SALAMANCA, N.Y. — Seneca Nation President Rickey Armstrong Sr. has mixed feelings about the announcement that a professional football team is changing an identity that is offensive to Native Americans.

The Associated Press reported that on Monday the Washington NFL franchise announced it will drop the name “Redskins” and the accompanying logo. No new name has been chosen.

Armstrong, while happy with the change, questions the motives behind it.

“After decades of perpetuating and promoting an offensive and racist nickname, change has finally come to the football franchise in Washington. It is a change that is long overdue,” he said in a statement released on Monday. “The Seneca people and Indigenous people everywhere are appreciative of the fact that this change is finally being made.”

The Seneca Nation president talked about the role that team sponsors played in prompting the change.

He explained, “It is clear that the team’s ownership did not make this decision out of respect and decency toward Indigenous people, who have been calling for this change for many years. Ultimately, it was the financial pressure exerted by corporations and the possible hit on the team’s wallet that drove the decision. We appreciate that companies like Nike, FedEx and others stood up to force the issue toward its rightful conclusion.”

Armstrong would like the NFL team to include the Native American community in the development of a new name and logo, saying he is hopeful “the team will engage the Native American community in a meaningful way as they create a new identity. If there was ever a moment to make a statement about how we can start to successfully move beyond the caricature and negative representations of Native culture, this is it. An organization that performs on a global stage and is based in the nation’s capital has the platform to make that statement.”

Armstrong further hopes that other groups will follow suit and consider their own names and logos.

“The use of Native American names and imagery needs to be looked at in a comprehensive manner,” he said. “Communities, organizations and institutions at every level across the country should start those important conversations and heed the call for positive change.”

According to the AP, team owner Dan Snyder and coach Ron Rivera are overseeing development of the new nickname and design. It is unclear when the name will be announced.