They are coming for the chop too

[BigRedChief]

The Kansas City Chiefs’ racist “Arrowhead Chop” has flown under the radar. Not anymore. The Kansas City Chiefs’ chant isn’t a tribute to people like me. It’s racist.

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Spoiler!

A self-described lifelong Kansas City Chiefs fan once asked me the meaning of the words that are sung as the crowd performs the “Arrowhead Chop” at Chiefs games, the beloved fan chant made up of a series of literal “oh oh oh”s.

“They don’t mean anything,” I told him, disgusted and annoyed.

“Really, nothing at all?”

My face got hot and I could feel my heart beating fast in my chest. “Nothing,” I repeated.

This is just one example of the uncomfortable situations I deal with as an Acoma Pueblo woman living in the Kansas City area.

This year, my city’s NFL football team, the Chiefs, will be playing San Francisco in the Super Bowl. It has been a 50-year wait for the team, and from the looks of it, they are the favorite to win. Unfortunately, that also means the Arrowhead Chop will be broadcast on millions of screens across the nation, along with fans in headdresses and all that comes with having a team that has a Native American mascot. For years, the national conversation around offensive team mascots that stereotype Native American culture has focused on the Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Indians, while Kansas City’s Chiefs flew under the radar.

Not anymore.

As an educator at Haskell Indian Nations University — the only four-year university for federally-recognized Native tribes — I have done many presentations on the misconceptions about Native American people and the terrible stereotypes that are reinforced by sport mascots like the Chiefs. And every single time it is traumatic to go over the massacres, racism, and genocide carried out against the people indigenous to this country. It is also getting exhausting.

This is the unsanitized truth about American history you probably weren’t taught in school alongside stories of the “noble savage” or fables about peaceful dinners between Natives and Pilgrims on Thanksgiving: European settlers mercilessly raided and killed our people. My own people, the Acoma, Haaku, were attacked by Spanish conquistadors seeking retaliation for an earlier fight that resulted in the deaths of 12 conquistadors. As punishment, they took the right foot of men over the age of 25. They stole many of our women and sold them off as slaves in Mexico. This is not the only massacre rarely taught in schools. There were many California tribes that were decimated due to the gold rush of the mid-1800s. The San Francisco football team, the 49ers, is a direct reference to this period of history.

Today, erasure and oppression of Natives only continues. The movement of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, #MMIW, has been going on for years, but the media mostly ignored it until the killing of pregnant Savanna Grey Wind and the taking of her baby in North Dakota in 2017. Meanwhile, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has reported murder as the third leading cause of death for American Indian Women and Alaskan Natives between the ages of 10-24. In 2016, according to an Urban Indian Health Institute report, there were 5,712 cases of missing American Indian and Alaskan Native women. Of that total, only 116 were logged into the Department of Justice database.

Then there is the fact that Native Americans are killed in police encounters at a higher rate than any other racial or ethnic group, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Where is that story being told?

The historical traumas Native Americans face have manifested through loss of our people and the loss of our land. And while we have been told by dominant society to “get over it” and to assimilate, all we Native people want to do is remember and honor those who gave their lives so we could be here. We don’t need to be reminded that general American society is so disinterested in, and disrespectful of, our culture that they choose to perform nonsense chants, while costumed in our clothes, to minimize our entire race into a goofy caricature for sport.

Too many people don’t care about Native Americans unless they can use our likeness for their companies, cars, or costumes. Many people don’t see the Native headdress unless they are at KC or Washington football games, Halloween parties, or music festivals.

So many of the images used in the Kansas City games — the arrowhead, which is specifically Native American; the horse called “War Paint” they prance around the field before the game; the beating drums; and that tomahawk chop — are used in disrespectful and often bastardized contexts. For example, Native people respect the drum, and that drum is never used in the presence of alcohol. War Paint is used to mark our horses and warriors to protect them. Using our cultural ways to “pump up” your team is disrespectful and racist.

I met a man a couple of months ago in Lawrence, Kansas, who was a member of the Boy Scouts of America’s Tribe of Mic-o-Say, whose members dress up as Native Americans and do powwow dances. The Mic-o-Say are based in Missouri and eastern Kansas and state their mission is “to make ethical choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Scout Law.” The group was founded by H. Roe Bartle, a white man whose Scout moniker “Chief Lone Bear” gave the Kansas City football team its name.

The man I spoke to was also a military veteran. He refused to believe that his dressing up as a Native American is cultural appropriation, instead saying the clothing and dances “honor” Native Americans by continuing their traditions.

I asked him how he feels about people who pretend to be veterans when they are not. That is what the Native headdress equates to: Chiefs went to battle and earned it, much like the medals military veterans earn. But he refused to see the correlation.

It saddens me that the city I work in continues to celebrate the racist “tomahawk chop.” I have heard it at concerts, in commercials for grocery stores. I love Kansas City, especially its diversity. I also worry that this tradition will find another audience of young people who perpetuate it without realizing what it is doing to erase the Native Americans living here.

As part of my classes teaching mass communication, we talk not just about the true history of Native Americans and the impact of stereotypes, but also how we can fix this. Educating students about Native people needs to be a priority in school systems nationwide; educators need to emphasize the real, unsanitized history of how Indigenous people were treated and the problems associated with demeaning stereotypes. Native people need to be included in larger conversations as actual people, not just as entertainment during sports games.

I only hope people will understand this is not about being “politically correct.” It is about understanding and respecting the horrible history our ancestors were subjected to and the policies enacted by the US government to erase our Native identity.

Maybe it is time to start a new tradition of treating all people, including Native Americans, as human beings.

This essay is adapted from commentary in the The Kansas City Star and on KansasCity.com.

Rhonda LeValdo teaches media communications at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas.

https://www.vox.com/first-person/202...fs-kansas-city


KC Star:
https://www.kansascity.com/sports/sp...244153762.html


Kansas City Magazine:
https://www.kansascitymag.com/is-the...s-who-you-ask/

Twitter has its own hashtag
https://mobile.twitter.com/chopisracist

NY Times: Stop the Chop
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/29/s...hawk-chop.html

[007]

Ok

[RunKC]

Clark’s gonna be pissed when they come for the beating of the drum after he spent a pretty penny to make that awesome drum deck

[Bwana]

Ignore them. If you want to do the chop, do the chop.

[Spott]

Sometimes I hear it and think it’s kind of corny, but I do love hearing the chop during road games and hearing it at the Super Bowl was amazing.

[OrtonsPiercedTaint]

Fight for your to right to party will sell more stadium beer.

[Chiefaholic]

I'm part Irish.... That's right. **** your Lucky Charms, beyotch. I'm offended because.... Well, I don't know. But, I'm definitely offended about something.

[OrtonsPiercedTaint]

The Missouri and Kansan Indians may not be happy with Jackson county anyway.

[Chiefaholic]

Who were the tribes they brought in a few years ago for input on the drum and what-not?

[BlackOp]

In fairness...the "chop" didn't do shit for the Chiefs in 50 years.

[displacedinMN]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

Isn’t Kansas City named after native Americans?

Half of everything is.


Mohawk carpet is next.

Then anything with the word 'white' in it.

[sedated]

That article was clearly before the Super Bowl, so 6 months old?

Everyone has lost their minds and its so tiring. Not only the people writing these click bait opinions, but also the people screaming about how they are losing everything they love.

[Hydrae]

https://www.chiefs.com/news/chiefs-c...l-tribes-x4607

Tuesday, Dec 03, 2019 11:53 AM


Chiefs Celebrate American Indian Heritage Month by Honoring Local Tribes

Matt McMullen



The Kansas City Chiefs celebrated American Indian Heritage Month for a sixth-consecutive year at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday as part of the Chiefs' ongoing commitment to honoring the Native community.

Representatives from several different tribes were on hand for a number of pregame and in-game events dedicated to observing Native American culture and educating the fans in attendance.

The event existed through a collaboration between the Chiefs and the American Indian Community Working Group, which serves as a liaison for the Native community and as an advisor to the Chiefs in order to promote an awareness and understanding of Native cultures and tribes in the region.

The ceremony began with the Blessing of the Four Directions, led by Fred Thomas from the Kickapoo Nation of Kansas in the way of their people. The blessing was meant to bring a sense of preparation and good spirit to the afternoon.

Following the blessing, Lakota Nation native Cody Hall performed a Drum Blessing before the Chief Hill Drum Group, from the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, participated in a ceremonial drum Honor Song so that the drum may be later sounded in the Chiefs' tradition.

A drum is much more than just a musical instrument in Native cultures – it holds significant symbolic power. Traditionally constructed from the hides of animals, the drum possesses a powerful spirit representing the life of the animal. The beating of the drum is symbolic of the heartbeat of the animal, uniting those in attendance with the animal's spirit.

After the Honor Song, the colors were presented by the Kansas Native American Color Guard as singer/songwriter Tabitha Fair, a member of the Chickasaw Nation, and Victoria Venier performed the National Anthem while each wearing No. 41 jerseys representing Chiefs' longsnapper James Winchester, who has Choctaw heritage in his family.

"That was pretty cool, I got to shake hands with them afterwards," Winchester said. "I think it's neat that the Chiefs recognize this. My grandma's side is where the Native blood comes from and I'm proud of it."

And for many back in Winchester's native Oklahoma, the five-year veteran serves as an inspiration for what individuals of Native heritage can achieve.

"I don't think I'm deserving of any status as a role model, but you know the people back home think it's cool and they follow me, and that makes it special," Winchester said. "I play this game because I love it, but to be somewhat of an inspiration for people back home is probably the coolest thing about this gig."

As kickoff neared, Chiefs Chairman & CEO Clark Hunt presented a No. 21 Jim Thorpe jersey to Justin Wood, the Principal Chief of the Sac and Fox Nation - which Thorpe was a member of - and two of Thorpe's granddaughters on the field. Thorpe was the first president of the NFL, and the presentation recognized the 100th anniversary of that achievement.

It all made for an educational morning that provided fans with a glimpse into Native cultures and traditions, and the festivities continued into the game itself.

U.S. Air Force and Vietnam War Veteran Jerry Tuckwin, who continues to be an active figure in the operations of the Prairie Band Potawatomi, served as the Lamar Hunt Legacy Seat honoree on Sunday while Special Olympian Bradley Tanner, a native of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, beat the drum as the Tony DiPardo Spirit Leader at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

It all represented a special relationship that was featured on the biggest of stages on Sunday, again demonstrating the Chiefs' commitment to learning from and celebrating the Native community.

[Jamie]

I never understood the logic in bringing back the horse and the drum. The first goal should be to protect the Chiefs name, and bringing in more native stuff just puts us more in the cross hairs.

The chop, I don't care that much. I've never felt comfortable doing it, but I don't see how you could realistically ban it. It's like when they tried to control crowd noise, it's just not going to work.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by Bwana

Ignore them. If you want to do the chop, do the chop.

fans will always do the chop. Whether the Chief's play the music, whether they bang the drum.

[R Clark]

Give an inch they will take a mile. Screw em