The bolded part is an open question I have. Who really are the "many who seem to think" that the name is offensive? I hear a lot of social justice warriors (Troy Westwood springs to mind) claim that the name is offensive to many, but have the actual potentially offended group actually been asked?
Here is what Jordan Tootoo, Inuit NHL player, had to say, and it's a lot more eloquent and thought out than most people on either side of the debate who have taken a hard stand have presented:
My position is this.
We should all understand what the term means to the Inuk people. My father’s generation connects this term to describe who they are. He would refer to himself as an Eskimo. My generation refers to itself as Inuk. What is important to me is that people understand this. And, when referring to the Inuit people to the Inuit people, they respect that we refer to ourselves today as Inuk.
I understand there are names of sports teams that bring back feelings of oppression for people and I can see why those names should be changed.
So, this makes me ask the question, does the term Eskimo for the Edmonton franchise bring back feelings of oppression for Inuk people? For me, it does not. That is NOT a reason to keep the name. There could be others for whom it does create those feelings. But for me, it does not.
I encourage the franchise to explain why they chose the name Eskimos in the first place. Was it racially charged, or, was it because of admiration for the ability of the Eskimos to thrive in cold climates, for their mental and physical toughness and for their resilience? My point is that context really does matter. And, they need to be honest with themselves and with the public. Truth goes a long way.
In closing, the name of the Edmonton Eskimos is not objectionable to me. This does not mean they should keep the name. But, I think the discussion should be around how the Inuk people feel about it. Some might feel pride. Some might feel hurt. Either way, that is the group that should be consulted.
My opinion is that the discussion is important, but that we should not knee-jerk react because someone tells me that others are offended without hearing from the supposed "offended" group, and I do see a lot of that happening. When North Dakota looked at the "Fighting Sioux" nickname, they actually talked with the 10 Native tribes in the area, and apparently 8 of the 10 were happy with the name and saw it as a sign of respect bestowed on the local indigenous peoples. Two did not share that view, and the name got changed. No one died as a result of the debate either way, so in the end this is not a big world issue.
My concern is the slippery slope. Does Fighting Irish stereotype a sect of society? Yankee is considered a derogatory term for northern U.S.'ers from the south (or for the U.S. as a whole from foreign nations), but since the North won the Civil War, does it get a pass since the North is not marginalized as the victors? Or because Yankees are seen as mainly white people, and have not been subjected to institutionalized racism, so slang words for them are not deemed offensive? Canadiens either singles out French Canadians, or excludes English-speaking Canadians - either way you are marginalizing one group. Canuck was a Dutch term meant to insult French Canadians I have read somewhere, and it is often used by Americans as a jokingly derogatory term for all Canadians (oh those Yankees!), but if we are in on the joke, does that matter? The UN Human Rights Code describes discrimination based on its effect, and not its intent, so even if no one sees derogatory intent in the nickname "Canuck", even those it would want to disparage, I guess according to the UN that doesn't matter. But how far do we take all this?
And the last time I checked, Native American groups in the US are fighting for their land and opposing an oil pipeline, and had to deal with systematic extermination from the white settlers, aided by the US Cavalry and cowboys, and that doesn't seem to garner the same concern as the name Fighting Sioux did. Perhaps we can fix the real problems and not get in a twist over the dog and pony show of team nicknames so we look like we are socially woke? I'm not saying "well we can't fix everything, so why fix anything?" and willing to ignore this issue, but let's be grounded in our discussions and not assume what others think, and deign to speak for them.