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Family of Blackfeet chief, face of NFL's Redskins for 48 years, wants his image back in NFL
The family of the Blackfeet chief who served as the face of the Washington Redskins for 48 years want his image back on the fields of the NFL, relatives told Fox News Digital.
The descendants of John Two Guns White Calf also want his incredible life story retold, too, to a new generation of Americans who seek unity and value multiculturalism.
The White Calf family has support in Washington, D.C. from one of their Montana senators, while the NFL franchise itself, now known as the Washington Commanders, is making new efforts to honor the team’s heritage.
CANCELED TRIBAL CHIEF WHITE CALF, FACE OF THE REDSKINS, GENERATES NEW SUPPORT NATIONWIDE
“The fans want him back and we want him back,” Thomas White Calf, a great nephew of the celebrated early-20th-century native, said this week by phone, hours after the family met with Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana.
Two Guns White Calf’s proud portrait adorned Redskins helmets, T-shirts, playing fields and marketing materials from 1972 until 2020.
Blackfeet chief John Two Guns White Calf, left, who served as the inspiration for the Washington Redskins logo that represented the NFL franchise on the field from 1972 to 2020. (Getty Images)
“Our ancestor was the most famous and most photographed native in history,” said White Calf, who was joined on the call by his mother, Delphine White Calf, a niece of the late Blackfeet chief.
“Two Guns was also the face on the Indian head nickel. I’m proud of him. The Blackfeet are proud of him.”
“I’m proud of him. The Blackfeet are proud of him.” – Thomas White Calf
White Calf’s portrait and the name Redskins were erased from the NFL in 2020 following years of mounting public pressure, much of it fueled by the George Soros-funded cancel-culture group, National Congress of American Indians. ,
The celebrated Blackfeet chief and his life story were canceled even as polls showed that 90% of Native Americans supported the team name and White Calf portrait.
A Washington Redskins helmet sits on the grass during a preseason game against the Cleveland Browns at FedExField on Aug. 18, 2014, in Landover, Maryland. (TJ Root/Getty Images)
Thomas White Calf, who lives on a Blackfeet reservation in Montana, says his family was never consulted and never supported the removal of Two Guns White Calf’s image from the NFL.
“This is about righting a wrong,” Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., said in an email sent to Fox News Digital.
SUPER BOWL CHAMP MARK RYPIEN NO FAN OF COMMANDERS NICKNAME
“It’s a point of pride and represents the rich Native American history that helped make our nation great, and it should be enthusiastically celebrated across our culture.”
The Washington Commanders were purchased in 2023 by a group of investors led by Josh Harris. They inherited the controversy over the team name and image.
Sen. Steve Daines speaks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 18, 2024. (Reuters/Mike Segar)
“We are collaborating with Sen. Daines to honor the legacy of our team’s heritage and the Native American community,” a Commanders spokesperson said in a statement sent to Fox News Digital.
“This is about righting a wrong.” – Sen. Steve Daines
“At the senator’s suggestion, we have developed a positive relationship with Ryan Wetzel, the grandson of Walter ‘Blackie’ Wetzel, who designed the logo. We look forward to honoring that legacy.”
Blackie Wetzel is the late Blackfeet tribal leader credited with creating the portrait of Two Guns White Calf in 1971, with widespread support from Native American groups, that the team adopted in 1972.
The team said it has no plans, however, to bring back Wetzel’s White Calf portrait that was erased in 2020.
Blackfeet chief John Two Guns White Calf was celebrated for his role aiding Native American causes in the early 20th century. He was the face of both the Indian head nickel from the U.S. Mint and the Washington Redskins NFL franchise. (Courtesy Thomas White Calf/White Calf family)
White Calf was born in Montana in 1872 and achieved international acclaim by fighting to preserve Native American culture.
He championed Native issues in Washington, D.C. – rubbing elbows with President Calvin Coolidge – and appeared to bridge cultures long at odds.
NATIVE AMERICAN GROUP THAT WANTED ‘REDSKINS’ REMOVAL IS FUNDED BY SOROS FOUNDATION, OTHER LEFTIST ORGS
White Calf was, according to multiple sources, the inspiration for the face that appeared on the U.S. Mint’s famous 1913 Indian head nickel and was so prominent in the United States that his death in 1934 earned a New York Times obituary.
The tribute noted that he helped make Coolidge “an honorary chief of the same Blackfeet tribe.”
The celebrated Blackfeet leader was steamrolled by the National Congress of American Indians in 2013, when it published a dubious report titled “Ending the Legacy of Racism in Sports & The Era of Harmful ‘Indian’ Sports Mascots.”
Donald Wetzel Sr., whose father Walter designed the Redskins logo, holds an autographed Washington football on June 27, 2014, in Great Falls, Montana. (Larry Beckner for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The 29-page dissertation included a caustic 3,650-word history of the Redskins and its “legacy of racism” that critics note included a major oversight. The report failed to once mention Chief Two Guns White Calf, even though he was the face of the Redskins franchise for 48 years.
“Two Guns White Calf was a real person, not a mascot and he was canceled,” historian Andre Billeaudeaux, the author of “How the Redskins Got Their Name,” told Fox News Digital earlier this year.
The Redskins name remains too politically toxic, a person close to the issue told Fox News Digital.
The team “went too far” removing the White Calf image along with the name, the source said.
“The legendary Blackfeet logo that was championed by Blackie Wetzel and based on the likeness of Chief Two Guns White Calf must be restored to a place of honor,” said Daines.
While the Wetzel family is being recognized by the NFL franchise for its role honoring Two Guns White Calf, the Blackfeet chief’s family says the organization has ignored them for decades.
“We want a seat at the table,” said Thomas White Calf.
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A Las Vegas casino abruptly pulled the plug on a prediction market conference over fears the event could draw scrutiny from Nevada gambling regulators, according to a report.
Predict 2026 had been slated for the Aria on the Strip before the MGM-operated resort canceled the booking just days after signing the agreement.
‘The [Aria] is issuing this notice in light of Nevada’s current regulatory and enforcement position regarding prediction markets,’ a lawyer for the resort wrote in a termination letter cited by Barron’s.
The dispute highlights escalating tensions between state gambling regulators and prediction market firms such as Kalshi and Polymarket, which let people bet on the outcomes of all kinds of events.
Nevada regulators have taken an especially aggressive stance toward the fast-growing sector, arguing that some sports-event contracts resemble unlicensed wagering that bypasses state gaming rules and taxes.
Last October, the Nevada Gaming Control Board warned casino license holders that maintaining ties to prediction market operators could factor into whether they remain eligible for gaming licenses.
“If a Nevada licensee chooses to offer Sports and Other Event Contracts in Nevada or decides to partner with other entities offering Sports and Other Event Contracts in the state, the Board will consider these developments as it evaluates the suitability of the entity to maintain a Nevada gaming license,” regulators said in the guidance cited by Barron’s.
While Predict 2026 was not sponsored by any prediction market company, Aria’s legal notice indicated that regulators had become increasingly sensitive even to indirect promotion of the industry.
The Aria, which opened in 2009 and is operated by MGM Resorts after being sold to Blackstone in 2021, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The showdown highlights the widening divide between traditional casino operators and the new entrants into the prediction market space.
Legacy gaming giants such as MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment have largely stayed away from prediction markets even as companies including DraftKings have launched competing platforms to challenge businesses like Kalshi.
Prediction market operators insist that their event contracts are federally regulated financial instruments overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, allowing them to operate nationwide for users over 18.
Some state gaming regulators, however, have argued that sports-related contracts closely resemble sports betting and should fall under state gambling laws.
Nevada officials have already taken direct legal action against Kalshi.
The Nevada Gaming Commission sued the company over its sports event contracts, and the platform was briefly barred from operating in the state earlier this year, according to Barron’s.
The Post has sought comment from Polymarket, Aria and the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Police arrested two young men on murder charges after a deadly shooting outside the Frontier Restaurant near the University of New Mexico.
Police said 19-year-old Junior Lewis and 20-year-old Evan Rogers are in custody and both face murder charges.
Police said both men are set to face a judge Saturday.
Investigators said they found both suspects inside Rogers’ dorm room at UNM.
The shooting happened in the early morning hours Thursday just south of Central between Cornell and Stanford.
Police said the man who was shot died at the scene.
HAPPY VALLEY, Ore. (KATU) — Health officials have identified a new measles exposure site in Happy Valley.
The Oregon Health Authority and Clackamas County public health officials said people may have been exposed at Providence Immediate Care – Happy Valley, 16180 S.E. Sunnyside Road, Suite 102, between 11:05 a.m. and 3:47 p.m. Tuesday, May 12.
Officials said anyone who was at the clinic during that time should notify a health care provider about the possible exposure. Providers can determine whether a person is immune to measles by reviewing vaccination records, age or laboratory evidence of a previous infection.
Health officials urged people to monitor for symptoms and seek medical advice if they believe they may have been exposed.
ABOUT MEASLES
Measles is a highly contagious respiratory virus that spreads through the air when an infected person breathes, speaks, coughs or sneezes. The virus can linger in the air for up to two hours and can infect up to 90% of unprotected close contacts. Complications can include pneumonia, brain inflammation and death.
Nationwide, measles cases have been rising since early 2025. Nearly 2,300 cases were reported last year, with most occurring among unvaccinated children.
Symptoms typically begin seven to 21 days after exposure and include cough, runny nose and conjunctivitis accompanied by a high fever. A rash usually follows, starting on the head or neck and spreading downward. People are contagious from four days before the rash appears until four days after.
A graphic from the Oregon Health Authority shows the symptoms of Measles.
HA advises health care providers to report suspected cases immediately and consider post-exposure treatment for exposed patients. The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine can be given within 72 hours of exposure. Immunoglobulin may be administered within six days.
For most people 6 months and older who are eligible for vaccination, receiving the MMR vaccine within 72 hours of exposure is recommended.
Anyone not protected against measles is at risk, according to OHA. The agency encourages residents to check their vaccination status and contact a health care provider with questions.
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