{"id":32000,"date":"2025-07-29T14:28:19","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T14:28:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/32000\/"},"modified":"2025-07-29T14:28:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T14:28:19","slug":"whats-in-a-name-elks-vs-eskimos-debate-returns-to-edmonton-football-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/32000\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s in a name? Elks vs. Eskimos debate returns to Edmonton football team"},"content":{"rendered":"

An issue some thought had been settled has been reopened in Edmonton, where the city\u2019s football team is reviving a discontinued name that was the topic of much debate and disagreement \u2014 something that continues to this day.<\/p>\n

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In 2020, the CFL<\/a> club\u2019s board of directors made the decision to discontinue the use of the word \u201cEskimo\u201d and launch a rebrand<\/a>. The following year after consultations and a public poll, the team renamed the Edmonton Elks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEdmonton Elks chosen as the new name of the city\u2019s CFL team\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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Prior to that, the CFL team faced criticism for its name over the years, with some people arguing it was racist, offensive and showed a lack of respect for the Inuit community in northern regions of Canada and the U.S. But not all felt that way \u2014 some in the Inuit community felt pride over the Eskimos name.<\/p>\n

The tipping point came when sponsors threatened to pull their support<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now, the team\u2019s leadership is bringing the Eskimos name back \u2014 well, sort of.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe are going to be proud of the Eskimo era of this franchise,\u201d said Chris Morris, 56, who was appointed the team\u2019s president and chief executive last year. Morris also wore the green and gold for 14 seasons, as a linebacker from 1992 to 2005.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor one reason or another, over the last few years, the term \u2018Eskimos\u2019 internally here in this organization has been stricken further and further from how we talk about ourselves,\u201d Morris said.<\/p>\n

The leader made the comments on Monday at an event welcoming longtime equipment manager Dwayne Mandrusiak<\/a> back to the club, after he was sacked a few years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the years, we\u2019ve forgotten elements of our history. And with Dwayne coming back here, that will return,\u201d Morris said.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:38
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDwayne Mandrusiak back with the Edmonton Elks\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are done hiding in the shadows from something that really isn\u2019t something to be afraid of: 14 Grey Cup championships, the most incredible fan support, and I apologize to our fans, for over the years somehow being villainized for being called the Eskimo fan base.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Morris stressed the team won\u2019t be ditching the Elks name on the gridiron, but rather is going to stop pretending the Eskimos name never existed.<\/p>\n

\u201cInternally, we will use the term \u2018Eskimos\u2019 because we are proud of that history as an organization that did some many great things,\u201d he said, explaining he wants the Eskimos name to be associated with the excellence achieved under it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are honouring the past of this organization. We \u2026 honour what was great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of the changes include putting back up a sign over the entrance of the team\u2019s locker room saying, \u201cOnce an Eskimo, always an Eskimo.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt was a brotherhood, it was a way of doing things, it was the sign that you were part of something bigger than yourselves, which made a difference not just on the field, but in the community,\u201d Morris said.<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s vintage fire truck that used to make laps around the field after a touchdown will also have the Eskimos name put back on.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are proud of that history, and we are going to embrace it moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEdmonton\u2019s CFL team reviewing controversial name amid public pressure\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Reaction to the announcement was mixed.<\/p>\n

Lifelong football fan Kimberly Tologanak wants the team to ditch the name \u201cElks\u201d and return to its roots.<\/p>\n

\u201cInuit that hunt polar bears and warriors, that\u2019s the strong people,\u201d Tologanak said. \u201cEdmonton Eskimos are a strong team and I think it goes with who we are as Eskimos.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe team is strong and resilient like Inuit people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Inuk woman moved to Edmonton 25 years ago said the former name made her proud.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, I grew up with being known as an \u2018Eskimo,\u2019 so that\u2019s what I knew,\u201d the passionate fan said, adding people she knows up north were also proud of the name. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t offend me.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLen Rhodes says dropping \u2018Eskimos\u2019 name was inevitable for Edmonton football team\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

But not all people of her heritage feel that way.<\/p>\n

Tupaarnaq Kopeck is Inuit and grew up in Greenland before moving to Denmark, where she first learned of the negative connotation attached to the word \u201cEskimo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was used against me as a slur, as a dehumanizing word against me and my people,\u201d Kopeck said.<\/p>\n

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She now lives in Spruce Grove and said her heart started racing when she heard the team would be using \u201cEdmonton Eskimos\u201d again in some capacity.<\/p>\n

She said many in the Inuit community consider the word racist.<\/p>\n

\u201cWords have power,\u201d Kopeck said, adding she was happy when the team changed its name in 2020, even while acknowledging amongst her own community members there\u2019s no consensus on how one should feel about the former name.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they should invite a group of Inuit and hear their thoughts and talk to them, have conversations. That\u2019s important.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said she understands there\u2019s great nostalgia attached to the former name for some fans, but argued it\u2019s a step backward for reconciliation with the Indigenous community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s people in the Elks that have those beliefs \u2014 I don\u2019t think I want to support that, if that\u2019s what they truly believe. That makes me really sad and upset.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReconciliation has to be continuous.\u201d<\/p>\n

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On Monday, Morris apologized to fans for being villainized. Longtime fan Troy Lutz said that comment resonated.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAny time you use the word \u2018Eskimos\u2019 on Facebook, there\u2019s people attacking you \u2014people that didn\u2019t care about the game,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Tologanak said she would love to see the team lean into the old name more by celebrating Inuit culture or hiring more Inuit people. But what she wants the most: a winning team that gets more people in the seats at Commonwealth Stadium.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur team hasn\u2019t been doing very well since the name change. The fan base has gone down, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t&copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An issue some thought had been settled has been reopened in Edmonton, where the city\u2019s football team is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32001,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,13264,24599,21626,82],"class_list":["post-32000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-edmonton-elks","tag-edmonton-eskimos","tag-edmonton-sports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}