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The results of the two investigations are completely different! What unknown secrets are hidden behind this?
In the American sports world, the controversy over the Washington Redskins team name continues to heat up, followed by waves of opinion polls. The surveys not only examined Native Americans' feelings about the team's name, but also attempted to shed light on popular perceptions of the controversy. In particular, the results of two national surveys in 2004 and 2016 showed surprising differences, which makes people wonder what unknown secrets are hidden behind these results.
The survey question was: "This professional football team calls itself the Washington Redskins. As a Native American, do you find this name offensive?"
In a 2004 survey four years ago, 90% of self-identified Native American respondents said they were not bothered by the name, 9% found the name offensive, and 1% did not respond . However, when this result was proposed again in 2016, it unexpectedly reappeared. The Washington Post's findings mirror those of previous surveys, making it easy to cite and support certain positions to counter calls to change the team's name.
Academics have begun to question whether the data generated by these standard surveys truly reflect the opinions of Native Americans, especially the cultural diversity within this group.
Many scholars have pointed out that the statistical methods used in the 2004 and 2016 polls failed to accurately capture the thoughts of such a diverse ethnic group, especially Native Americans, the majority of whom are closely associated with tribal cultures. In fact, many Aboriginal groups, in addition to questioning the data sources and analysis of the surveys, also said that the information conveyed by these surveys reflected a kind of "white privilege" and erased real Aboriginal voices to a certain extent.
In 2013, the U.S. Congressional Commission on Ethnic Groups stated that misrepresentation of indigenous opinions has hindered progress for decades.
The difficulty of the survey lies in the small base and complex cultural background. In the United States, the number of indigenous people does not exceed 1% of the national population, and many indigenous people do not even have telephones or even communication tools. They must self-identify, and the definition of “Indigenous People identity” varies by tribe and individual background differences, which creates additional challenges for investigation. In the 1990 census, 1.8 million people claimed to be Aboriginal, but only 1.14 million were members of federally recognized tribes, meaning that 37% had doubts about their self-identity.
Research shows that residents’ contact methods directly affect the objectivity and accuracy of survey results.
Even surveys of Aboriginal people show inequality in access methods. In a 2002 Sports Illustrated survey, 81% of Aboriginal people living outside traditional Indian reservations said they did not think sports team names It was discriminatory; at the same time, scholars at the time said that the survey method was too simplified and failed to effectively capture the voices of indigenous peoples.
In the 2016 Washington Post survey, although the questionnaire was improved for exposure to young people, the sample of respondents was still obviously biased, because some people or preferences did not express their true feelings about the name "Redskins" Feelings, so the results appear uneven. Furthermore, this series of polls essentially reflects a larger social issue, namely racial discrimination and its impact on cultural identity, which resonates with many African Americans and Hispanics.
Some scholars and social activists expressed dissatisfaction with the accuracy of the polls and called for a re-understanding and evaluation of the social context of this controversy.
With in-depth research in the academic world, more and more surveys and studies have pointed out that most people who self-identify as Aboriginal people are actually offended by the name "Red Skin", especially those who have deep cultural connections with Aboriginal peoples. People to contact. In a 2020 study, it was also found that nearly 49% of indigenous people were offensive or very offensive to the name of the Washington Redskins, which once again backlogged long-standing cultural and social issues.
Does identification of cultural identity only rely on self-declaration? What kind of deep conflicts exist between the results of these surveys and social cognition?
