A look at the history of Native American imagery and names in sports

Chicago Tribune

5 days ago

President Donald Trump's social media posts calling for the NFL's Washington Commanders and Major League Baseball's Cleveland Guardians to revert to their old names has revived the conversation about Native American imagery in sports.
Each team has indicated it has no plans to go back to names that were abandoned years ago in the aftermath of a reckoning over racial injustice, iconography and racism in the U.S. following the death of George Floyd. Other professional teams have maintained names and logos through criticism and calls from activists who say they are offensive.
Here is a look at how the issue has unfolded.
Then-President Barack Obama told The Associated Press he would 'think about changing' the name of the Washington Redskins if he owned the team.
'I don't know whether our attachment to a particular name should override the real legitimate concerns that people have about these things,' Obama said.
Trump soon after posted to Twitter: 'President should not be telling the Washington Redskins to change their name-our country has far bigger problems! FOCUS on them,not nonsense.'
The Cleveland Indians announced they would remove the Chief Wahoo logo from their uniforms the following year after decades of protests and complaints that the grinning, red-faced caricature used in one version or another since 1947 is racist.
'Major League Baseball is committed to building a culture of diversity and inclusion throughout the game,' Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. He said the logo 'is no longer appropriate for on-field use.'
The team said it would continue to sell merchandise with the logo in the Cleveland area.
After several sponsors publicly voiced their opposition to the name Redskins, longtime owner Dan Snyder said in early July the organization would undergo a 'thorough review.' Snyder had said multiple times since buying the team in 1999 that he had no intent of changing it.
Cleveland hours later said it was considering going away from Indians, the baseball team's name since 1915. Manager Terry Francona said he was in favor of a change.
On July 13, Snyder announced the Redskins moniker was being retired after 87 years, dating to the team's time in Boston. Later in the month, the organization unveiled plans to be known as the Washington Football Team for at least one season, and that name remained through 2021.
MLB's Atlanta Braves and the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks doubled down on their names. The Braves wrote in a letter to season-ticket holders they will 'always be' known as that, while the Blackhawks said they would continue to use their name and logo because it honors Native American leader Black Hawk of Illinois' Sac & Fox Nation.
Is the Chicago Blackhawks name and logo as offensive as the Washington NFL team's nickname? It's complicated.The Braves said they were reviewing the use of the tomahawk chop and chant, a discussion they started with Native American leaders in 2019. The Blackhawks banned headdresses at home games.
In August, the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs followed suit, prohibiting the use of Native American headdresses, face paint and clothing at their stadium. They faced increased scrutiny over the tomahawk chop and chant around winning their first Super Bowl title that February.
Cleveland owner Paul Dolan announced the team would no longer be called the Indians following the 2021 season.
'It was a learning process for me and I think when fair-minded, open-minded people really look at it, think about it and maybe even spend some time studying it, I like to think they would come to the same conclusion: It's a name that had its time, but this is not the time now, and certainly going forward, the name is no longer acceptable in our world,' Dolan told the AP, adding he did not want an interim moniker like Washington's.
Trump quote-tweeted a story about the change with the message: 'Oh no! What is going on? This is not good news, even for 'Indians'. Cancel culture at work!'
Seemingly out of the blue, Cleveland unveiled its new name, Guardians, in a video posted to social media. They completed the season as the Indians before becoming the Guardians in November.
Cleveland's new name was inspired by the large landmark stone edifices — referred to as traffic guardians — that flank both ends of the Hope Memorial Bridge, which connects downtown to Ohio City.
The tomahawk chop was front and center as the Braves reached — and won — the World Series, with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred endorsing the fan behavior, citing the support of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, based in North Carolina about three hours from Atlanta.
'The Native American community in that region is wholly supportive of the Braves program, including the chop,' Manfred said. 'For me, that's kind of the end of the story. In that market, we're taking into account the Native American community.'
After a lengthy process, Washington rebranded as the Commanders. Snyder said the change pays 'homage to our local roots and what it means to represent the nation's capital.'
'As we kick off our 90th season, it is important for our organization and fans to pay tribute to our past traditions, history, legacy and the greats that came before us,' Snyder said. 'We continue to honor and represent the burgundy and gold while forging a pathway to a new era in Washington.'
President Joe Biden welcomed the name change by posting a picture on Twitter of Commander, his recently acquired German shepherd puppy, in front of the White House.
'I suppose there's room for two Commanders in this town,' Biden wrote.
A group led by Josh Harris, which included Basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, finalized the purchase of the Commanders from Snyder for a North American pro sports record $6.05 billion.
Harris and co-owner Mitch Rales, who grew up in the area of the team, used the word Redskins at their introductory news conference, sparking renewed chatter about the subject. Before the season started, Harris said ownership would not be going back to the old name.
Sen. Steve Daines, a Montana Republican, threatened to block a congressional bill to transfer land to potentially be used for a new football stadium in Washington unless the Commanders and the NFL honored the former Indian head logo in some way. The original logo was designed by a member of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana.
After lobbying on Capitol Hill by Harris and Commissioner Roger Goodell, the bill passed in December at the eleventh hour, and Biden signed it into law in January. It gave control of the RFK Stadium site from the federal government to the District of Columbia, which agreed to a deal with the team in April to build there, pending city council approval.
Bill that calls for banning Native American school team names, mascots passes Illinois HouseAfter Washington made the playoffs and went on an improbable run to the NFC championship game with Offensive Rookie of the Year quarterback Jayden Daniels, Harris said at his season-ending news conference that the Commanders name was here to stay, quieting speculation about another rebrand.
'I think it's now being embraced by our team, by our culture, by our coaching staff, so, we're going with that,' Harris said. 'Now, in this building, the name Commanders means something. It's about players who love football, are great at football, hit hard, mentally tough, great teammates. It's really meaningful that that name is growing in meaning.'
With the stadium deal not yet done, Trump threatened to block it if Washington did not go back to the name Redskins.
Trump on his social media site posted: 'I won't make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington.'
Asked about ways Trump could block the construction of a stadium where the team played during its glory days until moving to Maryland, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser shifted the focus to hammering out a deal voted on by the council.
'What I'm concerned about is we haven't done our part, and so we need to complete our part so that the team can get to work, so that local businesses can get hired, so that we can start earning the tax revenue that will come when we deliver the Commanders stadium,' Bowser said.