On October 12, Columbus Day, the Minnesota Vikings posted a tribute to Indigenous Peoples' Day instead. The team honored "the rich histories, cultures, traditions, and contributions of Indigenous peoples" and said it was grateful for "the opportunity to learn from and engage with Indigenous leaders, organizations, and community members who help strengthen Minnesota every day."
The team is named after Vikings.
The real Vikings were Scandinavian raiders who terrorized Europe from the late 700s to the late 1000s. In Old Norse, "víking" meant a raiding expedition, and a man who went on one was a raider. They burned monasteries, looted towns, and carried off men, women and children to sell in slave markets that stretched from Dublin to the Middle East.
They reached North America too, about five hundred years before Columbus. According to the Norse sagas, the first time Leif Erikson's people met Native Americans, they killed eight of them.
Fans on X didn't need a history lesson. "Vikings were known for pillaging, raping, slaughtering, burning, and enslaving their victims," wrote one. "Better change your name too 🤡."
Another, Cameron Milner, put his finger on the real problem: "It's funny they jump on 'indigenous peoples day'. A couple years ago they got rid of the redskins, Indians, land o lakes chick, but they want to keep the name 'Vikings' who were literally known for raping, pillaging, and destroying native populaces lol."
He's right, and the list is long. Washington's fans loved the name "Redskins" for 87 years. Team owner Dan Snyder once vowed he would never change it, and he even put "NEVER" in all capital letters. In 2020, under pressure from activists and corporate sponsors, the name was gone. Cleveland dropped "Indians" and became the Guardians. Land O'Lakes took the Native woman off its butter box after nearly a century. The rule was supposed to be simple: any reference to Native Americans had to go, no matter how fondly it was meant.
The Vikings, named after people who raided, enslaved and killed, never had to change a thing. They didn't even have to stay quiet. They got to post the lecture.
That shows what the name-change campaign was really about. "Redskins" made an easy target: an ethnic term, a fan base the media saw as conservative, and an owner who dug in. "Vikings" sits in a state that hasn't voted for a Republican president since 1972, the fans in horned helmets are the activists' own neighbors, and the history is about Europeans raiding other Europeans. Nobody organized a protest outside U.S. Bank Stadium, and no sponsor threatened to pull its money.
Minnesota has been tough on Columbus, though. In June 2020, protesters pulled his statue down outside the State Capitol in St. Paul. Columbus lost his statue and his holiday, and the raiders kept their football team.
Only three of the NFL's 32 teams posted about Indigenous Peoples' Day. The other 29 posted nothing, which is what most fans want from a football team on a federal holiday. People watch on Sundays for touchdowns, not for a lesson on which American holiday is acceptable.
Of the three teams that decided to lecture, only one has a raider with an axe as its mascot.