Educate Yourself
Actual Chiefs and Self-Proclaimed Chiefs – History of the where the Chiefs Got Their Name
From the KC football team’s website (11/17/2025)
https://www.chiefs.com/americanindianheritage/
Before H. Roe Bartle was the mayor of Kansas City, he was an executive with the Boy Scouts. In 1925, he formed the pretend “tribe” of Mic-O-Say, donned a feather headdress and proclaimed himself Chief Lone Bear. He claimed he had befriended Chief Lone Bear, been inducted into the Arapaho tribe as a blood brother, and given that name. Despite that story being “Mic-O-Say legend,” he was in high school at a military academy in 1920 when Chief Lone Bear passed away.
His “tribe” camped at “Bartle Reservation” near Osceola Missouri, with its members giving themselves “Indian names,” dressing up and playing Indian. The “tribe” of Mic-O-Say continues as an “honor society” of the Boy Scouts to this day, continue to camp at “Bartle Reservation,” and continue to wear feather headdresses, face paint, and dress up and perform their interpretation of Native American dances, including some that are sacred to tribes and only performed by certain tribal members. This group is so prolific, that despite the State of Missouri relocating every actual tribe and making it illegal for American Indians to “hunt or roam” within its borders, the State of Missouri offers an official license plate with the Mic-O-Say logo to anyone that can show membership in that society with proceeds going to the Boy Scout organization.
Despite the football team’s claim that their name didn’t originate as a reference to Native Americans, Bartle’s cultural appropriation inspired the team’s name, brand, and use of Native American imagery and stereotypes.
How did the Kansas City Chiefs get their name?
The team name, logo, and some problematic fan customs like the “tomahawk chop” are once again being broadcast worldwide.
NPR Kansas
How the Kansas City Chiefs got their name and the Boy Scout Tribe of Mic-O-Say
The Kansas City Chiefs were not named for a Native American, but for Bartle’s namesake and his involvement with Mic-O-Say.
Indian Country Today
The Story of the Kansas City Chiefs and the Native American Mascot Controversy
The Kansas City Chiefs are one of the few North American scholastic or professional sports organizations remaining with a mascot derived from Native American heritage.
Sometimes It Rains (Podcast)
The Research
Review of 20 years of research on the negative impact of mascots on health and its influence health and health disparities.
Watt, S., & Yvette Roubideaux, M. D. (2022). Twenty years of research into the health impacts of native-themed mascots: A scoping review. American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research (online), 29(1), 92-129.
Summary of American Psychological Association Recommending Retirement of American Indian Mascots.
American Psychological Association. (2005). Resolution recommending the immediate retirement of American Indian mascots, symbols, images and personalities by schools, colleges, universities, athletic teams, and organizations. The Native American Mascot Controversy: A Handbook, 209-216.
Large-scale survey of Native American’s attitudes towards mascots. Stronger Native identification predicted greater opposition to mascots.
Fryberg, S. A., Eason, A. E., Brady, L. M., Jessop, N., & Lopez, J. J. (2021). Unpacking the mascot debate: Native American identification predicts opposition to Native mascots. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 12(1), 3-13.
Comprehensive review of research on the psychological effects of Native American mascots.
Davis-Delano, L. R., Gone, J. P., & Fryberg, S. A. (2020). The psychosocial effects of Native American mascots: A comprehensive review of empirical research findings. Race Ethnicity and Education, 23(5), 613-633.
Implicit attitudes of non-American Indian people toward American Indian mascots.
Chaney, J. M. (2011). Do American Indian mascots= American Indian people? examining implicit bias towards American Indian people and American Indian mascots. American Indian and Alaska native mental health research (Online).
Survey demonstrating that greater exposure to sports media and Native American mascots were associated with more prejudice toward American Indian rights.
Davis-Delano, L. R., Galliher, R. V., & Gone, J. P. (2023). Native appropriation in sport: Cultivating bias toward American Indians. Race and Social Problems, 15(4), 395-407.
Successful Name Change Campaigns
Statements and Official Resolutions on Mascots
Featured – 8200 W. 71st Street • Shawnee Mission, KS 66204 • (913) 993-6200 BoardDocs® Pro
National Congress of American Indians:
Association on American Indian Affairs:
2023-09-24_mascot_position_statement.pdf
National Indian Health Board:
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights:
2020-07-17-Official-Native-American-Mascots-Statement.pdf
Shinnecock Nation:
Mascot Ban Statement | Shinnecock Nation
Haudenosaunee:
Haudenosaunee Statement On Mascots – Onondaga Nation
Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Creek), and Seminole Nations:
Educational Opportunities
Native Knowledge 360° – Interactive Teaching Resources
The most frequently asked questions and answers featured in the NMAI-published Do All Indians Live in Tipis: Questions and Answers.
National Museum of the American Indian
Mascots, Myths, Monuments, and Memory
The symposium Mascots, Myths, Monuments, and Memory examines the history of racialized mascots.
Smithsonian Institution
Transforming Teaching and Learning about American Indians
Today we are gathered to discuss what needs to take place to transform education about Native Americans to inspire better understanding of our shared experiences.
Smithsonian Institution
Native Mascots and Other Misguided Beliefs
Appeared in Indian Country Today in response to the May 4 U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing on “Stolen Identities: The Impact of Racist Stereotypes on Indigenous People.”
Indian Country Today
Native American Is Not a Costume
Dressing up as a Native American is never appropriate. For years, classrooms across the country have included special days where students “dress up” as Native Americans….
National Museum of the American Indian
Imagining the Indian: De-Mascoting Native Americans in Sports
This documentary takes a closer look at the Native American mascot debate and the use of racist mascots in sports.
Factual America Podcast
ESPN.com - Harjo: Get educated
When an activist for American Indian rights meets fans who insist that the Washington Redskins’ name is not racist, look out.
ESPN.com
Focus 580
Focus 580 host David Inge interviewed Suzan Shown Harjo, founder and president of the Morning Star Foundation, on Issues Facing Native Peoples today
American Archive
Native American Mascot Recommendations and Resource Page
The use of Native peoples as sports mascots is a phenomenon of American pop culture.
Akomawt Educational Initiative
American Indian Sports Team Mascots
The American Indian Sports Team Mascots website advocates for ending the use of stereotypical Native American mascots in sports by providing educational resources.
aistm.org
Mascot Resources | American Indian Studies Program | Illinois
The Mascot Resources page from the University of Illinois American Indian Studies Program provides a curated collection of articles, books, films, and links that offer scholarly and activist perspectives on Native American mascots.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Mascots | National Museum of the American Indian
Multimedia resources and discussions highlighting Native American activism and perspectives on racist sports mascots, cultural appropriation, and related imagery in U.S. society.
National Museum of the American Indian
End Harmful Mascots – Association on American Indian Affairs
We condemn the use of derogatory Native sports team names, mascots, symbols and gestures. Using these harmful stereotypes perpetuates a long history of uninformed depictions of Native Peoples and violence, as well as undermines the educational learning environment.
Association on American Indian Affairs
Research on Mascots | Program for Native American Studies | West Virginia University
The WVU Native American Studies Program provides the following list of resources for informational purposes only, and not as a commercial or institutional endorsement for any non-WVU entity.
Program for Native American Studies
History of Progress | ChangeTheMascot.org
ChangeTheMascot.org presents a chronological timeline of actions and milestones—from the late 1960s onward—highlighting how schools, organizations, and activists have progressively retired Native American-themed names, mascots, and imagery in sports.
ChangeTheMascot.org
Media
The Story of the Kansas City Chiefs and the Native American Mascot Controversy
The Kansas City Chiefs are one of the few North American scholastic or professional sports organizations remaining with a mascot derived from Native American heritage.
Sometimes It Rains (Podcast)
An interview with Native American rights activist Rhonda LeValdo
Rhonda is the host of the “Native Spirit” radio show, one of the founders of the “Not in Our Honor” movement (which advocates against the usage of native imagery in sports) and a professor at Haskell Indian Nations University.
Leonardo Salvaggio
2.1.22 Native Roots Radio Presents: I'm Awake
Join Hosts Robert & Wendy Pilot for Special Guest Antonia Gonzales who welcomes a guest from across the pond to discuss the issues of Native Mascots in England.
Native Roots Radio
With Redskins name change, KC Chiefs and a local HS team come into focus, too
The team is facing mounting pressure to change their name and much of the Native American imagery that takes place at games.
Fox 4 Kansas City
Music mix, Rhonda Levaldo in conversation and The Internality Radio Hour!
Rhonda Levaldo of Native Spirit Radio in conversation about mascots, football team names and racist language, the momentum of BLM and the Native Movement.
KKFI Kansas City
Webinar 1: Changing the Narrative about Native Americans
Learn about the history of problematic narratives about Native Americans, its impact on society, and why it matters today.
SmithsonianNMAI
Not Your Mascot: Native Americans and Team Mascots
Professor of Ojibwe, and Native American author, trainer and speaker Dr. Anton Treuer gives the history of the word “Redskin” and why humans shouldn’t be sports mascots in general.
Twin Cities PBS
News Articles
Debate about the Chiefs’ name, and its ties to Native Americans, rages on. Here’s why
The Kansas City Chiefs have faced ongoing criticism over their name’s association with Native American imagery and related fan traditions, which has fueled debate about cultural sensitivity in sports.
Kansas City Star
Chiefs to ban fans from wearing headdresses and will review ‘Arrowhead Chop’ at stadium
The Chiefs are banning fans inside Arrowhead Stadium from wearing headdresses or painting their faces in a manner that depicts references to American Indian cultures and traditions
Kansas City Star
‘It’s sickening’: How KC-area Boy Scouts’ Mic-O-Say program demeans Native Americans
Professional sports teams and other organizations are finally making long overdue changes to offensive traditions appropriating Native American culture.
Kansas City Star
After Washington’s name change, Native American activists see plenty of work left to do
After the Washington NFL team dropped its longtime mascot name, many Native American activists welcomed the change as progress but emphasized that much more work remains to challenge racialized mascots and imagery in sports.
Yahoo Sports
Kansas Citians Fighting For Racial Justice Must Reckon With Indigenous History
As national support for the Black Lives Matter movement grows, calls for the removal of racist statues, brand names, and sports team names get louder. Kansas City is not exempt from the history, nor the conversation.
NPR in Kansas City
The Kansas City Chiefs’ “Arrowhead Chop” chant isn’t a tribute to people like me. It’s racist.
For years, the national conversation around offensive team mascots that stereotype Native American culture has focused on the Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Indians, while the Kansas City Chiefs flew under the radar. Not anymore.
Vox
Problem with ‘Arrowhead Chop’ isn’t political correctness. It’s about human dignity
A self-described lifelong Kansas City Chiefs fan once asked me the meaning of the words to the song that the crowds sing as they perform the “Arrowhead Chop” at Kansas City Chiefs games.
Kansas City Star