California became the first state in the nation to ban public schools from using "Redskins" as a sports team name, mascot name or nickname, as many Native Americans find the term offensive. Municipalities can, however, still name parks and public buildings after Confederate heroes, Gov. Jerry Brown said Sunday.
The law was signed by Brown Sunday morning and goes into effect Jan. 1, 2017. Four schools are currently using the name and will have to change it by then: Calaveras High School, Chowchilla Union High School, Gustine High School and Tulare Union High School, according to USA Today.
Brown, a Democrat, vetoed a separate bill that would have prohibited cities from naming public properties after individuals associated with the Confederacy.
"The most populous state in the country has now taken a stand against the use of this insidious slur in its schools," activists from the group Change the Mascot said in a statement Sunday, adding that California is "standing on the right side of history by bringing an end to the use of the demeaning and damaging R-word slur in the state's schools," according to Reuters.
Activists hope the law will put greater pressure on the NFL team named the Washington Redskins.
"Opposition to the Washington team on this issue is only intensifying. The NFL should act immediately to press the team to change the name," said Oneida Indian Nation Representative Ray Halbritter and National Congress of American Indians Executive Director Jackie Pat.
Redskins President Bruce Allen said in August that the team will not consider changing its name, and the team's owner, Daniel Snyder, previously said he will "never" change the name.
While California is the first state to prohibit the use of the name, other municipal school districts around the country have initiated similar bans, including the school districts in Madison, Wis., and Houston, Texas, according to a Oneida Indian Nation spokesman, reported RT.
Regarding the Confederacy bill that was vetoed, Brown said his action was "long overdue" and that the issue of naming public buildings is one "quintessentially for local decision-makers," according to the Los Angeles Times.
"Local governments are laboratories of democracy, which, under most circumstances, are quite capable of deciding for themselves which of their buildings and parks should be named, and after whom," said Brown.
