Redskins....

The politically correct rarely like the truth...

An American linguist who claims that Indians invented the term "redskin" was criticised by anti-racism groups yesterday.

Ives Goddard, the senior linguist at the Smithsonian museum, said the expression was used by the native Americans in the late 18th century.

The word was then adopted by whites in the early 19th century, he said. The term was always used in "the most respectful context", he said.

Anti-racists have argued in court cases that the expression is derived from the bounty placed on dead Indians during the colonial era.

The findings were criticised by the writer Suzan Shown Harjo, who wants to change the name of Washington's football team, the Redskins. She told the Washington Post: "I'm very familiar with white men who uphold the judicious speech of white men."