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.
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
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.
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.
Thanks!
–Christopher Kilner, The Woape Foundation
Sources:
1. "Native Americans are protesting Kansas City Chiefs ahead of Super Bowl," Axios, February 9, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/170449?t=8&akid=344830%2E40999114%2EcBGD02
2. "Study finds only negative effects from Native-themed mascots," Indian Country Today, June 15, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/170444?t=10&akid=344830%2E40999114%2EcBGD02
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