The National Football League has expressed interest in moving up a previously scheduled meeting with the Oneida Indian Nation to discuss the nation's desire to have the Washington Redskins team change its nickname.
That meeting could now happen on nation territory in a few weeks.
Yesterday the Oneida held a symposium at a hotel in Washington D.C. to put pressure on the football team to change its name. The Oneida and some other Native Americans say the name is offensive.
According to an N.F.L. spokesman, on Friday, Adolpho Birch, the N.F.L.'s senior vice president of labor policy and government affairs, sent a letter to the Oneida saying no one from the league would be able to attend the event. Birch suggested we set up a meeting sooner than the previously scheduled Nov. 22 meeting and that it take place at league headquarters in New York City or in Verona, N.Y.
An Oneida spokesperson confirmed the letter was received, but said a new meeting had not been put on the books yet.
The Redskins' owner has said previously he would never consider changing the name. A statement released by the team's attorney prior to yesterday's conference said, in part, "it's our history and legacy and tradition."
An email seeking further comment from the team has not been returned.