Remember the Good Ol Daze?
More than 20 years ago – long before the dawning of today’s woke culture – writers at the Kansas City Star decided to take on Marty Schottenheimer‘s Chiefs. for their Indian themes. That was back when neanderthal newsies like Art Brisbane roamed the land, driving gigundo Ford sedans down a street that used to called Grand Avenue.
Upwards of 2,000 staffers scattered around the metroplex, worked for a newspaper that now employs as few as 10 or many as 450 (depending on who you ask.) My guess is they’d be lucky to have 100 still, but probably fewer.
And every now and then today, the Star still scolds KC’s vaunted Chiefs for using American Indian imagery.
Yet for all the Star’s devotion to righting historical (and hysterical) wrongs – like blackballing “racists” like its founder William Rockhill Nelson and Country Club Plaza godfather, J.C. Nichols – it seems to be taking a temporary pass on critiquing the Chiefs current day misappropriation of Native American symbols.
That’s far from the case here in the desert where the Super Bowl is about to be played.
Case in point, the Arizona Republic‘s front page headline, “Chiefs urged to retire name; Activists say moniker offends Native peoples.”
“When the Kansas City Chiefs take the field against the Philadelphia Eagles on Super Bowl Sunday, they will sport white uniforms with a distinctive logo: an arrowhead with the initials KC emblazoned on the surface,” it reads.
“And greeting them among thousands of football fans: native activists who have been urging the team to retire the name ‘Chiefs,’ the arrowhead and the rest of the accumulated 60-plus years of cultural appropriation and stereotyping.”
Nice one, huh?
No surprise, the story sits next to another example of wokeness via the headline, “Lawmakers advance bill to restrict drag shows; Violaters in Arizona could face felony under Republican proposal.”
For years – and not that long ago – I championed local drag shows and performers like a dude named John Koop, who performed as the “drag queen” Flo.
I even went to drag shows with my twin girls mother.
But back then, nobody wanted to do them in children’s school libraries
I digress; back to the politically insensitive Chiefs…
If nothing else, the Republic’s story is an amazingly well researched written history of the team, its name and other aspects of its use of Indian imagery.
Just one problem…
Flo
“The Chiefs said they were unable to fulfill the Republic’s request to speak with a team official or American Indian Working Group member about any of these activities or to address the concerns raised by Native people.”
Put another way, the Chiefs declined to comment.
In the 1970s the worm began to turn, the story continues, when “Native peoples experienced a cultural and political renaissance” and activists successfully “retired” similar mascots like Little Black Sambo and the Frito Bandito.
Similar mascots?
Who knew – the team Kansas Citians revere most – is right up there with the N-Word?
Not to mention, the R-Word, as in, “redskin.”
All of those details aside, is there any actual news in this story?
Just a touch toward the very end.
“Other native people plan to come to Glendale for Super Bowl Sunday with their signs, ‘Love the team, hate the name’ and other signage to make their voices heard…
“Kansas City deserves better.”
Yet despite the Star ragging on the Chiefs Indian imagery all these years, its lone news story on the topic this year is the February 9th headline, “I call myself Indian, and I’d be angry if Kansas City renamed the Chiefs or Arrowhead.” Which ran alongside a pic of Chiefs fans doing the chop.
“Regarding the push to rename the Chiefs and Arrowhead Stadium, I would like to offer a different view,” says P.J. Loy of Overland Park. “As members of the Cheyenne River Agency Sioux tribe, my family and I all see these movements as a further attempt at Native American genocide — this time, cultural genocide.
“Team names such as Chiefs or Braves stand for the strong and courageous leadership within the Native tribes that fought so valiantly to protect their lands. Doing away with symbols such as the ‘Arrowhead Chop’ also would contribute to this erasure of our culture, making it even more convenient for the rest of America to forget how Natives were brutally invaded, murdered, forced on death marches, imprisoned and finally sent to reservations.
“When the Land O’Lakes dairy co-op removed the Native woman from its butter packaging, the joke among our community was, ‘So typical. They removed the Indian and kept the land.’ By the way, we all still refer to ourselves as Indians. Go to any powwow and that’s what you’ll hear.
“I’m not even a football fan, but I would be saddened, even outraged, if the team ever caves and changes its name.”
Go figure, Arizona Republic…
Arizona Republic huh? Woke articles like these smacks of the Nazi race baiters like Julius Streicher(Der_Stürmer) in the 20’s/30’s/early 40’s. You know, stirring up sh!t just to cause trouble. Instead of unite, divide. Find a common enemy and attack relentlessly. Not for the common good, but for only selfish gain. These 20’s/30’s/40’s are just a repeat of a century ago. Irony much?