Renaming The Cleveland Indians The Guardians Won't Give Native Americans Clean Drinking Water

So in 2022, the Cleveland Indians will be known as the Cleveland Guardians. I don't care for the move anymore now than I did a year ago.

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, who is a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe, tweeted her praise:

I am glad to see that the Cleveland baseball team is finally changing its name. The long practice of using Native American mascots and imagery in sports team has been harmful to Indigenous communities. This is a welcome and necessary change.

With all due respect to Secretary Haaland, I disagree. 

While there have been many great harms committed towards Indigenous communities in this country (as well as in Canada) I fail to see how the Cleveland Indians was ever a part of this harm. I seriously doubt the team was named the Indians as a symbol of mockery or disdain. Why would they want their community to root against the team? The people who named their baseball team the Indians viewed them as a brave people worthy of admiration.

Let me put it another way. How is renaming the Cleveland Indians, the Washington Redskins or any other sports team with a Native American moniker going to get clean drinking water to the Native American tribes? An estimated 1 out of 10 Native Americans do not have access to safe drinking water. Does anyone honestly think those 1 out of 10 Native Americans who can't drink clean water really care if the Cleveland Indians decided to call themselves the Guardians?

So what do I think of former President Donald Trump who called the change "a disgrace" and a move to "destroy our culture and heritage"? Not a great deal. Trump also called the Tribe "a storied and cherished baseball franchise." Cleveland has not seen a World Series since 1948 - two years after Trump was born. If the Guardians won the World Series in 2022 or 2023 I think the new name would be accepted by the teams' fans. Needless to say, my reasons for disliking the change are very different from former President Trump's reasons. 

While Trump and Republicans engage in culture wars and SJWs pat themselves on the back and virtue signal, 10% of Native Americans still can't get a clean glass of water.