The issue with words has to do with more than the interpretation of a small and select group of listeners. We cannot and do not change meaning or usage based on small minorities, that’s not how language naturally works. So firstly, the intent of the user absolutely matters rather than the reaction of a hypersensitive listener. Polls indicate that even a small minority of native Americans find the word offensive.
Words develop meaning in context and that meaning changes over time with usage. Such is the word “Redskin,” which has absolutely zero usage as a slur in today’s society and ONLY has meaning from its usage as the ex name of a popular and historical sports team. It’s not like the “N” word because like it or not that word has been pushed to the forefront of offensiveness by a large minority population that uniformly agrees on its offensiveness. Some of the rules surrounding that word are just fucking stupid, but the baseline fact that it’s an offensive word is well established and accepted. To wit: even in 1920, you never would have had a major league sports team named the Washington N words. It was unacceptable then just like it’s unacceptable now.
The word Redskin is simply not the same. Victim currency has led wanna-be victims to equate it to the N word because then they can gain importance with their victimhood exerting control over mainstream American language and therefore culture. But even if the word was used mockingly in 1920 when the owner chose it, it was simply not on the same level. Native Americans did not suffer the same treatment as black Americans especially regarding the usage of that word at large as a widespread attempt at dehumanization.
Subsequently, and as I alluded to earlier, the only use of that word was as a team name. By the 50s or 70s no one was slandering Native Americans by calling them that word, it was only a team name. The team name has completely subsumed all usage and meaning of that word. There is no meritorious argument that that word is a slander anymore. It is only a historical slander, and, as I said, a minor one at that whose usage had already fallen to the level of footnote by the time the team chose the name in the 20s or whatever.