Naabik’iyati Committee still debating Legislation 0078-14: opposing use of disparaging references to Native people in professional sports franchises.

DELEGATE RUSSELL BEGAYE
Amendment to delete references to Navajo Code Talkers meeting with NFL Red Skins owner Dan Synder.

DELEGATE LORENZO BATES
Since sponsor Delegate Butler said he holds Code Talkers in highest regard, why wud he drag Code Talkers into this. If Code Talkers, like any independent organization, does what it needs to do to promote themselves, that is up to them. But regarding Navajo Arts and Crafts Enterprise, that is a different issue.

DELEGATE NELSON BEGAYE
Thank Delegate Butler for legislation and I support amendment. And it’s other people that believe news reports about Code Talkers but I started getting concerned when NTC President MacDonald Sr. started saying he supported Red Skins.

DELEGATE LORENZO CURLEY
I use to support Red Skins. I’ve been reading comments on FaceBook about navajo code talkers which was that they damaged the national effort to eradicate the use of Red Skins. It was also very clear to me that Code Talkers used by Synder. I had to apologize to son of NTC vice president Hawthorne for those comments. He said that there are more important issues. And Navajo Code Talkers shud not be part of this discussion.

DELEGATE JONATHAN HALE
What I remember is a national news photo of the Navajo Code Talker waving to the crowd. The NTC were wearing NFL Red Skins jackets. That stuck in my mind. And it is about how the Navajo Code Talkers were being used for the financial benefit of NFL Red Skins owner Dan Synder.

VOTE ON DELEGATE RUSSELL BEGAYE AMENDMENT
9 in favor, 0 opposed