A slur or term of 'honor'? Controversy heightens about Washington Redskins

Should the Redskins change their name?

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The controversy over Redskins mascot heightens as team plays the Cowboys this weekend
• It just so happens it's Columbus Day weekend, adding historical context
• The Oneida Indian Nation is airing radio ads saying the "R-word" is racist
• But the team owner says the Redskins name honors American heritage

 It's one of the NFL's bigger rivalries, the Cowboys vs. the Redskins. And intentional or not, Sunday's game occurs during Columbus Day weekend, deepening the meaning of a fresh conflict about whether "Redskins" slurs Indians, their leaders say.

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More than 500 years after Christopher Columbus' encounter with the natives of the Americas, any enduring uneasiness between Indians and mainstream society is exemplified by the controversy over the Washington Redskins name, which took a new turn last week when President Obama spoke of "legitimate concerns" that the mascot is racist, some Indian leaders say.

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Team owners strongly dispute any racism behind the mascot and won't change it, saying the Redskins name honors "where we came from, who we are."

But many Native Americans contend it's incredulous that a major sports team in the nation's capital fails to see the word's offensiveness, especially in a game Sunday whose rival mascots conjure up the bygone real bloodshed between cowboys and Indians. Some news outlets and sports writers agree and aren't printing "Redskin" in their stories about the NFL team.