t.”  The video can be seen here.

The final statement is followed by an image of a Redskins helmet. The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, based in Brooks,  owns the Cache Creek Casino in the Capay Valley, about 40 miles north of Sacramento. “Yocha Dehe” means “home by the spring water.”

The ad was part of a long-standing national tribal effort to change the name of the Washington Redsksins. The team has carried that name for more than 80 years. The ad played in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Sacramento and, earlier, in Miami.

CBS reported that by Wednesday afternoon, the ad had racked up 2.5 million views on YouTube.

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