Chiefs staying course despite Cleveland Indians’ name change
When the Washington Football Team retired the original club nickname and logo in 2020, we predicted that attention could soon turn to the Kansas City Chiefs franchise. Now, with the Cleveland Indians announcing that they’ll become the Cleveland Guardians in 2022, the conversation about the Chiefs’ nickname as it relates to American Indian imagery has reemerged.
Speaking with reporters ahead of the open of Chiefs training camp, team president Mark Donovan spoke on the subject. He confirmed that the club has engaged in constant conversations regarding the ‘Chiefs’ nickname, but at this time the organization has no plans to change that nickname.
“We have a really good American Indian working group that provides us real guidance and feedback — perspective on this issue,” Donovan explained. “Obviously, we knew about the Cleveland decision a year plus ago, so we knew this was going to happen. [It] doesn’t really change our approach. We’re going to continue to create opportunities to educate, create awareness and work exactly as we have over the past eight years now with the working group. We’ve expanded our working group, to get more voices. As I’ve said before, one of the things you find within the American Indian community, which is not unlike any community, is there are divergent views. You’re going to find someone who believes one thing and someone who believes just as strongly in the other. That’s true within the American Indian community. It’s also true when it comes to these issues.”
Education around American Indian culture has been a big goal for the Chiefs organization lately. They’ve continued to educate through demonstration, holding the Blessing of the Four Directions and the Blessing of the Drum at Arrowhead Stadium. They also announced a formalized educational program surrounding American Indian culture for fans and members of the greater Kansas City community.
A tradition that has come under fire at times is the franchise’s pre-game drum ceremony. Last season, Kansas City revealed plans to modify their “drum deck” to better represent the spiritual significance of the drum in American Indian cultures. Donovan spoke on some of the discussions that the team has had surrounding the drum and the process they went through to maintain that feature in Arrowhead Stadium.
“You know, when you talk to the American Indian working group about the drum, it’s a really strong point of pride for them,” Donovan said. “If you even have the conversation, ‘Should we thinking about removing the drum or doing something different?’ They get pretty emotional about what it is. And I go back to the story I’ve told before. And when we started the drum, I didn’t know. We, as an organization didn’t know what the drum represented within their community —within their culture. And they educated us. And then we did, we took the steps — the right steps, which they guided us on, to bless the drum, to treat it in a respectful way, and to use that opportunity to educate people as to what the drum really means in their culture.”
One area where the organization has shown a willingness to make changes is with some of the American Indian imagery that has previously been associated with the franchise. They’ve had continued conversations surrounding ‘The Chop’ and its use at their games. In 2020, the team announced a formal ban on American Indian-stylized face paint and headdresses worn at their games.
On Monday, Donovan announced new plans for another change coming this season. The team intends to eliminate the running of ‘Warpaint’ (an American-Indian-themed horse mascot) from their pre-game activities. ‘Warpaint’ has been with the franchise since its inception, but was a tradition previously retired in 1989. The franchise brought it back in 2009 for the 50th anniversary of the team. As it turns out, the tradition should have stayed retired.
“So, we made some significant changes last year, which we are proud of, and we believe were the right things to do,” Donovan said. “Over the last probably, year and a half, we’ve looked at some changes. One we’re going to implement this year. We feel like the time to retire ‘Warpaint.’ There are a lot of reasons for that, but we just feel like it’s the right thing to do. So ‘Warpaint’ won’t be running at Arrowhead anymore.”
If one thing was made clear by Donovan today, the Chiefs are comfortable continuing down the path they’re currently on, placing emphasis on education and awareness. They’ll also continue to make changes as they see fit, but those changes will be informed by continued dialogue with their American Indian working group and other members of the American Indian community.
“We’ll continue the conversations, we’ll continue to take the path that we’ve taken,” Donovan said. “As I said, educating ourselves, educating our fans, and creating opportunities to create awareness.”
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Pre-training camp 53-man roster projection for Chiefs
