An interesting piece of news came over the wire Monday evening: ownership of the Washington Redskins, er Commanders, management has agreed to un-cancel the Redskins logo that had served the team admirably from 1972 to 2020. In 1971, Blackfeet Tribal Chairman Walter “Blackie” Wetzel felt the “R” on Redskins’ helmets was not a proper representation for the American Indian. He took action on his beliefs by sorting through a number of photographs. From these, he selected a portrait of Piegan Blackfeet Chief John “Two Guns” White Calf and presented it to Redskins management. That photo is in the photograph of Wetzel with Robert F. Kennedy. An artist was assigned to adapt the image to logo form.
Some claim the head on the Buffalo Nickel was used as the model. Others claim White Calf was also the model for the nickel. White Calf’s profile is shown next to the logo on a football helmet. I’m no expert in such matters but the logo sure looks like it was modeled after White Calf and the Buffalo Nickel as well. That would make sense if White Calf was the model for the nickel, too.
The logo created was put in use in 1972 and lasted until 2020, when activists associated with the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), a George Soros-funded organization, successfully got it and the team’s name and logo discontinued. Activists have gone to great lengths to memory-hole the logo, including not allowing it to be used on throw-back jerseys. Television networks have gone so fat as to blur out the logo when running films of old games.
The purge hasn’t been received well by both football fans and Native American groups. The Native American Guardians Association (NAGA) has been fighting for some time to get the team’s name changed and the logo returned to usage. Descendants of Wetzel and White Calf have been arguing for the logo’s reinstatement. One response from the current team owners was to create a memorial to Blackie Wetzel on the third floor of Northwest Stadium, formerly FedEx Field. That may not last long because the owners want to remove to Washington, DC proper by building a new stadium where old RFK still stands.
created for the memorial
Their plans have hit a snag due to being in the Federal district controlled by the U. S. Government. Senator Steve Daines of Montana had been opposing the project until Monday. As residents of his state, he has supported the Blackfeet in having the logo un-canceled. Resurrecting the logo is far from getting the team name restored but it is a step in that direction.
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