On the 9th of January, 2015, the Linguistic Society of America passed a landmark resolution calling for the immediate cessation of the all Native American names, nicknames, logos, and mascots in sport. The resolution is to respect and support the right of individual tribal nations to decide how to protect and celebrate their respective tribal heritages, including their right to control how their names will be used in public spaces.
This coming January, during the ANS annual meeting in Washington, D.C., the American Name Society is pleased to announce that one of our keynote speakers will be the Executive Director of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), Ms. Jacqueline Pata.
The title of Ms. Pata’s talk is “Reclaiming Identity: Indigenous Stereotypes and Misperceptions”. She will discuss the NCAI’s continuing efforts to ban racist and derogatory names that are still used throughout North America for sporting events.
The keynote speech has been scheduled for Saturday, the 9th of January 2016 from 1:30 to 2:30 pm in Salon 14 of the Marriott Marquis.