16923: Delayed WTF 63—Washington NFL Team Rumored Reverting To Redskins.

 

MultiCultClassics is often occupied with real work. As a result, a handful of events occur without the expected blog commentary. This limited series—Delayed WTF—seeks to make belated amends for the absence of malice.

 

In December 2024, Newsweek reported the Washington Commanders are considering changing the team’s name back to the Washington Redskins.

 

If it comes to fruition, expect a celebratory breakfast with Aunt Jemima pancakes and Rastus-rebranded Cream of Wheat—in addition to plenty of Land O’Lakes butter featuring the Native American maiden mascot.

 

MultiCultClassics recommends team officials halt any renaming announcements for the time being, as the Commanders’ playoff progress could be thwarted by Offensive Karma.

 

Indeed, the team’s decisively dominating win over the Detroit Lions proves the revised name re-energized the franchise—along with new ownership including NBA Legend Magic Johnson. Spirited players—led by breakthrough Quarterback Jayden Daniels—have established the Commanders as championship contenders.

 

Cultural competence and diversity lead to victory.

 

Washington Commanders Rumored to Change Their Name Back to Redskins

 

The NFL’s Redskins became the Washington Football Team in 2020, then the Commanders in 2022, but the team may return to the identity it previously held for 87 years.

 

Commanders owner Josh Harris has expressed support for a name reversal since he took over the team last year. Harris and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell visited Capitol Hill on Monday to lobby for a bill that would help revitalize Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. A senior Senate staffer told Newsweek that U.S. Republican Senator John Thune of South Dakota was among the lawmakers who met with Harris and Goodell.

 

Newsweek reached out to the NFL and Harris’ representatives for comment Tuesday morning.

 

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources recently passed the D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act, which would transfer the land with the former stadium and its vicinity to the D.C. government for up to 99 years. The bill now moves to the Senate floor for a full vote.

 

There is no guarantee that the Commanders would build their next stadium at the site, but it’s possible that the football team returns to its home from 1961 to 1996.

 

A name reversal would be “a win against this woke mindset / sensitivity we’ve seen the last couple of years,” conservative influencer Amir Odom told Newsweek.

 

“Why are we politicizing sports team names?” he asked. “There’s more to worry about in this country than grown men fondling balls on a field and what name we refer to them as.”

 

“Let’s let this be a cultural and community thing. It’s one thing for politicians to share their opinion but to get this involved is a bit much.”

 

Is the Redskins Name Coming Back?

 

Harris, who bought the football team from longtime owner Dan Snyder last year for $6.05 billion, had previously said the old Redskins name, originating in 1933, would not return.

 

But Harris’ group includes NBA legend Magic Johnson, who told NBC News otherwise.

 

“Everything’s on the table, especially after this year,” Johnson told journalist Craig Melvin last year. “We’ll see where we are with the name.”

 

Some fans have even urged President-elect Donald Trump to change the team’s name back when he returns to office.

 

Do Native Americans Want the Redskins Name Back?

 

In September, ML Football, the credentialed media for everything football related, announced that the family of the Blackfeet chief featured in the logo wants the team to change its name back to Redskins.

 

“90 percent of Native Americans supported the Redskins name,” the post reads.

 

“People are fed up with everything being offensive,” Odom said. “If they change the name back it’s definitely a cultural win for keeping things how they are no matter the origin since context has changed. I feel like this could be a nod to keeping historic statues up despite the origins.”

 

Why Did the Washington Redskins Change Their Name?

 

“Redskin” is sometimes used as a discriminatory slang term against Indigenous people in the United States.

 

Amid the Black Lives Matter protests that followed the death of George Floyd, Snyder faced growing pressure from sponsors, including Nike, FedEx and PepsiCo, to change the team’s name. The league and team announced in July 2020 that it was “undergoing a thorough review of the team name.”

 

Snyder had insisted for over two decades, however, that he was not going to abandon the Redskins name, even as Indigenous advocacy groups fought to get rid of it. In 2020, more than a dozen tribal leaders and organizations sent a letter to Goodell calling for the league to force Snyder into changing the team’s name.

 

Criticism surrounding the name started in the 1960s and gained larger public traction in the 1990s. The team rebranded itself as the Washington Football Team in 2020 before becoming the Commanders in 2022.

 

But another name change could hurt the team, Jim Rocco, author of the coming book, Sports Crisis Communications: Cases & Controversies, told Newsweek.

 

“It’s always bad for a sports brand to sway this way and that in the face of changing political winds. You tend to make your fans dizzy,” he said. “In this case, the idea is actually a little crazy. What’s going to happen if the Democrats retake control of Congress? Will they change the name again?”

 

David Aaker, known as the “father of modern branding,” agreed that the team is in “a lose-lose situation.”

 

“Whatever route will upset some people and cause their support of the team to be reduced and that will not be offset by those that ‘won,’” Aaker told Newsweek. “If the name change is made I would not make a big deal out of it.”

 

Will the Original Redskins Logo Be Used?

 

Republican U.S. Senator Steve Daines of Montana previously threatened to block legislation pertaining to the RFK stadium site until the NFL and Commanders agreed to honor the old Redskins logo.

 

In a letter to Fox 5 WTTG, Daines said that the former logo, which depicted Blackfeet Chief Two Guns White Calf, acted as “a symbol of pride, strength and honor” and that it should not be censored.

 

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which Daines leads, approved legislation last week that would fund revitalization of the D.C. football stadium site.

 

Who Is the Face of the Original Redskins Logo?

 

Daines told Newsweek he is now in favor of the bill because the Indigenous family credited with designing the original logo is now satisfied with the team’s efforts to honor Walter “Blackie” Wetzel’s work. There seems to be “good faith negotiations” with the league around the old logo. It is expected to be included on alumni shirts for those who played while sporting the Redskins logo.

 

“My goal has always been to support the Wetzel family and tribal stakeholders in their goal to bring the iconic Blackfeet logo back to a place of prominence,” Daines told Newsweek. “Native Americans in Montana have diverse views on the Redskins nickname but they overwhelmingly agree that the Blackfeet logo is a symbol of pride, strength and honor. I’ve insisted that the NFL, Commanders and their corporate sponsors celebrate it, not censor it.”

 

A Commanders team spokesperson on Monday told Newsweek that there are no plans to bring the logo back. It was developed in 1971 by Wetzel, a former leader of Blackfeet Nation. The Redskins image is a composite of Native American photographs, including one featuring a Blackfeet chief.

16867: Celebrating Native American Heritage Day In Adland.

 

Today is Native American Heritage Day—or for White advertising agencies, it’s Black Friday.

 

After all, Native Americans are woefully underrepresented in Adland. And in recent years, their stereotypical images have been erased as brand mascots.

 

The chances of appointing a Chief Diversity Officer are highly unlikely too.

16521: Giving New Wings To Popeyes Promotion…?

 

Super Bowl LVIII will present the Kansas City Chiefs versus the San Francisco 49ers. So, Popeyes has a unique opportunity to make good on its Wings For Wings promotion, despite the concession posted at the fast feeder’s website (depicted above).

 

To recap, the Louisiana Kitchen offered free chicken wings if the Super Bowl winner has wings—initially defined as having a name or logo with wings (e.g., Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills, etc.).

 

While the 49ers do not meet the criteria, it could be argued that the Chiefs qualify.

 

From 1963 to 1972, the team logo (depicted below) featured a running, tomahawk-wielding Native American in cartoon chief headdress made of bird feathers. 

 

Additionally, current team mascot KC Wolf first appeared in 1989 as successor to Warpaint, a horse originally ridden by a man donning a full chief headdress, replete with feathers (depicted below).

 

In short, a Chiefs victory would allow Popeyes to complete the free wings giveaway.

 

Granted, the Kansas City Chiefs organization would likely distance itself from such politically incorrect publicity. But Popeyes and its White advertising agency are seemingly not above displaying cultural cluelessness.

16518: Displaying Respect—By Regulation—For Native American Culture.

 

The New York Times reported major US museums—including the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, the Field Museum in Chicago, and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University—are removing and/or rethinking displays of Native American artifacts and objects.

 

The museums are responding to updated federal regulations that require obtaining tribal consent before exhibiting or conducting research on cultural items. The updated policies went into effect this month.

 

How convenient for the museums that the measures became official well after National Native American Heritage Month and Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

 

Leading Museums Remove Native Displays Amid New Federal Rules

 

The American Museum of Natural History is closing two major halls as museums around the nation respond to updated policies from the Biden administration.

 

By Julia Jacobs and Zachary Small

 

The American Museum of Natural History will close two major halls exhibiting Native American objects, its leaders said on Friday, in a dramatic response to new federal regulations that require museums to obtain consent from tribes before displaying or performing research on cultural items.

 

“The halls we are closing are artifacts of an era when museums such as ours did not respect the values, perspectives and indeed shared humanity of Indigenous peoples,” Sean Decatur, the museum’s president, wrote in a letter to the museum’s staff on Friday morning. “Actions that may feel sudden to some may seem long overdue to others.”

 

The museum is closing galleries dedicated to the Eastern Woodlands and the Great Plains this weekend, and covering a number of other display cases featuring Native American cultural items as it goes through its enormous collection to make sure it is in compliance with the new federal rules, which took effect this month.

 

Museums around the country have been covering up displays as curators scramble to determine whether they can be shown under the new regulations. The Field Museum in Chicago covered some display cases, the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University said it would remove all funerary belongings from exhibition and the Cleveland Museum of Art has covered up some cases.

 

But the action by the American Museum of Natural History in New York, which draws 4.5 million visitors a year, making it one of the most visited museums in the world, sends a powerful message to the field. The museum’s anthropology department is one of the oldest and most prestigious in the United States, known for doing pioneering work under a long line of curators including Franz Boas and Margaret Mead. The closures will leave nearly 10,000 square feet of exhibition space off-limits to visitors; the museum said it could not provide an exact timeline for when the reconsidered exhibits would reopen.

 

“Some objects may never come back on display as a result of the consultation process,” Decatur said in an interview. “But we are looking to create smaller-scale programs throughout the museum that can explain what kind of process is underway.”

 

The changes are the result of a concerted effort by the Biden administration to speed up the repatriation of Native American remains, funerary objects and other sacred items. The process started in 1990 with the passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, or NAGPRA, which established protocols for museums and other institutions to return human remains, funerary objects and other holdings to tribes. But as those efforts have dragged on for decades, the law was criticized by tribal representatives as being too slow and too susceptible to institutional resistance.

 

This month, new federal regulations went into effect that were designed to hasten returns, giving institutions five years to prepare all human remains and related funerary objects for repatriation and giving more authority to tribes throughout the process.

 

“We’re finally being heard — and it’s not a fight, it’s a conversation,” said Myra Masiel-Zamora, an archaeologist and curator with the Pechanga Band of Indians.

 

Even in the two weeks since the new regulations took effect, she said, she has felt the tenor of talks shift. In the past, institutions often viewed Native oral histories as less persuasive than academic studies when determining which modern-day tribes to repatriate objects to, she said. But the new regulations require institutions to “defer to the Native American traditional knowledge of lineal descendants, Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations.”

 

“We can say, ‘This needs to come home,’ and I’m hoping there will not be pushback,” Masiel-Zamora said.

 

Museum leaders have been preparing for the new regulations for months, consulting lawyers and curators and holding lengthy meetings to discuss what might need to be covered up or removed. Many institutions are planning to hire staff to comply with the new rules, which can involve extensive consultations with tribal representatives.

 

The result has been a major shift in practices when it comes to Native American exhibitions at some of the country’s leading museums — one that will be noticeable to visitors.

 

At the American Museum of Natural History, segments of the collection once used to teach students about the Iroquois, Mohegans, Cheyenne, Arapaho and other groups will be temporarily inaccessible. That includes large objects, like the birchbark canoe of Menominee origin in the Hall of Eastern Woodlands, and smaller ones, including darts that date as far back as 10,000 B.C. and a Hopi Katsina doll from what is now Arizona. Field trips for students to the Hall of Eastern Woodlands are being rethought now that they will not have access to those galleries.

 

“What might seem out of alignment for some people is because of a notion that museums affix in amber descriptions of the world,” Decatur said. “But museums are at their best when they reflect changing ideas.”Exhibiting Native American human remains is generally prohibited at museums, so the collections being reassessed include sacred objects, burial belongings and other items of cultural patrimony. As the new regulations have been discussed and debated over the past year or so, some professional organizations, such as the Society for American Archaeology, have expressed concern that the rules were reaching too far into museums’ collection management practices. But since the regulations went into effect on Jan. 12, there has been little public pushback from museums.

 

Much of the holdings of human remains and Native cultural items were collected through practices that are now considered antiquated and even odious, including through donations by grave robbers and archaeological digs that cleared out Indigenous burial grounds.

 

“This is human rights work, and we need to think about it as that and not as science,” said Candace Sall, the director of the museum of anthropology at the University of Missouri, which is still working to repatriate the remains of more than 2,400 Native American individuals. Sall said she added five staff members to work on repatriation in anticipation of the regulations and hopes to add more.

 

Criticism of the pace of repatriation had put institutions such as the American Museum of Natural History under public pressure. In more than 30 years, the museum has repatriated the remains of approximately 1,000 individuals to tribal groups; it still holds the remains of about 2,200 Native Americans and thousands of funerary objects. (Last year, the museum said it would overhaul practices that extended to its larger collection of some 12,000 skeletons by removing human bones from public display and improving the storage facilities where they are kept.)

 

A top priority of the new regulations, which are administered by the Interior Department, is to finish the work of repatriating the Native human remains in institutional holdings, which amount to more than 96,000 individuals, according to federal data published in the fall.

 

The government has given institutions a deadline, giving them until 2029 to prepare human remains and their burial belongings for repatriation.

 

In many cases, human remains and cultural objects have little information attached to them, which has slowed repatriation in the past, especially for institutions that have sought exacting anthropological and ethnographic evidence of links to a modern Native group.

 

Now the government is urging institutions to push forward with the information they have, in some cases relying solely on geographical information — such as what county the remains were discovered in.

 

There have been concerns among some tribal officials that the new rules will result in a deluge of requests from museums that may be beyond their capacities and could create a financial burden.

 

Speaking in June to a committee that reviews the implementation of the law, Scott Willard, who works on repatriation issues for the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, expressed concern that the rhetoric regarding the new regulations sometimes made it sound as if Native ancestors were “throwaway items.”

 

“This garage sale mentality of ‘give it all away right now’ is very offensive to us,” Willard said.

 

The officials who drew up the new regulations have said that institutions can get extensions to their deadlines as long as the tribes that they are consulting with agree, emphasizing the need to hold institutions accountable without overburdening tribes. If museums are found to have violated the regulations, they could be subject to fines.

 

Bryan Newland, the assistant secretary for Indian Affairs and a former tribal president of the Bay Mills Indian Community, said the rules were drawn up in consultation with tribal representatives, who wanted their ancestors to recover dignity in death.

 

“Repatriation isn’t just a rule on paper,” Newland said, “but it brings real meaningful healing and closure to people.”

16450: How Adland Celebrates Black Friday.

 

Today is Black Friday.

 

For Adland, there will be no acknowledgment of Black culture or Black Lives Matter. There will be zero recognition of the Blackfeet Nation, despite a Presidential Proclamation urging all citizens to celebrate November 24, 2023, as Native American Heritage Day.

 

Over 24 hours, Adland will ignore all things Black—as well as historical references for Black Friday—opting to embrace the popular belief that the day’s name derives from businesses staying in the black.

 

For sales and profit, Adland is operating at full tilt today—and extends the event well before and after the actual date. For diversity, equity, and inclusion, Adland is taking the day off—and the next 365 too.

16431: Not Much On National Native American Heritage Month.

The White House proclaimed this month is National Native American Heritage Month.

 

In Adland, it’s November—and there’s more interest in Movember. That is, even during National Native American Heritage Month, Native Americans are relegated to the proverbial bottom of the totem pole.

16407: Happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

 

Celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day by seeing how Adland has historically honored Native Americans.

16364: Subscribing To Stereotypes…?

 

In these enlightened times of the NFL Washington Commanders and the MLB Cleveland Guardians, why is this magazine title still riding?

16223: Appropriate & Appropriated For Earth Day.

 

For Earth Day, spend a moment comparing Chief Joseph to Iron Eyes Cody.

 

16050: Agency Leverages Its Native American Heritage To Enhance Culture.

 

Oh look! Advertising Age managed to squeeze in a relevant and authentic cultural perspective before the end of National Native American Heritage Month. Kudos to Redline Media Group Founder and President S. R. Tommie for penning the piece. Of course, Ad Age illustrated the content with royalty-free stock photography.

 

How This Agency’s Native American Heritage Helps Create An Engaging Workspace

 

4 ways to empower teams with a sense of tradition, community and culture

 

By S. R. Tommie

 

As employees continue to return to the office post-pandemic, readjusting to the “traditional” working environment has proven to be an ongoing challenge. As many of us adapt back to the typical work structure, the office environment itself has had to make modifications to accommodate this change in mindset.

 

The average full-time employee works approximately 40 hours per week, totaling more than 100,000 hours in their lifetime. Because we spend most of our time at work, the office environment has a direct impact on our quality of life. Maintaining a healthy and safe workspace promotes good mental health and efficient workflows, but you’ll also find that including fun activations and creative workspace elements stimulate a deeper commitment and dedication toward projects that are above and beyond expectations.

 

As a Native American-owned agency, we’ve found that leaning into tradition, both our cultural and company heritage, has helped foster an environment that is empowering, inspirational and efficient. In observance of Native American Heritage Month, we share our strategies here:

 

Create designated areas for brainstorming

 

Native American culture has historically relied on storytelling as the principal means of passing down vivid narratives that document tribal histories, rituals, customs and legends. In the modern-day office setting, brainstorming and collaborating is a way of calling back to the creativity found in Native American storytelling. By creating spaces for team members to gather, they’re able to easily collaborate and bounce ideas off one another in a way that can’t be replicated through email communication. Establishing “Think Tanks” equipped with whiteboards for jotting down notes and snacks to fuel ideation is a great way to inspire creativity in the workplace. These designated areas give our creatives room to breathe and the opportunity for their stories to come to life.

 

Teamwork makes the dream work

 

The traditional Native American ideal of the shared strength of community can serve as an invaluable foundation for creating a strong, cohesive team. Hosting annual events to honor holidays and celebrate milestones help to establish traditions within your organization and provide a healthy way for team members to get to know their peers outside of work projects. Small gatherings can be as simple as singing “Happy Birthday” to celebrate a team member or creating special moments during holidays with shared meals and decorations. This furthers a sense of community and culture, helping to increase communication and encourage collaboration as team members continue to get to know one another and recognize each other’s strengths. As they continue to work together, they’re also able to learn from each other, connect and grow.

 

Create projects for team members to collaborate

 

As a matriarchal society, Seminole Tribal Citizens inherit an additional layer of kinship from their mother, referred to as their clan. Each clan is symbolic of elements in nature, and imbued with inherent obligations to family, earth and tribe, while possessing clearly delineated strengths and attributes from their namesake. These characteristics collectively contribute to the well-being of the tribe, family unit and surrounding communities.

 

As team members create healthy working relationships, they are exhibiting similar characteristics to Native clans, as they too are working toward ensuring the well-being of their colleagues and the work they produce in a collaborative way. While not every project needs group cooperation, some will require several great minds to work together. When collaborating, team members add elements from each of their suggestions and are able to elevate the project to further heights than if it were worked on by an individual alone.

 

Encourage ideas from anyone, anytime, about anything

 

There are eight Seminole Tribe of Florida Clans—Panther, Bear, Deer, Wind, Bigtown, Bird, Snake and Otter. The various attributes of these clans are a unique reflection of the Seminole Tribe’s tradition of diversity. A variety of perspectives can be the key to unlocking creativity. Good suggestions can come from anywhere.

 

Each team member has a distinct and different background, contributing from their own unique vantage point. Problem-solving for global markets requires global perspective and that perspective is fostered by diversity. While each team member may have their own specialty and job focus, having fresh takes for a campaign revamp or project suggestions provides the ability to see things from different angles.

 

Redline Media Group is a company founded upon and rooted in the traditional Native American ideals of character, shared strength of community, continuous improvement, appreciation for what one has and a dedication to supporting those in need. Collectively, we share the belief that our daily actions can have a significant effect on the world, and that it is our duty to improve it for ourselves and for generations to come.

 

“Love what you do, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life” takes on a new meaning when you consider many of us will spend more than 100,000 hours in the workplace. Recognizing and implementing traditions both old and new in the workplace can provide your team with a sense of community and culture, creating ongoing opportunities for them to feel empowered and inspired.