1. Atlanta has made their own overtures to local tribes
Baseball is a community sport and fan participation is certainly a big part of what has made the sport great through the decades. In recent years (as awareness of this topic has escalated) the Atlanta Braves have recognized that their fanbase should not be monolithic. Accordingly, they have reached out to area tribal leaders in an effort to partner with them and find out if there are issues that they can address together.
One topic that’s clearly high on the list of priorities for the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians is the preservation of their native Syllabary language. In recent days, the team has announced a T-shirt drive to support that goal:
"The Braves franchise partnered with the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians (ECBI) to design the t-shirt. Half of the proceeds from each of the t-shirts sold (for $30) will go towards benefitting the New Kituwah Academy and the Cherokee Speakers Council, Laura Blythe, the program Director for the Cherokee Historical Association explained."
So you can look at it one of two ways: either the Atlanta Braves can be partner toward a common goal, or have their name and identity taken away, which would remove any basis for any such partnership in the future. Clearly, the former is a better approach.
In this regard, the partnership becomes a benefit to education and outreach. Without it… well, how many of us would even realize that the Syllabary language even existed?
Regardless of opinions of past actions, it appears that the Atlanta Braves are carving a future for their team’s moniker that is sustainable and profitable in terms of education, community, and diversity.
The Cherokee tribe is clearly on board with their efforts. Given that, this also appears to be a means for that “Braves” name to be maintained… indefinitely.