KANSAS CITY, Missouri – As the Kansas City Chiefs gear up for another Super Bowl appearance, Indigenous activist Rhonda LeValdo is fighting to change the team’s name and logo, which she believes perpetuates offensive Native American stereotypes. This marks the fourth Super Bowl in five years for the Chiefs, and LeValdo, along with other Indigenous activists, is in Las Vegas to protest against the team’s use of Native American imagery.
LeValdo, who founded the group Not In Our Honor, has been advocating for the removal of Native American references in sports for decades. Her efforts are fueled by research showing that the use of such imagery has negative psychological effects on Native youth and encourages discrimination against them by non-Native children.
The Chiefs faced scrutiny from Indigenous activists in 2020 when they banned fans from wearing headdresses or face paint referencing Native American culture in Arrowhead Stadium. However, the team’s name, arrowhead logo, and the “tomahawk chop” ritual remain unchanged, prompting continued backlash from the Indigenous community.
Despite the efforts made by the team to highlight Indigenous players and educate themselves through the American Indian Community Working Group, Indigenous activists like LeValdo and Gaylene Crouser, executive director of the Kansas City Indian Center, remain unsatisfied. They see the team’s actions as mere “PR stunts,” arguing that there is no honor in the team’s portrayal of Native culture.
For LeValdo, the fight against the use of Native American imagery in sports is deeply personal. She is driven by the historical oppression, killing, and displacement of her ancestors, and the ongoing injustices faced by her community. As the Chiefs once again take center stage in the Super Bowl, LeValdo and her fellow activists continue to demand change, refusing to back down in their pursuit of ending the use of offensive Native American references in sports.