Chiefs Woman behind the Redskins name change says the Chiefs should be on guard - Page 9

**BigRedChief** · 06-25-2014, 11:01 PM

The fight took a monumental shift at a protest nine years at Arrowhead Stadium and it’s about to come full circle. No matter what you think of the issue, it will soon be ubiquitous in and around Kansas City’s greatest obsession other than barbecue.

The Chiefs are aware of it, and are preparing accordingly.

Back in 2005, a group calling itself Not In Our Honor protested before the Chiefs played Washington. The protesters were predominately American Indians, united in their anger over what they perceived as offensive stereotypes passed off as nicknames for sports teams. An older woman, Suzan Harjo, one of the leaders of the protest, met a younger woman named Amanda Blackhorse, then a student at Kansas.
They bonded over their passion for the issue, and that’s how the case known as Blackhorse et al v. Pro-Football Inc. came to be. Last week the plaintiffs prevailed when the United States Patent and Trademark Office canceled the trademarks of the Washington Redskins.

The case is under appeal, but you should know that the woman who took on and (at least for the moment) defeated the corporate entity that owns Washington’s NFL team would like to see the same type of case brought against the Chiefs.
As she says, the spark that started back in 2005 at Arrowhead has created a fire that will probably soon return.

“What happens there, it’s just insane the things they allow to go on,” Blackhorse says of the Chiefs and Arrowhead. “They are definitely in the group (of offensive teams), for sure.”

For now, the Chiefs are publicly silent on this. But they know the fight is likely coming, and they hope a few things work in their favor — most notably that it’s tough to compare their nickname with the one in Washington that is a dictionary-defined racial slur. Blackhorse’s group has also protested baseball’s Cleveland Indians, and that team has greatly scaled back its use of the cartoonish Chief Wahoo logo.

The Chiefs have similarly scaled back some of their more obvious plays on Indian stereotypes, and they hope they have some other advantages when the fight comes. The team is named after H. Roe Bartle, the mayor who was key in Kansas City landing the team from Dallas in 1962. Bartle’s nickname was “The Chief.”

The team stopped using a man dressed in traditional headgear as a mascot during pregame festivities many years ago. In the early 1990s, many of the Chiefs’ defensive players posed for a poster that today both looks absolutely ridiculous and would never be recreated.
The team does, however, play the tomahawk chop during games and welcomes fans in headgear and other stereotypes of Native American dress.

Those are some of the parts of the game day experience that Blackhorse calls “insane,” and why she expects a fight that’s gaining momentum and support nationally to come to Kansas City.

She knows that the vast majority of Chiefs fans will oppose her, but she also knows that the vast majority of fans in Washington opposed her, as well.

She says there is “no middle ground with this issue,” that once an ethnic group is used as a nickname for a sports team, the people in that ethic group lose control of their identity and humanity.

“I don’t want people to think I’m going around pointing fingers, like, ‘You’re a racist, you’re a racist, you’re a racist,’ ” she says. “That’s not the point. The point is we’re offended. You can love Native Americans to death. You can have admiration, love what we do, how we are, whatever, and still (hijack) our culture without understanding it that way.”

Wherever you stand on this issue, there is no denying that Blackhorse’s side is making progress. Teams are sensitive to and aware of perpetuating stereotypes so much more than in the past, in response to public sentiment.

The issue is further complicated by context, that this is a fight centered around Indians, who make up about 1 percent of the nation’s population and who, in Blackhorse’s words, “are invisible sometimes to people.”
That makes getting the message out a bit more difficult. A group of people that feels offended by widespread stereotyping isn’t big enough to get critical mass on its own.

That’s why Blackhorse says the movement needs the help of non-Indians, and part of why she’s so encouraged by developments in Congress and with the trademark case.

There is a lot of momentum here, which can be dangerous for teams like the Chiefs that will likely soon find themselves directly in the fight.
“I’m not sure there’s anything the (Chiefs) can do at this point other than look for another name,” Blackhorse says. “They could be the team that says, ‘You know what? We understand the issue and we don’t want to be Dan Snyder and fight this in court forever. We want to do the right thing and move forward and avoid this entire battle.’ I’m sure fans will be upset, but still, that’s doing the right thing.

“If they want to be sensitive to Native American people, that’s the thing to do.”

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt...#storylink=cpy

Early 90's

Kansas City Kid · 06-26-2014, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blaise

Why don't they oppose cities, rivers, lakes or streets using Native American names?

EXACTLY!

At the last protest at Arrowhead I asked one of those idiots where he lives. He answered, "Lee's Summit" so I told him that was land stolen from the Indians and to get the f*** off it.

KCUnited · 06-26-2014, 08:44 AM

Your choice to be offended. /chiefs pr

Garcia Bronco · 06-26-2014, 08:46 AM

I don't know what I find more amusing these ladies or the fact the Native Americans did not call their leaders Chiefs. It's a ****ing french word that means leader. On top of that it's been in use since the 1500s..long before Europeans colonized north american.

So that savages don't own it and have no right to be offended by it and I am no longer listening to these...fanatics.

lcarus · 06-26-2014, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

I wouldn't even give a shit if we got a name change. I think it would be kind of cool actually.

I do too...depending on what the change was. I'm all in for the KC Knights if it happens.

displacedinMN · 06-26-2014, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Garcia Bronco

I don't know what I find more amusing these ladies or the fact the Native Americans did not call their leaders Chiefs. It's a ****ing french word that means leader. On top of that it's been in use since the 1500s..long before Europeans colonized north american.

So that savages don't own it and have no right to be offended by it and I am no longer listening to these...fanatics.

Along with that-I also had someone tell me that she did not like the use of the Arrowhead symbol. That is was a Native American symbol.
Arrows have been around a lot longer than that.

Either way-It just sounds like there is a fight on the hands of ownership.

KC native · 06-26-2014, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reerun_KC

1/128 here and have a long blood line of Cherokee in my family on both sides...

We don't find the Redskins offensive, nor do we find the Chiefs and its Indian tradition offensive either...

But if the Redskins change, you can damn well bet the Chiefs, Indians, Braves, etc will all be next...

@ 1/128

Clearly, we should look to you as an authority on Native American affairs.

Andoverer · 06-26-2014, 09:09 AM

If a name change causes the KC Chiefs er the KC Whatevers to win ten Superbowls in a row, I'd be all over it. If not then LEAVE IT ALONE.

Reerun_KC · 06-26-2014, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC native

@ 1/128

Clearly, we should look to you as an authority on Native American affairs.

Yep, so suck it.

Edit, if you come to CP to find an authority on anything you have some deep physiological issues that can only be cured by seeing Dr Phil.

KC native · 06-26-2014, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reerun_KC

Yep, so suck it.

Edit, if you come to CP to find an authority on anything you have some deep physiological issues that can only be cured by seeing Dr Phil.

Sorry 1/128 is not Native American. Your great-great grandparents were Native Americans. You are just white.

It's hilarious that you hold out that you're not offended by the name Redskins as representative of anything.

Amnorix · 06-26-2014, 09:21 AM

I'm glad all the revolutionary war soldiers are dead or my guys would be in trouble too...

blaise · 06-26-2014, 09:23 AM

Nothing will come of it because there will basically be no public support. Almost no one will agree that Chiefs is offensive or a slur. I bet this has more to do with her wanting to keep attention on herself after the Redskins change their name. She likes being a hero for a cause.

Titty Meat · 06-26-2014, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by |Zach|

Pretty much agree with this.

Though aside from all this the Chiefs name feels stale and really all it represents is mediocrity. Wouldn't mind at all if they blew it up and went with something else.

Yeah they should change their name to some pussy English soccer club name and hire a guy to do play by play who fakes a Brittish accent and then name the stadium after a guy who cheated.

Marcellus · 06-26-2014, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blaise

Nothing will come of it because there will basically be no public support. Almost no one will agree that Chiefs is offensive or a slur. I bet this has more to do with her wanting to keep attention on herself after the Redskins change their name. She likes being a hero for a cause.

Bingo.

Marco Polo · 06-26-2014, 09:29 AM

It probably deserves it's own thread but since it's a similar topic, I'll put it in here:

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-...st-the-indians

A Native American group is planning to file a $9 billion federal lawsuit against the Cleveland Indians and their "offensive" Chief Wahoo logo, according to CBS Cleveland. The suit is expected to be filed next month.
Here's more from CBS Cleveland:

Robert Roche, a Chiricahua Apache and director of the American Indian Education Center, is planning to file a federal lawsuit in late July against the Cleveland Indians organization. Roche, who is also the leader of the group People Not Mascots, says the lawsuit will challenge that the team's name and Chief Wahoo logo are racist.
“We're going to be asking for $9 billion and we're basing it on a hundred years of disparity, racism, exploitation and profiteering,” Roche told WEWS-TV. “It's been offensive since day one. We are not mascots. My children are not mascots. We are people.”

Local supporters of the Chief Wahoo logo say it is only a small minority of people who are offended by the logo.

“If just a small amount of people are against it, than I think you're doing a disservice to people that like it,” Bob Rosen, president of the Wahoo Club, tells WEWS. He added that thousands of Indians fans embrace Chief Wahoo as a loyal and friendly symbol.
“I'm not insensitive to the issue, but our 1,650 members of the Wahoo Club, anytime we have a Wahoo Club item they but it up they love it,” Rosen said. “Can you imagine the baseball team in this city not being called the Cleveland Indians? I can't picture that.”

The Indians have been gradually phasing out the Chief Wahoo logo over the last few years, replacing it with the red block letter "C" logo.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office stripped the NFL's Washington Redskins of its trademark last week and called the team name a "racial slur." The Redskins are appealing the landmark ruling. People Not Mascots is looking for similar action against the Indians

philfree · 06-26-2014, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reerun_KC

Yep, so suck it.

Edit, if you come to CP to find an authority on anything you have some deep physiological issues that can only be cured by seeing Dr Phil.

And who should you see for stupid?

06-25-2014, 11:01 PM
BigRedChief Has a particular set of skills Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: On the water Casino cash: $2839627 VARSITY	Woman behind the Redskins name change says the Chiefs should be on guard The fight took a monumental shift at a protest nine years at Arrowhead Stadium and it’s about to come full circle. No matter what you think of the issue, it will soon be ubiquitous in and around Kansas City’s greatest obsession other than barbecue. The Chiefs are aware of it, and are preparing accordingly. Back in 2005, a group calling itself Not In Our Honor protested before the Chiefs played Washington. The protesters were predominately American Indians, united in their anger over what they perceived as offensive stereotypes passed off as nicknames for sports teams. An older woman, Suzan Harjo, one of the leaders of the protest, met a younger woman named Amanda Blackhorse, then a student at Kansas. They bonded over their passion for the issue, and that’s how the case known as Blackhorse et al v. Pro-Football Inc. came to be. Last week the plaintiffs prevailed when the United States Patent and Trademark Office canceled the trademarks of the Washington Redskins. The case is under appeal, but you should know that the woman who took on and (at least for the moment) defeated the corporate entity that owns Washington’s NFL team would like to see the same type of case brought against the Chiefs. As she says, the spark that started back in 2005 at Arrowhead has created a fire that will probably soon return. “What happens there, it’s just insane the things they allow to go on,” Blackhorse says of the Chiefs and Arrowhead. “They are definitely in the group (of offensive teams), for sure.” For now, the Chiefs are publicly silent on this. But they know the fight is likely coming, and they hope a few things work in their favor — most notably that it’s tough to compare their nickname with the one in Washington that is a dictionary-defined racial slur. Blackhorse’s group has also protested baseball’s Cleveland Indians, and that team has greatly scaled back its use of the cartoonish Chief Wahoo logo. The Chiefs have similarly scaled back some of their more obvious plays on Indian stereotypes, and they hope they have some other advantages when the fight comes. The team is named after H. Roe Bartle, the mayor who was key in Kansas City landing the team from Dallas in 1962. Bartle’s nickname was “The Chief.” The team stopped using a man dressed in traditional headgear as a mascot during pregame festivities many years ago. In the early 1990s, many of the Chiefs’ defensive players posed for a poster that today both looks absolutely ridiculous and would never be recreated. The team does, however, play the tomahawk chop during games and welcomes fans in headgear and other stereotypes of Native American dress. Those are some of the parts of the game day experience that Blackhorse calls “insane,” and why she expects a fight that’s gaining momentum and support nationally to come to Kansas City. She knows that the vast majority of Chiefs fans will oppose her, but she also knows that the vast majority of fans in Washington opposed her, as well. She says there is “no middle ground with this issue,” that once an ethnic group is used as a nickname for a sports team, the people in that ethic group lose control of their identity and humanity. “I don’t want people to think I’m going around pointing fingers, like, ‘You’re a racist, you’re a racist, you’re a racist,’ ” she says. “That’s not the point. The point is we’re offended. You can love Native Americans to death. You can have admiration, love what we do, how we are, whatever, and still (hijack) our culture without understanding it that way.” Wherever you stand on this issue, there is no denying that Blackhorse’s side is making progress. Teams are sensitive to and aware of perpetuating stereotypes so much more than in the past, in response to public sentiment. The issue is further complicated by context, that this is a fight centered around Indians, who make up about 1 percent of the nation’s population and who, in Blackhorse’s words, “are invisible sometimes to people.” That makes getting the message out a bit more difficult. A group of people that feels offended by widespread stereotyping isn’t big enough to get critical mass on its own. That’s why Blackhorse says the movement needs the help of non-Indians, and part of why she’s so encouraged by developments in Congress and with the trademark case. There is a lot of momentum here, which can be dangerous for teams like the Chiefs that will likely soon find themselves directly in the fight. “I’m not sure there’s anything the (Chiefs) can do at this point other than look for another name,” Blackhorse says. “They could be the team that says, ‘You know what? We understand the issue and we don’t want to be Dan Snyder and fight this in court forever. We want to do the right thing and move forward and avoid this entire battle.’ I’m sure fans will be upset, but still, that’s doing the right thing. “If they want to be sensitive to Native American people, that’s the thing to do.” Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt...#storylink=cpy Early 90's
Posts: 79,234

06-26-2014, 08:44 AM	#122
KCUnited Cheat Death Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Land of Drincoln Casino cash: $1988244	Your choice to be offended. /chiefs pr
Posts: 34,079

06-26-2014, 08:46 AM	#123
Garcia Bronco No Keys, No Problem Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Denver Casino cash: $5023136	I don't know what I find more amusing these ladies or the fact the Native Americans did not call their leaders Chiefs. It's a ****ing french word that means leader. On top of that it's been in use since the 1500s..long before Europeans colonized north american. So that savages don't own it and have no right to be offended by it and I am no longer listening to these...fanatics.
Posts: 30,965

06-26-2014, 09:09 AM	#127
Andoverer Good dog Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Andover KS Casino cash: $9752653	If a name change causes the KC Chiefs er the KC Whatevers to win ten Superbowls in a row, I'd be all over it. If not then LEAVE IT ALONE.
Posts: 1,383

06-26-2014, 09:21 AM	#130
Amnorix In BB I trust Join Date: May 2003 Location: Boston, Mass. Casino cash: $10029808	I'm glad all the revolutionary war soldiers are dead or my guys would be in trouble too... __________________ "I love signature blocks on the Internet. I get to put whatever the hell I want in quotes, pick a pretend author, and bang, it's like he really said it." George Washington
Posts: 43,125

06-26-2014, 09:23 AM	#131
blaise In Search of a Life Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Plano, TX Casino cash: $9999900	Nothing will come of it because there will basically be no public support. Almost no one will agree that Chiefs is offensive or a slur. I bet this has more to do with her wanting to keep attention on herself after the Redskins change their name. She likes being a hero for a cause.
Posts: 22,188

06-26-2014, 09:29 AM	#134
Marco Polo Veteran Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: 41°59.4′N 87°39.6'W Casino cash: $5708908	It probably deserves it's own thread but since it's a similar topic, I'll put it in here: http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-...st-the-indians A Native American group is planning to file a $9 billion federal lawsuit against the Cleveland Indians and their "offensive" Chief Wahoo logo, according to CBS Cleveland. The suit is expected to be filed next month. Here's more from CBS Cleveland: Robert Roche, a Chiricahua Apache and director of the American Indian Education Center, is planning to file a federal lawsuit in late July against the Cleveland Indians organization. Roche, who is also the leader of the group People Not Mascots, says the lawsuit will challenge that the team's name and Chief Wahoo logo are racist. “We're going to be asking for $9 billion and we're basing it on a hundred years of disparity, racism, exploitation and profiteering,” Roche told WEWS-TV. “It's been offensive since day one. We are not mascots. My children are not mascots. We are people.” Local supporters of the Chief Wahoo logo say it is only a small minority of people who are offended by the logo. “If just a small amount of people are against it, than I think you're doing a disservice to people that like it,” Bob Rosen, president of the Wahoo Club, tells WEWS. He added that thousands of Indians fans embrace Chief Wahoo as a loyal and friendly symbol. “I'm not insensitive to the issue, but our 1,650 members of the Wahoo Club, anytime we have a Wahoo Club item they but it up they love it,” Rosen said. “Can you imagine the baseball team in this city not being called the Cleveland Indians? I can't picture that.” The Indians have been gradually phasing out the Chief Wahoo logo over the last few years, replacing it with the red block letter "C" logo. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office stripped the NFL's Washington Redskins of its trademark last week and called the team name a "racial slur." The Redskins are appealing the landmark ruling. People Not Mascots is looking for similar action against the Indians
Posts: 2,508