Oneida Nation Reaction To Daniel Snyder’s New Native American Foundation

Oneida Indian Nation Representative Ray Halbritter is responding to the news that Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder is announcing the creation of a foundation designed to help Native Americans. Snyder is setting up the "Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation" after visiting tribal reservations across the country for the last four months.

The Oneidas say that they are happy that after a decade of owning the team Snyder is finally interested in Native American heritage.

"We're glad that after a decade of owning the Washington team, Mr. Snyder is finally interested in Native American Heritage, and we are hopeful that when his team finally stands on the right side of history and changes its name, he will honor the commitments to Native Americans that he is making," Halbritter said.

"We are also hopeful that in his new initiative to honor Native Americans' struggle, Mr. Snyder makes sure people do not forget that he and his predecessor George Preston Marshall, a famous segregationist, have made our people's lives so much more difficult by using a racial slur as the Washington team's name," Halbritter added.

The Oneidas launched the national "Change The Mascot" campaign last fall to try to raise awareness of the use of the word "Redskins" as a racial slur.