McGILL NAME PROTEST
Say ‘Redmen’ is racist
Sports teams using Indigenous names and imagery is nothing new. See the Washington Redskins, Cleveland Indians and Edmonton Eskimos, to name a few. But there is one outstanding example, closer to home.
The McGill Redmen name has got to go, according to Tomas Jirousek, who says the term is offensive to Indigenous people.
“It’s quite insulting,” the rowing team member said of the name for McGill’s 28 men’s sports teams, which has been in use since the 1920s. “It makes me question my place in the university.
“I’d be lying if I said I haven’t thought many times about leaving the rowing team and going to row for another club in the city, because of the name. If it hadn’t been for my teammates and my coaches, I would have.”
Jirousek, a third-year student who is majoring in political science with a double-minor in economics and Indigenous studies, is also commissioner of Indigenous affairs at the Student Society of McGill University and chair of the school’s Indigenous Affairs Committee.
He has organized a protest against McGill’s continued use of the Redmen name, to be held Oct. 31 at 2 p.m. at the school’s Milton St. entrance. The Facebook page for the event had 580 people marked “going ” and 1,100 “interested” on Monday afternoon. A student vote on the issue is planned for mid-November.
“We’re hoping to use the student vote and the demonstration so that the entire student body can stand as an ally to us, and support us in our movement,” Jirousek said. “I think the vote can reflect that the university is an inclusive space. We’ve had an incredibly positive reaction so far.”
With some exceptions. Jirousek and his fellow rowing team members were volunteering at the McGill Redmen’s hockey game on Friday, following which he was subjected to taunting by some players, he said.
“When the (Redmen) hockey team was coming by, some of the athletes made comments about me spitting in the food of people coming to the game,” he said. “Regardless of whether that was directed at my Indigenous identity or at me because I’m taking a stand against racist language, I feel like it’s directed at Indigenous people.”
Jirousek has the backing of his coach, Philip Hedrei, who emphasized that though the McGill rowing team has generally been referred to as such and not as the Redmen, he is not averse to making it official.
“When I first became aware of this movement (to change the Redmen name), I thought about Tomas and how we’re always there to promote and encourage our student athletes and promote a positive environment,” said Hedrei, who has led the McGill rowing team for the past 10 years, in addition to his day job as a medical doctor at the Montreal Children’s Hospital.
“I was concerned when I felt he was being intimidated by members of other sports teams about this movement. I expressed my support for his initiative and told him he should always feel the rowing team stands for inclusivity.”
Changing the McGill Redmen name was one of the recommendations of the Provost’s Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education, launched in 2016.
Though originally coined as a reference to the team colours, according to the university, the Redmen name became directly linked to Indigenous culture through the use of Indigenous imagery, up to 1992, when the logo of a featherclad Native silhouette was dropped from team jerseys.
Furthering the connection, the name Indians was used for McGill’s intermediate varsity teams beginning in the ’50s, while Squaws was used for McGill women’s teams in the ’60s and ’70s.
“It should be noted that the teams were never officially named the Indians or Squaws by the university,” said McGill communications associate Vincent Campbell Allaire via email. “That being said, we recognize and regret any harm that unfortunate association of athletic team nicknames to Indigenous cultures during this period may have caused to our Indigenous communities.”
In response to the recommendations of the Provost’s Task Force, the university created the Working Group on Principles of Commemoration and Renaming, from which a final report is expected by the end of the year.
“Like many other universities in North America, McGill is critically examining issues linked to naming or renaming of assets, teams or programs,” Campbell Allaire said.
“We are very proud of our current and former student athletes and their achievements; but we are also aware ... of the fact that some portions of our history may not reflect current values, and of the need to reconcile past and present.”
I think the vote can reflect that the university is an inclusive space. We’ve had an incredibly positive reaction so far.