U.S. history is filled with examples of how racial tensions can turn violent. But when a controversy over racism erupts in Canada, it happens in the most Canadian way possible. Take a look. American's love shouting at each other, sports, and shouting at each other about sports. And no controversy has quite beat the war drums like Native American names in sports. [Reporter] Pressure continues to mount on the Washington Redskins to change their name. [Reporter] Some Native Americans find this incredibly offensive. [Jim] But Redskin stories are so 2016. So I headed North where controversy has taken the Canadian Football League, which I'm being told is a real thing, by storm. [Reporter] The Edmonton Eskimos are facing some heat over their name. [Reporter] Some people find the term racist and say it harkens back to less enlightened times. [Jim] And the controversy has even reached Canada's Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. [Trudeau] This is a discussion and a reflection that the city of Edmonton certainly needs to undertake. [Jim] Hmmm...not the boldest statement I've seen him make on race. So how do we settle this once and for all? To find out if the team name is truly offensive, I spoke to the only people who are qualified to decide: real life Eskimo – fans. This is the first time I found out that there was a Canadian league. We get one point for a missed field goal. How Canadian can you get? You get one for having a go? You have a go! I don't even know if I'm allowed to say it. The e-word? How do you feel about the e-word? You're allowed to say it. -That's fine.
-I'm allowed to say it? -Yeah.
-Eskimos? You betcha. Is it a derogatory term – Eskimos? I don't think it's offensive one bit. Well, what about the Washington Redskins? Do you think they're offensive? Redskins, yes. -Redskins, yes.
-Indians, yes. And what's the difference between the Redskins and the Indians and calling them Eskimos? Because the people that are offended by it – I don't think they truly exist. [Jim] I'd love to take a white guy's word for it, but to get another perspective, I traveled to Northern Canada, home to tens of thousands of indigenous Canadians, and sat down with two locals. Look, am I allowed to say... Es– ummm... Eskimo? Yeah, Esk– you can say it. I'm allowed to say it? I don't view our people as Eskimos. We are Inuit. [Jim] So, "Inuit" is the chosen name of the indigenous people of Northern Canada. "Eskimo" is from when a bunch of white people said, "F**k it! We're calling you Eskimos." Do yo go along to the games? Uh, when the Roughriders are playing. [Sports Announcer] The Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Edmonton Eskimos – But what is a roughrider? I don't know. Yeah, maybe there's a community that says, "that's offensive to my culture. I use lube." [Jim] Hearing all this made me think; where do we draw the line? Would you support a team called The Montreal Blacks? Ehhh... The Munich Jews? The Munich J– oooh. With Australian rules, we don't have a team called The Aboriginals. Well, that, you would be classifying as an entire – oh, I just shot myself in the foot, didn't I? Yeah. Now you're – [ sighs ] yeah. Now I'm just making good points that must be getting in the way. You are.
Now I'm just making good points that must be getting in the way. The other reason this whole thing isn't so innocent: Canada has historically done some shady stuff to the Inuits. The Canadian government removed upwards of 150,000 children from their families and as many as 6,000 died while in the care of the government. Hey, Canada. Removing children from their families is supposed to be an American thing. I was taken away from home when I was five. Some guy picked me up like a football and carried me on a plane while I screamed. I was gone from home for... five years. Five years? But she had two consecutive years without seeing family. Inuits – were they genocided at all? The Canadian government did some pretty horrible shit. There was the sterilization in the '60s. Wait, OK. Hold on. You – You sterilized them in the '60s? Yup. What else? Smallpox, um – You gave the smallpox blankets? That's a bit genocide-y. Yeah.
Yeah. We actually smallpoxed them? F**k! That's not helping our argument at all. [Jim] Luckily, the Canadians are at least starting to get their act together. Earlier this year, the government officially said, [ strong Canadian accent ] "sorry!" for the way they treated the Inuit. [Trudeau] We are sorry. [Jim] But despite new government programs, the Inuits still have bigger worries than football. For example, many Inuit communities struggle with alcoholism, and the suicide rate is about 11 times higher than the national average. Before we discuss a name of a football team, we should be discussing the suicide rates, the housing shortage, the alcoholism, residential schools. We should be addressing those issues instead. [Jim] She may have a point. Are we focussing on the wrong thing? These guys aren't bothered by the name. So, I wondered if they'd be offended by some new products. So, maybe we can have a compromise here. We keep the team name but also find a way to draw more attention to the problems that the Inuits are facing. So you have koozies that say, "Edmonton Eskimos World Champion Drinkers." Toss that one. New mascot: depressed penguin on the side of a building. No! We'll put that one to rest as well. There's the pile down there. [Jim] You have to choose one. Here we go. I'm scared. Alright, so you get a foam hand. So this one says, "we're #1 to live on this land." That can be the "maybe" pile. We're getting a strong "maybe." [Jim] So bottom line, are these diehards ever going to bend on changing the name? See, my position on it is if they want to change it, [Jim] Here we go. Get ready for some bullshit about tradition. and they feel victimized by it, [Jim] No grown man wearing a team scarf would ever give up. if that's what they want, I will support that. If it's felt needed to change the name, change the name. F**king Canadians, man. They're just so reasonable. They're just like, [ strong Canadian accent ] "well, OK then. There seems to be a problem. We'll get this fixed." [Jim] My Inuit friends are sure gonna be happy to hear this. But me, I wasn't offended. I joke about the Edmonton football team was our team because they had our name. [Jim] Well then, what the f**k are we talking about here? Still, that's mission accomplished. Whether the team ends up changing its name or not, it seems like both sides are open to finding a sensible compromise. So I guess the only real loser here is – is me for being dumb enough to go to Canada in search of an American-style controversy. Canada – it moves a bit faster than America in politeness. We like to have fun. I need you in my audience. We should stack it with Eskimos. Inuit! Inuits! Inuit.
