[ [link removed] ]Sign my petition: Change the Kansas City football team’s racist name
and imagery NOW!

Dear fellow MoveOn member,

As Kansas City plays for the Super Bowl championship, they should champion
respect and dignity for all. The truth is, Kansas City’s football team
name and imagery is rooted in a history of racist depictions of Native
people in America.

While the team ownership has tried to adjust, it's clear that it must
adopt a new name to break away from this offensive colonialist history,
now. Native people are not mascots; we are people, and we are still here.

[ [link removed] ]Will you rise in solidarity with Native people and sign my petition
demanding that the Kansas City football team change their racist name and
imagery?

[ [link removed] ][IMG]

There is a history of racist images, names, and tropes around sports
teams—and fortunately, team after team is recognizing that and changing
its ways. Football's Washington Commanders and baseball's Cleveland
Guardians are two recent examples of major sports teams listening to
Native people and fans, finally recognizing that they needed to change
their names, imagery, and culture, and doing so successfully.^1

It's time for Kansas City—with a team of stellar athletes heading to the
Super Bowl—to do the same and change the racist Kansas City football team
name and imagery.

[4]Sign my petition

The Kansas City team knows it has a problem. Over recent years, it has
adjusted its imagery, banned fans from donning war paint, and tried to
stifle "war chants" in their stadium in their efforts to confront racist,
misinformed, and offensive stereotypes.

Yet these behaviors persist, amplifying the harm, oppression, and
intergenerational trauma they cause. 

[ [link removed] ]Enough is enough. Kansas City must do the right thing and change their
racist team name and imagery NOW.

Leaders, historians, psychologists, and social scientists have concluded
that "Native mascots are part of a much larger web of phenomena that
contribute to oppression faced by Native Americans, and thus it seems
clear that these mascots should be eliminated."^2 That’s why it’s so
important to consult Native leaders and organizations who have been at the
forefront of these fights.

Kansas City has a rich and diverse history—and now it has a nationally
recognized football team. Words have power. Symbols have power. All racist
imagery—the team's name, logo, culture, and rituals—must be changed to
show respect for Native peoples. 

[ [link removed] ]Click here to add your name to my petition, and then pass it along to 3
friends to spread the word.

Thanks!

–Christopher Kilner, The Woape Foundation

Sources:

1. "Native Americans are protesting Kansas City Chiefs ahead of Super
Bowl," Axios, February 9, 2023
[link removed]

2. "Study finds only negative effects from Native-themed mascots," Indian
Country Today, June 15, 2020
[link removed]

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