TO THE EDITOR:
Dear New Bar,
I love The Wood's as much as the next Miami student, but I have to tell you that your use of the slur "redskin" as a drink name is reprehensible. I know you were trying to honor Miami by using our old mascot and that you probably don't even know what the word really means, so I'll educate you just a little bit about its history. Just a warning: the history is graphic and violent.
According to NPR, the word redskin originated as a self-identifier for Native Americans to tell themselves apart from white people. However, as decades passed, the word began to take on a negative connotation and was used by white people to degrade Native Americans. During this time, the colonial government offered payment for the heads and scalps of Native Americans and redskins became slang for these scalps.
A proclamation issued by King George II in 1755 offered 50 pounds for scalps of males over 12 years, 25 pounds for scalps of women over 12 and 20 pounds for scalps of boys and girls under age 12.
Over a century later, the slaughter continued: In 1856, The newspaper The Daily Republican printed "The State Reward for dead Indians has been increased to $200 for every red-skin sent to Purgatory." Over the course of this century of American history, thousands of Native Americans were forcibly removed from their land or killed. Today, one in four Native Americans lives in poverty. As someone with white immigrant ancestry, I feel using a slur, even to order a drink, is hypocritical and cruel.
If you still don't believe redskin is a slur, don't take it from me. Take it from Tina Holder, a Cherokee, Blackfoot and Choctaw native woman who writes about the use of the slur as a team name, saying "So, you see when we see or hear that term ... we don't see a football team ... we don't see a game being played ... we don't see any 'honor' ... we see the bloody pieces of scalps that were hacked off of our men, women and even our children ... we hear the screams as our people were killed ... and 'skinned' just like animals." This word has a violent effect that all non-Native Americans need to learn to stop perpetuating.
Now that we all know your drink name is offensive, I have no doubt you'll take the swiftest action to rename it. I've taken the liberty to brainstorm some replacement name suggestions that will appeal to Miami students. You can take one of them, or even set up a voting contest for a new, less genocide-y name.
-Hodgemopolitan -FSD (Fun Sexy Drink) -ASG (Actually Super Good) -Vineyard Vines™ Juice (you might have some legal issues with this one) -Obama Has Aged So Much For Only 7 Years in Office, Don't You Think? -We Hate Ohio State -Illuminati Eye -Sugary Red Nonsense -Student Loan Forgiveness -Existential AngstThe possibilities are endless! Since this is an open letter, I invite all you Miami Student readers to come up with your own name suggestions and post them on the New Bar Facebook wall. Seriously, racism isn't cool or fun and should be kept out of our community establishments.
Anna Lucia Feldman
feldmaa4@miamioh.edu