The Cleveland Indians changing their name will prevent Native Americans from taking their own lives -- this according to leaders in the community, who insist there's a connection.
Suicide is an enormous problem among Native Americans -- it's the 2nd leading cause of death, and is especially dire among the young.
As for why the name of a baseball team affects the suicide rate -- when Native Americans see non-Natives wearing sacred headdresses and mocking their people with mascots, names, antics, etc. -- it screws with their heads in a big way ... so says Prairie Bighorn-Blount, Executive Director of the American Indigenous Business Leaders.