Alberta men’s baseball team will change from ‘Indians’ to ‘Trappers’
INNISFAIL, Alta. — A men’s baseball team in central Alberta is changing its name from “Indians” to “Trappers” after years of online pressure and accusations of racism.
Team manager Desmond Bouteiller, who played for the Innisfail Indians, says he and his teammates used to wear their uniforms with pride, feeling they were honouring a group of people, not slandering them.
But Bouteiller says that his thoughts on the matter were later challenged.
He says in a blog post that the most memorable incident was when the Senior AA team stopped for lunch in Lloydminster and ended up playing in a road hockey tournament with teams of indigenous descent.