Messed Up Things That Happened During Colonial Times

There's still a strange tendency for people to think there's nothing uncomfortable or racist about calling a sports team the "Redskins," so let's take a look at where the term actually comes from and why it's not cool.

There's still a strange tendency for people to think there's nothing uncomfortable or racist about calling a sports team the "Redskins," so let's take a look at where the term actually comes from and why it's not cool.

In 1755, the Massachusetts government issued something called the Phips Proclamation. It was essentially a massive bounty letter, and promised enterprising, bloodthirsty individuals they would be paid well for any Penobscot brought to them, either in chains or in pieces. The highest bounties were paid for men taken to Boston — alive — but if that was too much work, they'd also pay for scalps. And that's scalps of any person, any age. If you were to, say, scalp a pair of toddlers, you'd walk away with a cool 40 pounds.

No one really needs to spell out why that's messed up, right? Those scalps were called "redskins," which puts cheering for your Redskins at a Friday night game under the lights in a whole new light. Baxter Holmes in Esquire about what the term still means today: "It represents a trophy of war — the bloodied scalp of a murdered Native American, slaughtered for money, the amount dependent on whether it was a man, woman, or child." It goes back to colonial America and Spencer Phips, and you can call him what you like.

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