“Super
Bowl Idolatry” is the title of a blog article I posted in January 2015, and
I stand by what I wrote in that posting that has been viewed more than 1,650
times. But I must confess, I watched the Super Bowl this year for the first
time in many, many years. Quite reluctantly, I am a Chiefs' fan.
Cheers for the Chiefs!
There is
hardly anyone of my Thinking Friends in this country, or even in Asia, I
assume, who doesn’t know that the Kansas City Chiefs won an exciting
come-from-behind victory in Super Bowl LIV on Sunday evening, Feb. 2.
Since June and
I have lived in the Kansas City metropolitan area for 14½ years now, I confess
that we got caught up in the hype and even June, who never watches football
games, watched the game with me along with our daughter Kathy and her husband
Tim. We had a fun Super Bowl party of four.
I also must
confess that at halftime, with the score tied and the momentum clearly on the
side of the San Francisco 49ers, I predicted that the Chiefs were going to
lose. June said I shouldn’t be so pessimistic--and she was right.
Who would have
thought that the Chiefs would score more points in the 4th quarter than the
49ers did in the whole game! I had underrated “Mahomes’s magic.”
One reason why
it is easy to be a Chiefs fan now is because of Patrick Mahomes, the young
quarterback who has had an amazing beginning to his career as an NFL
quarterback.
Mahomes (b.
1995) seems like such a fine, personable young man, it’s hard not to be a fan
of a team that has a quarterback like him.
Jeers for the Chiefs
While I have
various negative feelings about football in general and professional football
in particular, and while I have even more negative feelings about what I have
called the idolatry surrounding the Super Bowl, the rest of this article is
about the problematic name of the Kansas City team--as well as the name of
their Super Bowl opponent.
The Chiefs’
name is a problem because there are Native Americans, and their sympathizers,
who think that the name is racist. I realize that there are Native Americans
that have no problem with the Chiefs’ name--or with the name of the 49ers or
even the Washington Redskins. But some/many do.
Cyberspace
brought to my attention several articles highlighting the problem. I read, and recommend,
this
1/27 article in The Washington Post, this
1/29 article in The New York Times, and especially this
2/1 NBCnews.com article by Simon Moya-Smith, a Native American.
The two
articles I was most influenced by, though, were this
2/1 Vox.com article and this
article from a website I hadn’t previously heard of. The former was written
by Rhonda LeValdo, an Acoma Pueblo woman who teaches at Haskell Indian Nations
University in Lawrence, Kansas. Her article begins, “The Kansas City Chiefs’ chant
isn’t a tribute to people like me. It’s racist.”
The latter
article by Zach Johnston in Uproxx.com is titled “Why Both Super Bowl Team Names Should be
Replaced.” He forcefully points out the racism ensconced in both names, Chiefs
and 49ers. (If you read just one of the linked-to articles, I suggest
this one.)
The adult
Sunday School class I am currently attending is discussing the Doctrine
of Discovery. In our discussion on Super Bowl Sunday, I suggested that
perhaps next year we might want to plan for some consciousness-raising about the
Chiefs’ name, especially if they are in the Super Bowl again (which is a
distinct possibility).
Maybe the time
has come for more of us to be at least as concerned with the fair treatment of
Native Americans as with watching/enjoying a football game.
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I think I agree with everything you’ve said . . . I think. 😊
ReplyDeleteThanks, Anton, for reading my new blog article and for responding early this morning. The first, more or less tounge-in-cheek response I thought of was to paraphrase (and misconstrue) a certain French philosopher: You think, therefore, you do.
DeleteThanks for alerting me to the concept of Doctrine of Discovery. Every reader should click the link in your piece to learn about it. Sad and shocking to be reminded of the arrogance of our forebears. Even more sad to be reminded that this doctrine is the foundation of the geography of the US and remains a reference point in court cases.
ReplyDeleteFrom the article you link to:
"Papal Bulls of the 15th century gave Christian explorers the right to claim lands they “discovered” and lay claim to those lands for their Christian Monarchs. Any land that was not inhabited by Christians was available to be “discovered”, claimed, and exploited. If the “pagan” inhabitants could be converted, they might be spared. If not, they could be enslaved or killed. The Discovery Doctrine is a concept of public international law expounded by the United States Supreme Court in a series of decisions, initially in Johnson v. M’Intosh in 1823. "
Thanks, Ron, for highlighting my reference to the Doctrine of Discovery.
DeleteYou will be interested to know that the Mennonites are currently working on a "Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery" project. You can learn more about that at www.dofdmenno.org/. (On the home page there is a blurb by Ken Kraybill; do you know him?)
About two hours ago I received the following comments from local Thinking Friend Vern Barnet:
ReplyDelete"I am not smart enough to know whether privately-owned professional sports like football are corrupting in general (as well as in the specific case and way you cite), but I suspect more people around here can tell you the game score than can tell you the vote in the Senate trial on witnesses. Is football a healthy distraction and creator of fan solidarity? or something so insidious we cannot see the damage it inflicts?"
Thanks for your comments, Vern. I'm afraid that in response to the two questions you ended with, the latter may be more nearly true.
DeleteAnd then, as he often does, Thinking Friend Eric Dollard in Chicago, but who used to live in Kansas City, shared thoughtful comments:
ReplyDelete"Thanks, Leroy, as always, for your observations.
"Although I am not a big sports fan, I am happy for the Chiefs and for Kansas City, although it is difficult to watch millionaire players on teams owned by billionaires because of all the taxpayer funded goodies we shower on sports teams and their owners. The Packers are an exception.
"'Chief' is a Middle English term and not necessarily ethnic, but the Chiefs have adopted Native American logos, so its use of the mascot term 'Chiefs' is 'ffensive to some Native Americans. More offensive, however, is the term "Redskins,' which has generated much more controversy. Other potentially offensive mascots among professional teams are the Braves, Indians, Browns, and Celtics, although I have not heard of any efforts to change the name of the Celtics.
The treatment of Native Americans over the years by our government and by those of European descent has been nothing less than scandalous. We owe Native Americans the full dignity and respect they deserve, which has been for so long denied them."
Thanks, Eric, for again making pertinent comments about my blog article, and your final paragraph emphasizes my main point.
DeleteI think your reference to the Celtics may have been tongue-in-cheek, but I wonder about your reference to the Browns. The Cleveland Browns, at least, seem to have been named after Paul Brown, the original coach and co-founder.
I have just received these comments from local Thinking Friend, a Catholic Sister and a personal friend, Marilyn Peot:
ReplyDelete"Each time I see the 'chop' I cringe. I hate it! I was disgusted by the fans in many ways. Do they know they themselves are acting like a 'tribe'? One woman spent $800 on Chiefs' paraphernalia! It's as though, as one guy indicated, they find their identity as a Chiefs Fan. Really?
"I'm from Green Bay so I'm vaccinated with football! I enjoy the fantastic throws and catches--I hate the violence! I have some great stories about the Packers--like sitting in Lambeau Field at zero degrees! Lombardi cut through any racial bias the team might have. He told one guy who wouldn't share a room with a black teammate, 'That's too bad. You can take your things and leave.' The guy stayed!
"Yes, I'm hooked on football...but hate so much about it. It's one of those 'money-ed' parts of our culture...sad!"
Thankis for sharing this, Marilyn. Like me, you seem to be torn between liking and disliking football. It's an uncomfortable tension, isn't it!
DeleteLike most Americans I watched at least part of the game. I usually do not watch as I have little interest in any sports. However, after living in KC for a few years plus our Grandson pushing to watch I indulged.
ReplyDeleteLiving close to several Native American Tribes including. Acoma being one and having a statue of Juan de Oñate at the main entrance to Old Town Albuquerque. I cringe at all the meanings behind all the Native American names used for ungodly economic gain. The typical white American fails to understand why Native American’s would find offense at the names, logos and chants that are common in sports.
A number if years ago there was an attempt to groom university students from Haskell to become church planters to their own Pueblos and Reservations. The mission agency made commitments and attracted students to return to their homes and announce the Gospel. However, the efforts were short lived.
The white mission agency managers believed their methodologies were superior. Their attitudes would never allow themselves to “hear” what was culturally important for the Native Americans. With great conflict the mission agency broke their promises to young men and left them stranded and humiliated. Now the doors are closed to mission work.
I have a sense of great distress when I pass the Pueblos and Reservations. I see orange power cords running from one trailer to another because there is little to no electricity on Pueblo or Reservation connecting the mobile homes. In a State where the Spaniards and the Westward push from the East sole lands, raped, and killed countless Native Americans. The Native American still must fight for every scrap of respect and dignity they receive. They must fight to keep their children from being taken and forced into the sex trade. Most young women will be raped by the time they are in high school. The Native Americans are plagued by every vice imaginable. Poverty is epidemic and the best anyone has to say about the Native American in New Mexico is “what a tragedy”.
It would be wonderful if the Native American/Frist Nations(Canada) people would be known as people created and loved by God and American citizens.
Thanks so much for your comments, Frank. Since you live in New Mexico, you know more about the situation of contemporary Native Americans that most of us in the U.S. I hope many of my blog readers will read and think carefully about what you have shared.
DeleteI just received the following comments from local Thinking Friend Bob Leeper:
ReplyDelete"Your weekly message and this announcement from a young pastor (at the downtown Church of the Resurrection) ended up adjacent in my computer, and as I go back and forth on them, I am struck that by my age (85) I have come from being told that Sunday was to be kept holy; hard to do for little boys in small-town-America who wanted to do something more fun than attending mandatory church twice and staying quiet the rest of the Sunday. Now....to the point where organized churches endorse and celebrate with the community. In fact, Barbara and I attended her church (Church of the Resurrection Leawood) where one of the rooms had been set up for a large-screen experience of the Chiefs game. Your concerns for idolotry are well founded; we pay athletes and beauty queens millions, while we have homeless folks sleeping in cardboard boxes if they can find one. I do not feel capable of grasping all the inequities and hero-worship and over-paid versus the under-paid and down-trodden.
"Secondly: Equally I feel unable to comprehend and address the labeling of football teams. My hometown team was Bulldogs; nobody every complained that we were mis-treating dogs. The very pointed concern is for Native Americans. A couple years ago, a friend and I went to the native American encampment on the banks of the Missouri River in the Dakotas, as they had just shut down the protest camp; fighting the pipeline crossing of the Missouri River. We saw and talked personally with some natives who pointed out a massacre site. I have been at Indian commercial encampments in Oklahoma where natives did their dances and we paid to attend. I have a collection of arrowheads in my office from my grandfather’s antique store’ arrowheads picked up along the Osace and Sac river banks in the ozarks. I am on the fence on things that honor (and dis-honor) a whole group of people. Thanks again for bringing up topics that force our thoughts to come to the fore."
Thanks for your thought-provoking comments, Bob. I, too, remember the time when it was thought objectionable for Christians to attend or support athletic contests on Sunday. Perhaps things were too legalistic back then, but maybe it was healthier than the "anything goes" milieu of the present.
DeleteMy high school sports teams were the Tigers, a name chosen, no doubt, for the strength of that beautiful animal--similar to that of the bulldog. But it is far different naming a team after an animal than after an ethnic group of people. Maybe some thought/think that it is honoring to that group, but in the case of names referring to Native Americans, isn't part of the implication that they are strong "savages"?
And now I have received comments from Thinking Friend Glen Davis, a Canadian who was a close personal friend in Fukuoka City, Japan, for several years.
ReplyDelete"Thanks so much for this blog about the names of Superbowl teams. The article by Zach Johnston is compelling to say the least. Bruce and Mark, our two sons whom you will remember from Fukuoka, plus 23-year-old grandson, Luke, watched the game with me and we too reluctantly cheered for the team with the racist name 'Chiefs.' What we did not know was the genocide behind the '49ers' name. Zach Johnston’s article provides the kind of education that we all need to receive.
"BTW, here in Canada, what you in the USA often refer to as 'Native Americans' are alternatively called 'First Nations people' or Indigenous People. We try not to add 'Canadians' to the title because many indigenous folk here see themselves as members of their own particular nation and not so much as Canadians, mainly because they are so often denied many of the rights of the settler Canadian citizens."
Let me start by saying "Thank You!" that today's blog was not a celebration of last night's democracy in action. Soon, and very soon, we can 'celebrate' that thing. In the meantime, let's start with a deep look at Kansas City and "Chiefs." As most people know, the Chiefs play in Kansas City, Missouri. They are named after former KC mayor H. Roe Bartle. He was the original "Chief." However, that is not a way to dodge the cultural appropriation question, because Bartle claims he was inducted into the Arapaho people and given the name "Lone Bear." In 1925 Bartle founded the Boy Scout organization "Mic-O-Say," into which I was initiated at the H. Roe Bartle Boy Scout Reservation in Osceola, Missouri about 40 years later. As part of the initiation, we had to camp out alone for a night, and find our name from the experience. I did not see any interesting animals, but I heard a lot. So I signed up as "Song of the Evening Forest," which was rejected as too long, so I ended up being Brave Evening Forest. My parents moved us to Virginia before I could graduate to "Warrior," and I have not been back on the Reservation since. If you want read more background on Bartle and the Chiefs (not on me), then check this link: https://newsmaven.io/indiancountrytoday/news/how-the-kansas-city-chiefs-got-their-name-and-the-boy-scout-tribe-of-mic-o-say-rKgOKV-x5E6z5GQAUoxxUA
ReplyDeleteSo how do we unpack this cultural appropriation in a way that leads to a better future? I have a personal stake in this, because right next to my computer I have a picture of a chief hanging on the wall. It has been with me for fifty or sixty years, ever since I received a pair of pictures for Christmas from the father of one of my mother's friends. He was in art therapy, and did a couple of paint-by-number portraits which I received. He was carpenter, and I suspect he made the frames himself. My daughter claimed the young woman, leaving me with the old chief. We have had many conversations over the years, as I guessed how he would answer my questions, or respond to my comments. He wears a proud feathered headdress, and holds a peace pipe. So I wonder not only about what to do about my "Chiefs," but also about my chief. I do not think simply erasing all evidence of indigenous people would be progress. Plus, where would we stop? Should I stop listening to Neil Diamond's Jewish music and eating Gates' black barbecue? Since Diamond and Gates are eagerly selling their products, I assume those are OK?
H. Roe Bartle started with his tenuous link to the Arapahoe. I would really like to see the Chiefs and the Boy Scouts set up serious talks with local indigenous groups to discuss how those groups wish to proceed. One advise and consent a century ago is not nearly enough. Perhaps the solution will look somewhat like the resolution in Florida where the Seminole people and Seminole college teams have worked out a partnership both are proud of. Whether Mic-O-Say or the tomahawk chop would survive this kind of discussion, I do not know. The old chief on my wall would like to see leaders of the Wyandotte and Osage peoples visiting Bartle Reservation to teach respect for nature and understanding of responsibilities to the youth attending there. Probably the Chiefs could use lessons, too.
Thanks Craig for the history lesson on the Chiefs name because I thought I was going to have to do it before I got to your post. I agree it does not support the symbols the Chiefs use nor what they encourage fans to do. As a season ticket holder and attendee in person for the Super Bowl, I can tell you the Chiefs do reach out to tribes for input. Obviously they are comfortable ignoring the input that tells them to cease their actions. Not surprisingly, they find supporters that will participate in game-day activities and go as far as blessing the war drum used to lead the crowd in the chant.
DeleteMy wife and I do not participate in the chant, including on the plane to Miami where the organizers wanted a video of the spirit the fans have. We also do not yell Chiefs at the end of the national anthem. I am sure that is not enough to offset the negative feelings some reading this will feel for us since we spent a lot of money attending games. I acknowledge the negative aspects of professional sports and football especially. I also know there are positive aspects that not everybody appreciates. I also point out negative aspects of Christian missions, including support of the Doctrine of Discovery. I also believe that Christian missions are positive efforts, but if the pope and missions are not perfect, we probably should temper our expectations of football.
Craig, you regularly post good and important comments on this blogsite, and this time was no exception. I appreciate you giving more of the history of the Chiefs' name--and of Mic-O-Say; there was just a little of this in the articles I linked to.
DeleteMayor ("Chief") Bartle (1901~74) was no doubt a good and honorable man, and according to Wikipedia, "Bartle was a devout member of Central Presbyterian Church, Kansas City, from 1929 until his death, although he was often not in attendance because he was filling a pulpit somewhere else. (If Bartle was called to substitute for a pastor who was ill, he needed only the time to dress and get to the church. He could work out the sermon on the way.) Bartle served as a member of the general council of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), 1961–68, and was a member of the General Assembly, 1962–66. He was also a charter member of the National Conference of Christians and Jews."
For that reason, I don't fault him for starting the Mic-O-Say Boy Scout program or even in 1963 naming the new NFL team in Kansas City the Chiefs. But sensibilities have been heightened since then, and awareness of the mistreatment of Native Americans has increased. So my problem is not with the team being named Chiefs in 1963; rather, I question the propriety of continuing to use that name in the 2020s.
Dennis, I also appreciate your comments as an avid (rather than a reluctant) Chiefs' fan.
DeleteYou correctly pointed out negative aspects of Christian missions, including support of the Doctrine of Discovery. But let me remind you that Christian missions has not supported the Doctrine of Discovery for a very long time and that currently many church denominations, such as the Mennonites as I indicated in my response to Ron in an earlier comment, are actively working to dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery. Are there people in the NFL (of in the Chiefs' organization) actively working to dismantle the racism in the names of the professional football teams?
I know there are people working to address (dismantle is certainly to strong a verb) the racism, but I can only wish they would try harder to be more effective. Obviously the continuation of Redskins is as black as an eye can get. Chiefs as a name is harder to declare racist (as noted in the third article linked), but there is no question the chant, chop and headdresses (I saw more of those in Miami than I do in KC) are problems that should be addressed. The question being discussed is whether Chiefs can be saved or if a new name needs to be selected. At least for 2020 that name could be Champions.
DeleteSo Christian missions are all good now? There are no missionaries telling native peoples that their religion is not good enough? Since we are concerned with Native Americans, are there any missionaries advising them that they are not savages any more? I am not against sharing the good news, but I do object to telling someone their religion is inferior. That is especially true for Native Americans that seem to respect the world more than Christians do.
Dennis, from my perspective in New Mexico the Reservations and Pueblos closed the door to most mission agencies for the reasons you mentioned. Native American/First Nations people do not want to be told their religion is wrong and hell is their destiny. The sharing of the gospel has become dependent on Indigenous followers of Christ. There are a few individuals who have moved into areas where they work to become "Native American" and are attempting to find ways to have conversations about faith and Christ.
DeleteOne of the main issues in sharing Christ is that the Indigenous follower of Christ becomes an "Apple" red on the outside and white in the middle. Because of the embracing of "white religion" persecution is common and Christian Native American/First Nations leaders are beaten, marginalized and ministry interrupted.
Let me give an example. Bill (not the real name) is a church leader on the Navajo Reservation. He came to Christ while being held in Gallup NM for drunkenness. He eventually goes to Denver to attend seminary and completes his degree. He becomes pastor of a local congregation of the Reservation.
Just before Christmas three Navajo men walked Bills church beat him and two elderly members of the church, stole their money and promised to come back and burn the building. It took two hours for the tribal police to respond. Bill has now left the Reservation and lives with fear that the church will be burned or worse someone killed.
I share all this to suggest that you are correct in your comments and questioning. It is in this context that mission agencies decided to give up on investing in Native American/First Nations work.
There are organizations who come to Reservations to help repair buildings and the such, but evangelism is all but dead.
Thank you Frank.
DeleteI apologize for the overly defensiveness of my previous posts. I am often uncomfortable with what is happening in Arrowhead, which puts me on the reluctant side. Maybe with the good feelings the Chiefs now have with the Super Bowl win, they can make some changes. They already moved the war drum from the end zone to the top of the stadium. The next move could be out, but it will be contentious. The cynic in me only expects the win to be used to justify higher ticket prices.
I appreciate the above interchange between local Thinking Friend Dennis and Thinking Friend Frank in New Mexico.
ReplyDeleteIn regard to Christian "missions" among Native Americans, I recommend the book "Rescuing the Gospel from the Cowboys: A Native American Expression of the Jesus Way" (2015) by Richard Twiss.
And, Dennis, while I certainly would not claim that Christian missions are all good now, there may have been far fewer missionaries than you think, especially among those who have not been conservative evangelicals, who have told other people that "their religion is inferior."