Native Americans double down on protests against Kansas City mascot ahead of Super Bowl

A Native American activist group is doubling down on its protests towards the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs’ controversial mascot because the crew heads to the Tremendous Bowl on Sunday.

Not In Our Honor, a Kansas Metropolis-based group that advocates towards using Native American imagery in sports activities, hosted a number of occasions main as much as the Tremendous Bowl in Arizona and plans to protest on the sport itself.

Founder Rhonda LeValdo informed The Hill that the aim of the efforts is to “make individuals conscious of how this imagery and cultural appropriation works towards us and the way it impacts us as Native individuals.”

“This can be a worldwide occasion,” LeValdo added. “I don’t need individuals in several nations considering that is OK to do to us.”

The continuing push towards the crew’s mascot comes as many different U.S. sports activities groups have moved to ditch offensive references to Native American tradition — most notably the rebranded Washington Commanders and Cleveland Guardians.

Whereas the Kansas Metropolis crew banned followers from sporting headdresses and face paint to video games in 2020, it has maintained its mascot and different controversial traditions, together with the tomahawk chop.

Also called the Arrowhead chop, the Kansas Metropolis custom sees followers transfer their arms in a chopping movement and chant a made-up warfare track. Not In Our Honor has accused the Kansas Metropolis crew of “brazenly mocking Indigenous Individuals and bastardizing our tradition with the sickening ‘Arrowhead Chop.’” 

LeValdo mentioned the crew’s continued use of the mascot and Arrowhead chop is especially “tone-deaf” following its racial justice efforts in 2020, which noticed gamers sporting helmet decals with phrases akin to “Finish Racism.”

“You guys can’t finish racism whenever you’re committing racism towards Native individuals,” she added.

The Kansas Metropolis Chiefs are set to play the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. The sport kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET.