Kansas City Chiefs name controversy

Last updated

The Kansas City Chiefs is one of the professional sports teams involved in the controversy regarding the use of Native American names and imagery, but received less attention than other teams until 2013 when fan behavior at games, including stereotypical headdresses, face paint, performing a "war chant" and tomahawk chop became more publicly known. Protests by change advocates intensified following the name changes of the Washington Commanders and Cleveland Guardians. In addition, the Chiefs have been highly visible due to their participation in the Super Bowl in the 2019, 2020, 2022, and 2023 seasons and widespread media coverage. Native American groups demonstrated outside the stadium hosting Super Bowl LVII. [1]

Contents

The Kansas City Indian Center has called on the team to change the name and stop the chop. [2] Rhonda LeValdo (Acoma Pueblo), co-founder of Kansas City's Not In Our Honor Coalition, has called for a new team name and has described the tomahawk chop as synchronized racism. [3] Deb Haaland, the first Indigenous US Secretary of the Interior has called on teams with tribal mascots to change mascots, including the Kansas City Chiefs. [4]

History

The Kansas City Chiefs was the last professional sports team in the United States to adopt a name or logo referencing Native Americans, although indirectly. [5] In 1963, the Dallas Texans (AFL) was renamed Chiefs in honor of Kansas City mayor Harold Roe Bartle who was instrumental in relocating the team to Kansas City, Missouri. Bartle, a non-Native, had been nicknamed "Chief" as founder of the Tribe of Mic-O-Say, a Boy Scouts honor camping society. [6]

Mascots and traditions

In 1989, the Chiefs switched from Warpaint, a Pinto horse ridden by a man in a feathered headdress, to their current mascot K. C. Wolf. Warpaint returned in 2009, but was ridden by a cheerleader. [7] In July 2021 Warpaint was again retired, the team president stating that it is the right thing to do at this time. [8]

Emergence of controversy

American Indian groups have called on sports teams, including the Chiefs, to change nicknames and mascots for many decades. The National Coalition on Racism in Sports and Media organized in 1991 following calls from Indigenous communities to end these practices. [9]

Many did not take notice of these requests or the issue until much later. Following the appearance in the Kansas City Star of photographs of fans attending an October 2013 game wearing feathers and warpaint and doing the tomahawk chop, numerous Native Americans submitted complaints to the publication. One caller, who was especially upset that the photographs were published on Columbus Day, described the images as a "mockery" and "racist". Writing for the Star's "Public Editor" column, Derek Donovan explained that he found the complaints "reasonable" and suggested that the newspaper depict "other colorful, interesting people in the crowds." [10]

The Kansas City Indian Center officially became involved in calling for change after a local restaurant in December 2013 had a sign widely condemned as racist [11] [12] [13] that read “KC Chiefs Will Scalp the Redskins, Feed Them Whiskey, Send 2 Reservation.” [14] [15] The Kansas City Indian Center sent representatives to the restaurant owners to explain why the sign was unacceptable. [16]

The Star reported in early August 2014 that the team's management was planning discussions with some Native American groups to find a non-confrontational way to eliminate, or at least reduce, offensive behavior. [17] Amanda Blackhorse (Diné), the lead plaintiff in the trademark case against the Washington Redskins, said the real solution is a name change for the Chiefs. [18] Blackhorse attended a protest at a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Washington Redskins at Arrowhead Stadium while she was a student at the University of Kansas, reporting "people yelled, 'Go back to your reservation!' 'We won, you lost, get over it!' 'Go get drunk!' And so many different slurs. People threw beers. That, to me, was shocking. I've experienced racism in my lifetime, but to see it outwardly, in the open, and nobody did anything? It was shocking." [19]

Native Americans in Phoenix, Arizona picketed at the game between the Chiefs and the Arizona Cardinals, and have asked the Cardinals' management to bar "Redface", the wearing of headdresses and face paint, protesting what they perceive to be a mockery of Native American culture. [20] A protest took place in Minnesota when the Chiefs played the Vikings on October 18, 2015. "The Kansas City Chiefs have flown under the radar," said Norma Renville, the executive director of Women of Nations Community Advocacy Program and Shelter. "They are contributing to our cultural genocide." [21]

Native Americans at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas, asked the Chiefs to stop behavior that invokes stereotypes, such as wearing headdresses and doing the "tomahawk chop", after the team made the playoffs in 2016. [22] While there have been efforts to address other issues, such as fans wearing warpaint and headdresses, the "chop" and the accompanying chant is defended by some local Native Americans. However, in a national survey, half of Native Americans said the "tomahawk chop" bothered or offended them, rising to 65% among those more engaged in Native traditions. [23] In a statistical analysis of social media comments (tweets) leading up to Super Bowl LIV, researchers found many more negative terms associated with the Kansas City team compared to San Francisco. While both teams were referred to in terms related to violence, the Chiefs were much more likely to receive insults related to intelligence (being called stupid) and many insults were specific references to negative Native American stereotypes, such as drunkenness ("firewater"), and being inbred or extinct. The conclusion drawn was support for Natives being insulted, rather than honored, by Native American mascots. [24]

Response to changes by other teams

After the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Indians announced in July 2020 the process of reviewing their names, the Chiefs did not respond to a request for comment. [25] The editorial board of the Kansas City Star stated that "It's time for a real examination of all of it: the tomahawk chop, the drum, Arrowhead Stadium, Warpaint, and the costumes worn by fans at the game." [26] On August 20, 2020, the Chiefs announced that headdresses and Native American style face paint would be banned at Arrowhead Stadium. [27] Under the new Arrowhead policy, the portion of the tomahawk chop led by Kansas City Chiefs cheerleaders was subtly modified, now required to lead the chop with a closed fist rather than the traditional open palm. [28]

Deb Haaland, the first Indigenous US Secretary of the Interior has called on teams with tribal mascots to change mascots, including the Kansas City Chiefs. [4] [29] Despite Native American and national news media statements that they find the practices to be racist, [30] the Chiefs continue many of the behaviors of other teams with Native American names, including fans wearing headdresses and warpaint, doing the tomahawk chop, and banging a drum. [5] However, the ban of Native American headdresses and face paint at Arrowhead Stadium went into effect during the 2020 season opener on September 10, 2020. [31]

Renewed scrutiny during modern Super Bowl appearances

Before the kickoff of Super Bowl LV, members of the Florida Indigenous Rights and Environmental Equity (FIREE) protested for the termination of the Kansas City Chiefs name, chants, celebrations, and fan gear.  Members of the group describe the use of the name and culture as "dishonorable and disrespectful." [32] For years, fans have been known to wear headdresses and warpaint, mocking Native American culture.  At the Raymond James Stadium where the protest occurred, protestors argued against the issue of the arrowhead, which is part of the team's logo that is plastered on fan gear and the team's uniforms. Protesters fought back at the mockery yelling "We're just saying if you're not going to honor us, don't use the arrowhead." and "you're mocking our people." [33] Members of FIREE want to express their feelings of pain when teams appropriate their culture, saying “when you make indigenous people into a mascot, it's extremely dehumanizing, especially for children.”  Part of the continuous frustration is caused by the lack of learning and listening from associations and their fans.  Professor Rhonda LeValdo, from Haskell Indian Nations University expresses that the continuous appropriation of these customs is because "too many people don't care about Native Americans unless they can use our likeness for their companies, cars, or costumes." [34] Alicia Norris, co-founder of FIREE, asks that “all human beings recognize that American Indians are Human Beings not sports team mascots for America's fun and games.” [35]  Along with disappointment and feelings of appropriation, there is a lack of correlation between the chants and fan gear, and the game itself.  The Kansas City Star addressed the issue saying “we embrace the team's on field but don't think a corrosive chant has much to do with it. It isn't fair to ask groups offended by these symbols to wait even longer for change." [32]

During the 2023 playoff season, the Kansas City Indian Center and the Not In Our Honor Coalition made a billboard near the stadium that said "Change The Name and Stop The Chop!" [36] In advance of Super Bowl LVII, some name change advocates point out the continued discriminatory behaviors by fans in spite of official efforts to eradicate them, and the academic research establishing the harms inherent in any stereotyping. Others point to inclusion of Indigenous voices in the promotion of the game. [37] Prior to notification of the protests, a decision was made to have the song "America the Beautiful" interpreted by Colin Denny (Navajo) in Plains Indian Sign Language, as a means of recognizing the number of tribes living in Arizona, the site of the game. [38]

Protests continued when the Chiefs returned to the Super Bowl the following year for Super Bowl LVIII. [39] After musician Taylor Swift started dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce in 2023 and gained widespread media attention, the Not in Our Honor Coalition expressed that they hope Taylor Swift speaks out about ending the chop. [40] [41] In February 2024, Lily Gladstone (Siksikaitsitapi and Nimíipuu), who is the first Native American person to be nominated for an Academy Award, spoke out about a long history of “exclusion and misrepresentation” of Native Americans in film and society. While acknowledging some gains, they pointed to one of the teams in the Super Bowl, noting “We haven't come that far if you look at one of the teams that's playing,” likely referring to the Chiefs. [42]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">K. C. Wolf</span> Mascot for the NFLs Kansas City Chiefs

K. C. Wolf is the official mascot of the National Football League’s Kansas City Chiefs. He was first introduced in 1989 as a successor to Warpaint, a horse ridden by a man wearing a full Indian chief headdress, from the mid-1960s. K. C. Wolf was named after the team’s “Wolfpack,” a group of boisterous fans who sat in temporary bleachers at Municipal Stadium.

Warpaint was a mascot for the Kansas City Chiefs National Football League (NFL) team. Three individual pinto horses have been used for Warpaint. It is associated with the team's glory days at Municipal Stadium, having won two American Football League (AFL) championships. Warpaint led the team's victory parade after winning Super Bowl IV. After the original Warpaint's retirement in 1989, the team used K. C. Wolf as its lone mascot from 1989 to 2009. In the celebration of the AFL's 50th anniversary, the Chiefs resumed the tradition of Warpaint for the 2009 season, introducing the new horse at the home-opener against the Oakland Raiders. Warpaint was retired again in 2021 amid the nationwide Native American mascot controversy and the team's new policy to eliminate some Native American imagery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chiefs–Raiders rivalry</span> National Football League rivalry

The Chiefs–Raiders rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders. The rivalry between the Chiefs and Raiders is considered to be one of the NFL's most bitter rivalries. Since the American Football League (AFL) was established in 1960, the Chiefs and Raiders have shared the same division, first being the AFL Western Conference, and since the AFL–NFL merger in 1970, the AFC West.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Native American mascot controversy</span> Controversy regarding the use of Indigenous names and images by sports teams

Since the 1960s, the issue of Native American and First Nations names and images being used by sports teams as mascots has been the subject of increasing public controversy in the United States and Canada. This has been a period of rising Indigenous civil rights movements, and Native Americans and their supporters object to the use of images and names in a manner and context they consider derogatory. They have conducted numerous protests and tried to educate the public on this issue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chief Zee</span> American sports fan (1941–2016)

Zema Williams, better known as Chief Zee, was a well-known fan and unofficial mascot of the franchise then known as the Washington Redskins. Dressed in a faux Native American war bonnet, rimmed glasses, and red jacket, Chief Zee began attending Redskins games in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kansas City Chiefs</span> National Football League franchise in Kansas City, Missouri

The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington Redskins name controversy</span> Controversy involving the name and logo of the Washington Redskins NFL team

The Washington Redskins name controversy involved the name and logo previously used by the Washington Commanders, a National Football League (NFL) franchise located in the Washington metropolitan area. In the 1960s, the team's longtime name—the Redskins—and the associated logo began to draw criticism from Native American groups and individuals. The topic, part of the larger Native American mascot controversy, began receiving widespread public attention in the 1990s. In 2020, the team responded to economic pressure in the wake of the George Floyd protests by retiring the name and logo. The team called itself the "Washington Football Team" before rebranding as the Commanders in 2022.

Sundance is an American Indian civil rights activist. He is perhaps best known for being one of several prominent American Indians to spearhead the movement against the use of Native American imagery as sports mascots.

Sports teams named Redskins are part of the larger controversy regarding the use of Native American names, images and symbols by non-native sports teams. Teams of this name have received particular public attention because the term redskin is now generally regarded as disparaging and offensive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redface</span> Use of costumes to caricature Indigenous Americans

Redface is the wearing of makeup to darken or redden skin tone, or feathers, warpaint, etc. by non-Natives to impersonate a Native American or Indigenous Canadian person, or to in some other way perpetuate stereotypes of Indigenous peoples of Canada and the United States. It is analogous to the wearing of Blackface. In the early twentieth century, it was often white performers, who wore blackface or redface when portraying Plains Indians in Hollywood Westerns. In the early days of television sitcoms, "non-Native sitcom characters donned headdresses, carried tomahawks, spoke broken English, played Squanto at Thanksgiving gatherings, received 'Indian' names, danced wildly, and exhibited other examples of representations of redface".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cleveland Indians name and logo controversy</span>

The Cleveland Indians name and logo controversy referred to the controversy surrounding the club name and logo previously used by Major League Baseball's Cleveland Guardians, an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio.

During the years of increasing awareness of the Washington Redskins name controversy, public opinion polls were part of the discussion about whether Native Americans found the term redskin insulting. Other polls gauged how the general public viewed the controversy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tomahawk chop</span> Symbol of sports celebration

The tomahawk chop is a sports celebration most popularly used by fans of the American Florida State Seminoles, Atlanta Braves baseball team, the Kansas City Chiefs American football team, and the English Exeter Chiefs rugby union team. The tomahawk chop involves moving the forearm forwards and backwards repeatedly with an open palm to simulate a tomahawk chopping, and is often accompanied by a distinctive cheer. The Atlanta Braves also developed a foam tomahawk to complement the fan actions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Blackhawks name and logo controversy</span> US pro hockey team racism controversy

The Chicago Blackhawks name and logo controversy refers to the controversy surrounding the name and logo of the Chicago Blackhawks, a National Hockey League (NHL) ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. The use of terms and images referring to Native Americans/First Nations as the name or mascot for a sports team without permissions from or consultations with local Indigenous communities is a topic of public controversy in the United States and Canada. Since the 1960s, as part of the indigenous civil rights movements, there have been a number of protests and other actions by Native Americans and their supporters targeting the more prominent use of such names and images by professional franchises such as the Cleveland Guardians formerly known as the "Indians" of Major League Baseball (MLB) that was officially discontinued in 2016; the Washington Commanders formerly known as the "Redskins" of the National Football League (NFL), the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs and MLB's Atlanta Braves, the latter two attracting criticism of "the tomahawk chop" often performed by their fans. Like other teams with tribal mascots, there are calls from Indigenous activists and organizations to change the Blackhawks' name and logo and eliminate tribal mascots and imagery throughout sports. In contrast to generic names used by other teams, Blackhawks refers to a World War I-era U.S. Army division which was named for prominent Illinois-based Native American chief Black Hawk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlanta Braves tomahawk chop and name controversy</span> American baseball controversy

The Atlanta Braves tomahawk chop and name controversy involves the name and tomahawk chop tradition by the Atlanta Braves, an American Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise. Native Americans have been questioning the Braves' mascot choices since the 1970s. Native American objections to the tomahawk chop received much attention during the 1990s and have continued into the 2020s. The Atlanta Braves and their fans continue their overwhelming support of the team name and chop tradition.

Indigenous activists in Cleveland, Ohio, have advocated Indigenous issues and rights since the early 1900s. After the removal of the last American Indians from their traditional territory in Ohio in 1842, Cleveland, and the greater Cuyahoga County, had an almost nonexistent Indigenous population. However, in the early 1900s, an Osaukee man named Chief Thunderwater engaged in activism, protesting the displacement of the Erie Street Cemetery and creating the Supreme Council of Indian Nations, which advocated for Indigenous peoples' right to cross the United States–Canada border in the Supreme Court case of McCandless v. United States. Later in the century, the Indian Relocation Act of 1956 moved a variety of Native Americans from their different reservations in the West into Ohio, specifically metropolitan areas like Cleveland. With the resurgent population came a wave of activism, as the Cleveland American Indian center was created and the national American Indian Movement established a chapter in the city in 1970. Annual mascot protests in Cleveland began in 1972, with local groups AIM and the Committee of 500 Years of Dignity and Resistance participating. An important Ohio Supreme Court case, Bellecourt v. City of Cleveland, protected protestors first amendment rights in court. The Cleveland Indians ended the use of their old mascot, Chief Wahoo, in 2019 and in 2020 announced that they would consider changing their team name, in response to ongoing protests. In July 2021, the Cleveland baseball team announced their new name: The Cleveland Guardians. Mascot protests also extend to local schools in the Cleveland area, where the Oberlin School District ended their use of Indians as their mascot.

References

  1. ↑ Tang, Terry; Skretta, Dave (2023-02-09). "Native Americans renew protests of Kansas City Chiefs mascot". AP NEWS. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  2. ↑ "Why billboards urging Chiefs to 'change the name and stop the chop' return for playoffs" . Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  3. ↑ "Native Americans Want Taylor Swift to Help End K.C. Chiefs' Tomahawk Chop".
  4. 1 2 "This NFL Team is Finally Changing Their Offensive Name". 7 July 2020.
  5. 1 2 Asmelash, Leah (1 February 2020). "How the Kansas City Chiefs got their name, and why it's so controversial". CNN.
  6. ↑ Schilling, Vincent (21 September 2019). "How the Kansas City Chiefs got their name and the Boy Scout Tribe of Mic-O-Say". Indian Country Today.
  7. ↑ "Warpaint". Kansas City Chiefs. Archived from the original on December 14, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  8. ↑ Eduardo Medina (July 26, 2021). "Still Chiefs, Kansas City Team Will Retire Its Mascot 'Warpaint'". The New York Times.
  9. ↑ "National Coalition on Racism in Sports and Media".
  10. ↑ DONOVAN, DEREK (October 27, 2013). "Chiefs fans' 'Indian' dress is problematic". The Kansas City Star.
  11. ↑ HuffPosthttps://www.huffpost.com › entrySonic's Racist Sign About Redskins, Chiefs Prompts Quick Apology ...
  12. ↑ "Sonic Drive-In apologizes after making racist Chiefs-Redskins sign". www.cbssports.com. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  13. ↑ Taylor, Kate (2013-12-10). "A Racist Sign at Sonic and 5 Other Franchise PR Disasters". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  14. ↑ Krol, Debra Utacia. "With Chiefs in the Super Bowl, some Native people say it's time to erase the offensive name". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  15. ↑ Forbes, Paula (2013-12-09). "Sonic Apologizes for Racist Chiefs/Redskins Sign". Eater. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  16. ↑ Krol, Debra Utacia. "With Chiefs in the Super Bowl, some Native people say it's time to erase the offensive name". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  17. ↑ MELLINGER, SAM (August 6, 2014). "To avoid a cultural free-for-all, Chiefs form alliance with American Indian groups". The Kansas City Star.
  18. ↑ MELLINGER, SAM (June 25, 2014). "Woman behind fight against Washington's NFL nickname says Chiefs should be on guard". The Kansas City Star.
  19. ↑ "Meet the Native American Woman Who Took on the Washington Football Team". Mother Jones. June 18, 2014.
  20. ↑ Hendley, Matthew (December 10, 2014). "Native Americans Calling on Arizona Cardinals to Make Policy Against Headdresses, Redface". Phoenix New Times. Archived from the original on December 14, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  21. ↑ Lytton, Barry (October 16, 2015). "Native American groups to protest Kansas City Chiefs nickname at Vikings game". The Grand Forks Herald. Archived from the original on August 31, 2017. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  22. ↑ Rothfield, Ariel (January 15, 2016). "Kansas indigenous group asking Kansas City Chiefs fans to stop the Tomahawk chop". KSHB Kansas City. Archived from the original on December 28, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
  23. ↑ John Eligon (January 29, 2020). "Celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs, the Chop Divides". The New York Times.
  24. ↑ "Not Your Mascot: Opinions vs Data". Indigenous Engineering. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  25. ↑ "Redskins, Indians Considering New Names. Is It Time for the Chiefs to Make a Change?". Kansas City Star. July 7, 2020.[ permanent dead link ]
  26. ↑ The Kansas City Star Editorial Board (July 7, 2020). "Redskins, Indians considering new names. Is it time for the Chiefs to make a change?". Kansas City Star.
  27. ↑ Michael Levenson (August 20, 2020). "Kansas City Chiefs Ban Headdresses at Stadium". The New York Times.
  28. ↑ Aguilar, Leslie (September 10, 2020). "Chiefs fans react to changes regarding tomahawk chop, headdresses". KCTV5.
  29. ↑ https://twitter.com/debhaalandnm/status/1282853684829753345?s=46&t=9Ao3ja7IF_9sV0973O3fqw [ bare URL ]
  30. ↑ Clarke, Liz. "'End racism,' the NFL implored. So what about the Chiefs' name?". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2021-02-17.
  31. ↑ "Kansas City Chiefs nix headdresses, face paint as team prepares to start NFL season". KTLA. Associated Press. September 10, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  32. 1 2 Brito, Christopher (5 February 2021). "Protest calling for Chiefs to change name and stop using tomahawk chop planned ahead of Super Bowl". CBS News.
  33. ↑ Margo Snipe; Natalie Weber (7 February 2021). "'We're not mascots': Indigenous-led Super Bowl protest decries Chiefs mascot". Tampa Bay Times.
  34. ↑ LeValdo, Rhonda (2020-02-01). "The Kansas City Chiefs' "Arrowhead Chop" chant isn't a tribute to people like me. It's racist". Vox. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
  35. ↑ "Native American group plans Super Bowl protest of Kansas City Chiefs". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
  36. ↑ "Why billboards urging Chiefs to 'change the name and stop the chop' return for playoffs" . Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  37. ↑ Lopez-Carmen, Victor A. "Drawing A Line: How Indigenous Representation Plays Out At Super Bowl LVII" . Forbes. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  38. ↑ Morris, Amanda (2023-02-12). "Native American sign language arrives at the Super Bowl". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  39. ↑ Clark, Laura (8 February 2024). "Ahead of Super Bowl, filmmakers challenge 'honor' of Kansas City Chiefs name, Native mascots: 'We are not OK with this'". yahoo!entertainment.
  40. ↑ Masciotra, David (9 February 2024). "Interview: Stereotyping Native Americans in Sports Is Wrong". The Progressive Magazine.
  41. ↑ "Not In Our Honor Coalition Statement on Taylor Swift at Kansas City Football Game". Not In Our Honor. 25 September 2023.
  42. ↑ Mohammed, Leyla (12 February 2024). "Lily Gladstone Said Her Historic Academy Award Nomination Is "Long Overdue" As She Referenced The NFL's Problematic History Of Misrepresenting Native American People". Buzzfeed News.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.