The wait is over.
The time is now.
All of Chiefs Kingdom is still ecstatic over our first Super Bowl win since 1970. Looking forward, we all see a future of Chiefs football brighter and with more promise than at any time in a generation. The relationship between the team and the fans is stronger than ever.
While the future is bright, the past wasn’t always that way
Looking back over the decades, however, the relationship between the Chiefs and their depiction of Native Americans is troubling. At a time when America is, again, re-evaluating the treatment and depictions of non-white people by our institutions, the Kansas City Chiefs should reconsider their use of these images and practices.
Our traditions
Some traditions of Chiefs fan culture and the Arrowhead experience are awe inspiring.
… and the home of the …
Even when the biggest games are not at Arrowhead.
Wow.
The chop
Other cheers, however…
Whooping and chanting do not honor or respect Native Peoples.
This is mocking.
Promoting Culture and Paying Back
Every person living in the United States has benefited from the theft of land and destruction of lives, property, and heritage of Native Peoples. Outreach to Native-American groups should center their voices and provide support for the causes they ask us to support. Efforts should be expanded to include true support of the Indigenous community.
The Chiefs have used the likenesses of American Indian people since 1963. The open relationship with Native American groups has spanned just the last seven years. We are still in their debt and owe a more substantial investment into their communities.
1 Retain Strength
The Chiefs brand is strong and can be carried forward into the future. A chief builds community by embodying strength, leadership, and wisdom.
Keep
- Arrowhead trademark
- Iconic uniforms
- KC Wolf
- Support and relationship with local Native-American organizations
2 Commit to True Support of Native American Causes
Native Americans have had so much taken from them. Organizations like the Chiefs who have used and benefited from their cultural symbols must ensure, with the guidance of Tribal officials, that those symbols are being preserved and respected rather than mocked and misappropriated. Both the Chiefs organization and we the fans have an obligation to bring awareness to the specific causes where Native peoples has asked for our support.
Here are some areas where Chiefs Kingdom can commit to improving the lives of Native American people.
Missing Women
Hundreds of Native American women go missing each year, though tracking the numbers and knowing their names has proven difficult. Little is done to catch the abductors. And on the rare occurrence an abductor is detained, non-Natives are not subject to Tribal law and often go free.
Sovereign Bodies Institute (SBI) builds on Indigenous traditions of data gathering and knowledge transfer to create, disseminate, and put into action research on gender and sexual violence against Indigenous people.
Education
The cycle of poverty can be broken with a dedication to education. It takes tools and guidance to show a new path from the old. And as we all know, the cost of higher education is often burdensome. There are established foundations that provide college scholarships to Native Americans that can lead to better outcomes for them and their families.
Internet Access
Many areas of the Navajo Reservation, and other reservations as well, lack basic needs. One need, reliable internet access, has become even more imperative with lockdown and online learning caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Could the Chiefs organization take the lead here, partnering with a telecom sponsor, to provide internet hot-spots for those in need? We think so.
The Kansas City Chiefs should truly honor the Native American people by helping in committed, long-term, and meaningful ways.
3 Institute Dignity
All other aspects of Native American imagery and customs should be returned to their rightful owners.
The following items should be banned from the Truman Sports Complex:
- Headdresses
- American-Indian costumes
- ‘War paint’ face paints
- and all other American-Indian symbols
In-game tradition that in name, in spirit or in action, usurp the culture of Native Americans should stop. This includes:
- Warpaint
- The Drum
- The Chop
These aspects of game day could be replaced.
#dropthechop
#raisethealarm
An inspiration
While not replacing the arrowhead, the addition of an engine logo could serve as a link to a new inspiration of the Chiefs name.
A new call to cheer
Replace the drum on the deck with a large siren. The cranking of the siren is an honor bestowed the same way as beating the drum.
But make it way bigger than that thing.
Drop the chop
The chant to accompany the siren could be replaced with a new chanting cheer.
KAAAAAY
CEEEEE!
A better Arrowhead
We can build an even more intimidating Arrowhead Stadium of the future while respecting the culture of all peoples in our area.