It’s time for a name change at McGill
Just because the Redmen name was not intended to be racist doesn’t mean it isn’t
What’s in a name? A whole heck of a lot if you look at the battle being waged at McGill University over whether it should keep the name Redmen for its varsity teams, or change it out of respect for Indigenous people. In one camp are athletes, current and former, who say the origins of the storied Redmen are being misconstrued. They say that dumping it would dishonour their alma mater’s history as well as negate the truth. In the other are Indigenous groups, an overwhelming majority of the students who voted in a referendum, and more than 100 professors who signed a petition. They say the Redmen name is hurtful, no longer acceptable and must go. So it’s nostalgia versus evolving contemporary values, intended meaning versus popular interpretation. But what it really comes down to is pride in a sports team versus a small step toward making amends for centuries of cultural genocide, discrimination and marginalization. Should there really be any contest? To be fair, there are reasoned arguments on both sides of the debate. It is true that the original moniker was a reference to the varsity teams’ colours and university founder James McGill’s Scottish heritage, not a supposed shade of skin. So Redmen isn’t a blatant caricature of Indigenous people or misappropriation of culture, like the Edmonton Eskimos, Cleveland Indians or Washington Redskins. But it is equally true that there were long and cringeworthy periods when the Redmen teams did overtly embrace Indigenous terms and symbols. Tomahawks and headdresses have served as logos. The men’s teams were nicknamed the Indians; the women’s the Squaws. The use of racist stereotypes and offensive slurs then undermines the assertion now that the The damage has been done and will continue to be done as long as McGill clings to the loaded name. Redmen name is innocent, with no connection whatsoever to anything Indigenous. Even if the unfortunate associations of the past were mistaken references and rightly abandoned decades ago, it shows the name comes with connotations from which it cannot be cleanly divorced. The damage has been done and will continue to be done as long as McGill clings to the loaded name. To the athletes and alumni who proudly competed as Redmen, the sadness of losing the name they sweated and bled for cannot compare to the pain of what Indigenous people have endured over the centuries and still endure. Saying it’s all just a big misunderstanding is a minimization of racism, which is not merely hurt feelings, but a deep and abiding wound. Plenty of other sports teams have survived name changes, many for lesser reasons than avoiding offence. The Ottawa Redblacks were formerly the Rough Riders and the Houston Astros were previously the Colt .45s. St. John’s University in New York had used the Redmen nickname for its varsity athletic programs since the 1920s, referencing the red uniforms the teams wore. But before the 199495 season, amid pressure from Indigenous groups that considered Redmen a slur on their heritage, the university changed their name to the Red Storm. The importance of atoning for past wrongs against Indigenous people should also outweigh adherence to tradition. McGill has made many strides in the wake of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report to open its doors to more Indigenous students and professors by providing more bursaries and scholarships, undertaking research and incorporating the Indigenous perspective into programs from law to education. Many gatherings also begin with an acknowledgment that the campus sits on unrelinquished territory. These are positive and concrete steps in the right direction. But the task force that called for these measures also recommended the dropping of the Redmen name. So it’s not the “wrong gesture for the wrong reasons” as those fighting for the Redmen name contend. McGill is clearly feeling the pressure from alumni to keep the Redmen name and awaits a report by a working group on “commemoration and renaming” due next month before making a decision. But it’s hard to see how the administration can justify keeping it, with the protests, petitions and now the plebiscite on campus. Even if the turnout was only 27 per cent and the result non-binding, the fact 79 per cent voted to change means students have spoken. Like the vote against Calgary bidding for the 2026 Olympics or Brexit, the results may be disappointing to some. But that’s democracy and today’s student body is ready to turn the page. Just because the Redmen name was not or is not meant to be racist doesn’t mean that it isn’t. Just because it was not intended to injure doesn’t erase the fact that it does. This is not political correctness run amok or capitulation to cultural over-sensitivity, this is about recognizing that words matter. And for a university of McGill’s calibre, the name in which it earns pride and seeks athletic glory matters all the more.