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Virginia tribes call out Obama on ‘Redskins’ name controversy

Posted at 8:10 PM, Oct 14, 2013
and last updated 2013-10-15 06:18:56-04

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) - Some Virginia Native American Tribes say federal recognition is far more important to them, than worrying about the ongoing controversy surrounding the name “Redskins.”

NBC commentator Bob Costas ignited a national debate after calling the name ‘an insult, a slur’ during the NFL team’s Sunday game against the Dallas Cowboys.

During an interview earlier this month, even President Obama said he’d think about changing the name if he was the team’s owner.

While the issue has sparked a lot of attention, some Virginia Tribal Chiefs say they have more pressing things to worry about.

Walt “Red Hawk” Brown, chief of Virginia’s Cheroenhaka Nottoway Tribe, says he embraces Native American symbols and words being incorporated into this country’s social fabric and doesn’t find the term “Redskins” offensive.

“It doesn’t refer to me as a native person,” Brown says, “It refers to the players.”