The worst-kept secret in Edmonton was confirmed Tuesday afternoon as Eskimo team officials announced they were dropping the name after weeks of social media pressure..The team will now be known as EE Football Team and Edmonton Football Team until a new name is decided upon...“Since adopting the name over 100 years ago, our Club and its predecessor organizations have celebrated the hardiness and spirit of those who live in the north. The team’s values of community, integrity, respect and inclusion will not change with this decision,” said the team in a statement..“Our Club launched an extensive research and engagement process on the name three years ago, with an emphasis on listening to Inuit communities. We undertook this comprehensive effort to meet our commitment and continue our tradition of being responsive to community perspectives. We augmented that outreach and research with more recent engagement and surveys involving Inuit, partners, season seat holders, casual ticket purchasers and the community at large..“Recent findings demonstrate that views regarding the team name are shifting. While many fans are deeply committed to keeping the name, others are increasingly uncomfortable with the moniker. The long-term viability of the Club requires everyone to get behind this change and continue to support the team, especially during these challenging financial times. “.“Our team has a long history of winning – both on and off the field – and we will continue to do so going forward,” said Janice Agrios, Chair of the Board of Directors..“We feel it is important to make this change in response to the findings of our recent engagement and research. Going forward, we want the focus to be on the work we do in the community and our team’s excellence on the field as the CFL’s most successful franchise.”.To come up with a new moniker, the team will talk with season seat holders, casual ticket purchasers and partners..Edmonton’s mayor, Don Iveson, says he happy the Edmonton Eskimos will be changing their name..“Mayor Don Iveson has been frank in the past about his position on the Edmonton football team’s name: he has called for them to change the name many times over the years,” said a statement from his office Tuesday, before the team’s press conference..“A name change is long overdue — and the Mayor believes that this debate is not good for the reputation of the City. He is heartened to see that the team is re-engaging with the community on the name, and he is hopeful that their engagement results in some meaningful change that takes into account prominent Inuit voices and advocates that find the term offensive and discriminatory.”.The team did announce in February they were keeping the name..“There were a range of views regarding the club’s name but no consensus emerged to support a name change. The club has therefore decided to retain its name,” the team said in a statement then.. Defying crackdown, hundreds march against lockdowns in Calgary .The team said it had met with Inuit and community leaders in Iqaluit, Inuvik, Yellowknife and Ottawa, did in-depth interviews with Inuit across the north and in Edmonton, and completed a telephone survey amongst Inuit across Canada..In 2015, in the week leading up to the Grey Cup in Edmonron, Natan Obed — president of Canada’s national Inuit organization, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami — said teams shouldn’t been named after ethnic groups..Edmonton sports teams have been called the Eskimos since the 1900s..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.Twitter.com/nobby7694
