To be fair, the use of Blackhawks isn’t as noxious as Redskins, as used by Washington’s NFL team. For the hockey team, the name came from the wish of founder Frederic McLaughlin back in 1926 to honour his battalion from World War I, which was nicknamed after Chief Black Hawk of the Saux Nation, who fought on the side of the British in the War of 1812.
McLaughlin, described once as the "biggest nut" in the game by Conn Smythe, wasn’t looking to insult aboriginal people. Then again, the North American ethnic majority has been not meaning to injure aboriginal culture and peoples on the continent for centuries and has managed to do a rather comprehensive job of it anyway.
