I think it's important that "just a white guy" tells people (especially white people) what's racist. I live and teach in the D.C. area, and one of the teachers at my school spoke at an assembly about her Indigenous identity, and pleaded with everyone to understand why calling the Washington team by their racist name was painful for her, why seeing students and faculty in the hallway wearing the gear on game day, was painful for her. She had tears in her eyes. She didn't have to stand up before us and do that, but she did, and STILL there were young white students (mostly boys) showing up in gear in the weeks and months following her speech. The only thing that made a difference actually was when our white male administrator changed the dress code policy so students would no longer be allowed to wear that gear, and when he encouraged a family to leave the school because they refused to follow the new policy. It's about power, right? Students didn't listen to our Indigenous faculty, but they had no choice but to listen to our main white guy. We've all got to do this work together.
It's heartbreaking but true. It is about power. It should matter that Indigenous groups and individuals themselves say "change the mascot" but until White Kansas City fans say the same en masse, the system won't move.
One of the only fights I’ve had w another openly vocal and political feminist, was because I commented that if we wanted any chance of advancing feminism, we had to get white men on board because they have all the power. She was more the build a True Mateiarchy type and didn’t want men having any say - which I understand and couldnpontificate about for hours.
Reminds me of when Biden first won and people mused about how much might change if he died in office (because he’s old - not for nefarious reasons) and that meant we had a black womxn in charge.
So sad that we know/believe all the power still resides with and is bestowed from white men.
There is a level of ignorance among so many white people of middle age and older that isn't cruel or even particularly willful – it's just there and it's deep. I encountered a woman last week in Fort Benton, Montana; I suspect she was in her 70s. I had done a presentation the night before for adults and was doing two more for elementary kids this following morning. She was asking about mascots and I said they were always offensive and wrong if non-Indian teams used them. She asked about the K.C. Chiefs and I said yes, that is particularly egregious. Her answer, and I could almost see her cognitive synapses sparking and shorting out, was to say, "But we've been doing it so long!" as if that makes it okay and it was utterly unfathomable to her that it needs to change. She then followed up re: where she grew up (or currently lives, I couldn't quite figure out the distinction because my own cognitive synapses were beginning to misfire), how they were called the Warriors, and that it seemed to be okay even though "there are so many Indians there." The town is Brockton. I said, "That's on the Fort Peck Reservation though, isn't it?" and she said, "No, I don't think so."
It is.
How could she not know that if she has any connection to the town at all? How would you describe that ignorance?
Anyway. You may see the delightful "Warrior Weekly Update" right here if you care to. I enjoyed it.
Also, I now am officially a fan of the Brockton Weekly Warrior Report (also: shout out to the school district for actually rotating in step, fry bread, Indian tacos and June Berry soup into the lunch menu).
The ignorance of the comfortable? When someone says to me "but we've been doing it for so long," I think of how their traditions have kept them comfortable (at the expense of others) and in community (with others who have privilege and power, and at the exclusion of others). But yes, misfiring of cognitive synapses all around.
I remember a UIUC board member saying, about Chief Illinwek, “It’s an honor. We respect OUR chief”, in defense of the board’s refusal to consider dropped that mascot.
Just delightful. (And we are so privileged sitting ‘on top of the pile’ that we can comfortably listen only to our own privileged voices and never ask or hear those we claim to respect?!?) arrgghhh.
Thank you for weighing in here. I have really been enjoying your own newsletter, and I’m always happy when I get to read your perspective over here too.
A great documentary to watch on this is called “In Who’s Honor.” Until every team changes their name to something appropriate, that documentary is still relevant.
Late to the game (ha!) on this but this was a typical slam dunk (ha!) from you.
I recently attended an ice hockey game in Chicago and before I went, I looked into the name of the team (because, you know, it seems to be an honorific to an actual person) but nope, they're named after the US Army battalion of the same name, which the original owner was in during WWI. The obvious hypocrisy of naming a military group after an Indigenous hero (who, you know, fought against said Army) aside, I was amazed at how many Indigenous groups in/around Chicago have called for a name change. Like, that team name has flown waaaaay under the radar with compared to the level of critique provided to it, and I think it's the exact reasons you gave (i.e. it's been around for a long time, it's not as blatant, etc.) And plus, NHL visibility is much lower than NFL / MLB.
The weird part is, the team did an actual, honest-to-goodness Land Acknowledgement before the game. One of the best, most honest Acknowledgements I've seen outside of activist circles. Like, amazing video production and everything. And I'm left thinking "wow if I hadn't done this research, I would think that Native groups support of all this." How many other Chicagoans have gone to a game and assumed the same? I asked my friend and he said he thought it was similar to the Seminoles and FSU (who have previously supported keeping the name as it helps their visibility to the rest of the US). He was shocked when I showed him my research. It just felt so banal in the racism.
ALL of that to say -- I wonder how much of all this is just plain ol' ignorance? How do we get neutral folk interested in understanding the links between White Supremacy and mascots? And then how about actual fans who care more about the *emotional* attachment than just the name on the jersey and could push owners to make the change?
I do think that there could be an organized group of Blackhawks fans who could get some attention here. I also believe that there's got to be a lot of folks who assume that it's a tribute to the actual guy (I mean, their logo is his picture) and that, with the land acknowledgement and all that, that the team is doing ok. That's not to say there aren't a lot of fans who probably know full well and still support it, but organizing of course is never about convincing every single person who has a relationship to something oppressive-- it's building power.
Only came across this today and the origin of the KC Chief's mascot about floored me. I had no idea the Pretendian Mayor is where this started. Thanks!
Thanks for reading it. I'm learning a lot about the place where my maternal great-grandparents homesteaded on land where the Kah-bay-kah-nong band of Ojibway had lived for centuries. I look forward to the release of your new book which is how I learned you were here on Substack.
I think it's important that "just a white guy" tells people (especially white people) what's racist. I live and teach in the D.C. area, and one of the teachers at my school spoke at an assembly about her Indigenous identity, and pleaded with everyone to understand why calling the Washington team by their racist name was painful for her, why seeing students and faculty in the hallway wearing the gear on game day, was painful for her. She had tears in her eyes. She didn't have to stand up before us and do that, but she did, and STILL there were young white students (mostly boys) showing up in gear in the weeks and months following her speech. The only thing that made a difference actually was when our white male administrator changed the dress code policy so students would no longer be allowed to wear that gear, and when he encouraged a family to leave the school because they refused to follow the new policy. It's about power, right? Students didn't listen to our Indigenous faculty, but they had no choice but to listen to our main white guy. We've all got to do this work together.
It's heartbreaking but true. It is about power. It should matter that Indigenous groups and individuals themselves say "change the mascot" but until White Kansas City fans say the same en masse, the system won't move.
One of the only fights I’ve had w another openly vocal and political feminist, was because I commented that if we wanted any chance of advancing feminism, we had to get white men on board because they have all the power. She was more the build a True Mateiarchy type and didn’t want men having any say - which I understand and couldnpontificate about for hours.
Reminds me of when Biden first won and people mused about how much might change if he died in office (because he’s old - not for nefarious reasons) and that meant we had a black womxn in charge.
So sad that we know/believe all the power still resides with and is bestowed from white men.
Yes, sad. But hopefully not forever. Power can be wrested from someone or it can be shared or handed over.
Both of your points are so, so well put.
There is a level of ignorance among so many white people of middle age and older that isn't cruel or even particularly willful – it's just there and it's deep. I encountered a woman last week in Fort Benton, Montana; I suspect she was in her 70s. I had done a presentation the night before for adults and was doing two more for elementary kids this following morning. She was asking about mascots and I said they were always offensive and wrong if non-Indian teams used them. She asked about the K.C. Chiefs and I said yes, that is particularly egregious. Her answer, and I could almost see her cognitive synapses sparking and shorting out, was to say, "But we've been doing it so long!" as if that makes it okay and it was utterly unfathomable to her that it needs to change. She then followed up re: where she grew up (or currently lives, I couldn't quite figure out the distinction because my own cognitive synapses were beginning to misfire), how they were called the Warriors, and that it seemed to be okay even though "there are so many Indians there." The town is Brockton. I said, "That's on the Fort Peck Reservation though, isn't it?" and she said, "No, I don't think so."
It is.
How could she not know that if she has any connection to the town at all? How would you describe that ignorance?
Anyway. You may see the delightful "Warrior Weekly Update" right here if you care to. I enjoyed it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPoep65SJUc&t=10s
There are so many layers (of denial, of almost-realization, of turning-away-from-that-almost-realization) in that "but we've been doing it so long!"
Also, I now am officially a fan of the Brockton Weekly Warrior Report (also: shout out to the school district for actually rotating in step, fry bread, Indian tacos and June Berry soup into the lunch menu).
The ignorance of the comfortable? When someone says to me "but we've been doing it for so long," I think of how their traditions have kept them comfortable (at the expense of others) and in community (with others who have privilege and power, and at the exclusion of others). But yes, misfiring of cognitive synapses all around.
I remember a UIUC board member saying, about Chief Illinwek, “It’s an honor. We respect OUR chief”, in defense of the board’s refusal to consider dropped that mascot.
Just delightful. (And we are so privileged sitting ‘on top of the pile’ that we can comfortably listen only to our own privileged voices and never ask or hear those we claim to respect?!?) arrgghhh.
The board also rejected the term mascot for the chief, insisting that blatant caricature was a tribute.
Thank you for weighing in here. I have really been enjoying your own newsletter, and I’m always happy when I get to read your perspective over here too.
A great documentary to watch on this is called “In Who’s Honor.” Until every team changes their name to something appropriate, that documentary is still relevant.
This T-shirt company here put out a shirt that said “Kansas City: Put Some Respect on Our Name” after they won the Super Bowl. I wonder if they realized the irony?? https://twitter.com/RAYGUNshirts/status/1624980818857795584
I absolutely agree with Thu Nguyen - it is important that a white guy speaks up about this issue.
I have not seen the documentary but am amped to check it out. And yikes to that Raygun shirt (ugh, a company I have had a lot of respect for).
Hahaha realized I spelled it wrong “Whose” not “Who’s”
I try to cultivate a typo-friendly space in these discussion threads (by making a lot of typos)
Late to the game (ha!) on this but this was a typical slam dunk (ha!) from you.
I recently attended an ice hockey game in Chicago and before I went, I looked into the name of the team (because, you know, it seems to be an honorific to an actual person) but nope, they're named after the US Army battalion of the same name, which the original owner was in during WWI. The obvious hypocrisy of naming a military group after an Indigenous hero (who, you know, fought against said Army) aside, I was amazed at how many Indigenous groups in/around Chicago have called for a name change. Like, that team name has flown waaaaay under the radar with compared to the level of critique provided to it, and I think it's the exact reasons you gave (i.e. it's been around for a long time, it's not as blatant, etc.) And plus, NHL visibility is much lower than NFL / MLB.
The weird part is, the team did an actual, honest-to-goodness Land Acknowledgement before the game. One of the best, most honest Acknowledgements I've seen outside of activist circles. Like, amazing video production and everything. And I'm left thinking "wow if I hadn't done this research, I would think that Native groups support of all this." How many other Chicagoans have gone to a game and assumed the same? I asked my friend and he said he thought it was similar to the Seminoles and FSU (who have previously supported keeping the name as it helps their visibility to the rest of the US). He was shocked when I showed him my research. It just felt so banal in the racism.
ALL of that to say -- I wonder how much of all this is just plain ol' ignorance? How do we get neutral folk interested in understanding the links between White Supremacy and mascots? And then how about actual fans who care more about the *emotional* attachment than just the name on the jersey and could push owners to make the change?
I do think that there could be an organized group of Blackhawks fans who could get some attention here. I also believe that there's got to be a lot of folks who assume that it's a tribute to the actual guy (I mean, their logo is his picture) and that, with the land acknowledgement and all that, that the team is doing ok. That's not to say there aren't a lot of fans who probably know full well and still support it, but organizing of course is never about convincing every single person who has a relationship to something oppressive-- it's building power.
You hit another one out of the park, my friend. I hope you’re doing your touchdown dance.
(I know. Wrong sport but sports metaphors are tough for me and still kind of fun to do as “mixed metaphors.” 😂😂
You got the sport right!!!
And thank you!
This was a great column...but I feel like JJ, TJ, and Derek Watt deserve some consideration in your top five sports brothers list
Oh that's a good addition. Love the Watts.
Great post. Thank you.
Thanks!
Only came across this today and the origin of the KC Chief's mascot about floored me. I had no idea the Pretendian Mayor is where this started. Thanks!
I've been writing about hockey not football and you might find this pertinent to the conversation. https://jillswenson.substack.com/p/warroad-warrior
This was really excellent! I learned a ton from it, thanks!
Thanks for reading it. I'm learning a lot about the place where my maternal great-grandparents homesteaded on land where the Kah-bay-kah-nong band of Ojibway had lived for centuries. I look forward to the release of your new book which is how I learned you were here on Substack.