Minneapolis recently restored the name of Lake Calhoun to Bde Maka Ska. Not only is that the lake’s original Dakota name, it also eliminates support for a man who was pro-slavery, preaching it as a “a positive good” throughout his reign in the 1800’s.
And makes an important distinction between history and exaltation.
Now, the Cleveland Indians will officially discontinue their use of the Chief Wahoo logo in 2019. This has been a/the general trend in sports, though still a contentious one: Many teams, on both the college and the professional level, have removed similar mascots. North Dakota State University, for example, changed their name and logo from The Fighting Sioux to The Fighting Hawks back in 2015.
Other teams, like the National Football League’s Washington Redskins, (quite consciously) have not.
But change is afoot. Some (many, most) would say, finally. It is 2018, after all, there’s no reason to keep offensive, misleading, and arguably racist caricatures in the game.
“Chief Wahoo,” the cartoon figure meant to represent a Native American male, first appeared as the Indians’ logo on caps, jerseys, souvenirs, and bobbleheads way back in 1948.
(“A different time,” some might say.)
Groups all across the country have called foul for years, and have continuously asked the team to change the logo. Major League Baseball (MLB) commissioner Rob Manfred stepped in earlier in 2017 to push for the change, which prompted the decision to remove Wahoo from stadium banners, jerseys, and caps.
In a statement prepared for the New York Times, Manfred said that the Indians “…ultimately agreed with my position that the logo is no longer appropriate for on-field use in Major League Baseball, and I appreciate Mr. Dolan’s acknowledgment that removing it from the on-field uniform by the start of the 2019 season is the right course.”
Though, important to note, the Indians won’t be erasing Wahoo completely: The logo will still be featured in the team’s souvenir shops, and at retail outlets throughout the Northern Ohio market where the team’s beloved fans reside.
Just not anywhere on the MLB website.
Which means there probably wasn’t a complete agreement between Manfred and Cleveland Indian’s chief executive Paul Dolan about the logo, keeping the distinction between history and exaltation still a little blurry.
The story was first reported by The New York Times.
