Origin of word "redskin"

[Geoffrey Nunberg]

Ron Butters writes:

>>>David Barnhart and I both worked on the history and present meaning
>>>of "redskin." Except as a term applied to peanuts, fire hoses,
>>>motorcycles, and the Washington, DC, football team, the term is
>>>actually pretty much obsolete today.

I'm aware of the work that Ron Butters and David Barnhart did as paid
experts for the Washington Redskins in responding to the petition to
cancel the team's mark on the grounds it was disparaging. (I served
as expert for the other side, pro bono.)  A few points need
clarification here.

1. The evidence for the' claim that 'redskin' is obsolete, as
Barnhart presented it in his report in the Redskins case, consisted
solely in the observation that out of 200 Nexis cites for 'redskin',
only four referred to Indians. That's hardly conclusive. In the first
place, the fact that 'redskin' most often appears as the name of the
Washington football team doesn't mean it's "obsolete" in other uses.
(Out of 200 cites for "clinton," there's a good chance that none of
them would refer to DeWitt or George, but that scarcely means that
either man is obscure.) What's more, the very fact that 'redskin' is
disparaging means that newspapers will avoid the word in other than
historical contexts or discussions of ethnic slurs -- in fact some
papers refuse to use the word in headlines referring to the
Washington football team. You're not going to see a newspaper report
that begins, "Redskin Vine Deloria was honored last night..."

But you can find plenty of uses of "redskin" as a racial epithet on
the Web if you filter out the references to the football team, which
otherwise overwhelm them statistically. Take these examples from
Google Groups:

no, that would be a step for you today, silly indian boy.  Fucking
redskin.  Back to the reservation with all of you's.  And make me
some little trinkets and bead necklaces while your there, you hear?
Silly little indian bastard boy retard. (rec.sport.pro-wrestling)

Hey Redskin: Go back to the Indian Reservation and make some illegal
booze. (rec.sport.pro-wrestling)

  These redskin cocksucks up at the reservation are now claiming that
THEY own the portion of Nebraska that pertains to Whiteclay, and
demand that all the whiteys abandon everything and leave. I'm sure
this little episode was just a part of the "eviction process". Times
like this make me wish Custer had access to air support and a couple
of tactical nukes. (alt.tasteless)

"Hop down to Any Boat store". Don't you know how to read?  I bet your one of
the redskin, indian whoop de do's who object to seeing sports teams demeaning
"native americans" and bitch about everything.  (alt.scooter)

I am getting fucking tired of these damn redskins belly aching about
how the paleface came and stole their land. Why don't they get off
their lazy, reservation living-asses and start working?
(alt.discrimination)

  As I said the white Europeans had "firesticks" for CENTURIES before
the redskin savages even HEARD about them! The redskin savages didn't
even have the incredibly complex machine known as "the wheel" until
CENTURIES after other races had it!  They were a VERY backwards
people! (alt.atheism)

Higgins had foolishly suggested that nobody gives a rats ass about
what the Indians do until it steps on their toes, which of course is
nonsense, that's what. The redskin neighbors of the Sioux and the
Commanche cared what those Indians did (raped their squaws, killed
their old men, tortured their young men) DESPITE the fact that the
Sioux and Commanche generally didn't go around stepping on their
toes.  Those indian savages instead opted for much more equisite
forms of torture and methods of creating intense pain in their
redskin neighbor victims. (Thread, "Indians Are Sleaze Merchants,"
alt.fan.rush-limbaugh)

I stopped into a New York club and found an American Indian
bar-tending. I ordered a Manhattan and the redskin fucker charged me
twenty-four dollars! ( 3do.bad-attitude)

Those make it clear 'redskin' is both current and disparaging -- note
that you don't see the word used in a nondisparaging way except
occasionally by Indians themselves, as a reclaimed epithet, or in
discussions of movie Westerns and the like.

2. What's more, even if "redskins" were not used much now, the term
is known to everyone from its frequent use as a term of disparagement
in films. In our documentation to the Trademark Board, we offered a
compilation film of clips  from "The Paleface" to "Broken Arrow" to
"Tell Them Willy Boy is Here" to The Outlaw Josie Wales." Thanks to
the media, 'redskin' is familiar to every ten-year-old, even those
who live in places where Indians are not visibly in evidence.

3. Ron Butters correctly notes that the DC District Court overturned
the Trademark Board decision granting the petitioners' request that
the mark be cancelled. I discussed this decision in a languagelog
post at:

http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/000029.html

Geoff Nunberg