Blackfeet Chief's Descendants Fight to Restore Redskins Name & Logo
Blackfeet Chief's descendants fight to restore Washington Redskins name and logo
The descendants of the Blackfeet chief who inspired the former Washington NFL team's logo are now fighting to restore the Redskins name and image that were removed in 2020 because it was deemed a slur.
Chief Two Guns White Calf was born on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and inspired the team's mascot. The logo was created in 1971 by Walter "Blackie" Wetzel to honor the chief.
"He was such a leader and he had a hold on the National Football League for 50 years," Morningstar Gopher said.
Washington Redskins name and logo
Native American activist groups fought to have the "Redskins" name removed, but descendants of the chief say the former logo brings a lot of pride — and that they want him to be remembered, not erased.
"They tried to erase us, like we didn't exist anymore," estate lead Kenneth Conway said.
The descendants of the chief claim their thoughts weren't even considered when the movement behind changing the team's logo and name began.
"They did not even ask our family for approval. They didn't ask for nothing from us. I mean, we literally got erased," historian Brock Conway said.
Gopher decided to rally other direct descendants of the chief, like herself, to make the change they want to see.
"We're hopeful for a meeting with President Trump in order to help get this pushed forward," Gopher said.
Along with attorney Denise Rosado, the estate is hoping to restore the former name, the logo of the chief, and get the team stadium renamed after their grandfather.
"It would be a big win in his pocket in terms of helping the Native people in securing the first-ever NFL stadium named after a Native American," Gopher said.
The family says that restoration of their grandfather's image and name would be a huge win for everyone.
"There's a lot of diehard Redskins fans down in Washington, D.C.," Gopher said.
"This would be a win-win, I think, for everybody. It would be a win-win for the family because it would be so honored and the history of their ancestors," Rosado said.
The family hopes to have a seat with the team to discuss the importance of restoring the former mascot soon.
"We symbolize him with honor by, you know putting his picture on our walls," Brock Conway said.
This story was originally published by Grace Stewart with the Scripps News Group in Montana.
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JustInTime wrote:
I’m guessing at one point if you owned another human, or if you framed that person as 3/5th of a human, ya might be racist. But, do go on.
The 3/5 clause was a compromise to ratify the constitution. Without it the Southern states were willing to break up the union. The north wanted it united.
Many founders did not believe in slavery. Jefferson put in "all men created equal" in the constitution for that reason. Britain (mostly white Christian) was the first country to abolish slavery. United States (mostly white Christian) was the second.
In the 1600 an American man named Anthony Johnson (black) owned many slaves and was a rich man. What does that make him?
Africans were captured by Africans and sold to Muslims who sold Africans around the world... slavery has been around for a long time. In African and Middle east slavery is still happening to this day. The Ottoman empire (Turkey) cut off the gentiles of there slaves.
Every country in the history of the world has been slaves or owned slaves. How does that fit into being a racist?
2026 a woman can claim my body may choice on the rights of another human with a separate DNA and kill it. Baby is not even afforded 3/5.
The Queers for Palestine does not make you gay.. The point is Muslims forbid homosexuals and often kill or punish them.
The expression "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" Is a call to eradicate Israel. This has been the case since Abraham had Ishmael and Jacob.
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