“Killers of the Flower Moon” star actress Lily Gladstone recently pointed out in an interview how the team name of the San Francisco 49ers and a fan chant by the Kansas City Chiefs could be offensive to Native Americans. The Chiefs and 49ers recently met in the Super Bowl. The Chiefs won the game in overtime.
Lily Gladstone has an issue with two NFL nicknames
Many Americans are aware of how the Chiefs’ name could be offensive to Native Americans. However, the 49ers being a culturally insensitive name might come as a surprise to many people. Per Erin Keller with the New York Post, Gladstone said on Variety’s Award Circut podcast the 49ers have a problematic name:
“The 49ers are based on the California Gold Rush, which was an incredibly brutal time for California Indians. And then the Chiefs. There are many ways that you could interpret the name ‘chief.’ It’s not the name that bothers me. It’s hearing that d— Tomahawk chop.”
The “Tomahawk chop” is a gesture and chant Chiefs fans perform to show support for the team, by raising their arm up and down in a chopping motion.
“Every time, it’s a stark reminder of what Hollywood has done to us because the Tomahawk chop directly ties to the sounds of old Westerns where we were not playing ourselves, or if we were, we were merely backdrop actors,” Gladstone explained.
“It’s this ‘claiming’ of that sound and saying it’s in ‘honor’ and the commodification of who we are as people,” she added. “It’s great to love the game and your players, but it still hurts.”
Would the San Francisco 49ers change their names?
One could see the Chiefs eventually changing their name. The Washington Redskins changed their nickname to the Washington Football Team before the 2020 season. They changed the name again to the Washington Commanders before the 2022 season.
Washington’s previous name is obviously a lot worse than Kansas City’s current one. However, appetites could change in the future, and the Chiefs might be no more. The Tomahawk chop should certainly go first.
One doesn’t see the 49ers going away in the near or distant future. But that could change in a progressing climate.
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