NHL'S Blackhawks have no intention of changing name
Team owners say moniker pays tribute to legendary Native American leader
The Cleveland Indians are the latest major professional sports franchise to move away from a name that evokes Native American culture, but among the teams holding firm are the Chicago Blackhawks.
“Obviously, respect the decision the Cleveland Indians made to go down that path, but we continue to deepen our commitment to upholding our namesake and our brand,” Blackhawks CEO Danny Wirtz said Thursday.
Wirtz was asked about the issue in a Zoom meeting with reporters, following news that emerged Sunday of the Indians' plan to drop a name they have used for 105 years. The owner of the MLB team, Paul Dolan, said Monday it will keep that name through the 2021 season before making a change.
“While Indians will always be a part of our history,” Dolan said in a statement, “it's time to move forward and work to unify our stakeholders and fans through a new name.”
Wirtz, whose father Rocky Wirtz owns the NHL team, took a different stance.
“We're going to continue down this path,” said Danny Wirtz, “and continue to hold up our brand in the highest levels of honour.”
In July, after the Washington Football Team announced it would undergo a “thorough review” of the name “Redskins” — which would soon be dropped after 87 years of usage — the Blackhawks pointed to the heritage of their name in stating they would keep it.
“The Chicago Blackhawks name and logo symbolizes an important and historic person, Black Hawk of Illinois' Sac & Fox Nation, whose leadership and life has inspired generations of Native Americans, veterans and the public,” the team said then.
The team has used the name, originally “Black Hawks,” since it joined the NHL in 1926. According to historical accounts, the moniker was bestowed by then team owner Frederic Mclaughlin because he had served during the First World War in an infantry unit named for the Native American figure.
“We recognize there's a fine line between respect and disrespect, and we commend other teams for their willingness to engage in that conversation,” the Blackhawks added in July. “Moving forward, we are committed to raising the bar even higher to expand awareness of Black Hawk and the important contributions of all Native American people.”
Later that month, the Blackhawks instituted a ban on fans wearing headdresses at home games.
“These symbols are sacred, traditionally reserved for leaders who have earned a place of great respect in their tribe, and should not be generalized or used as a costume or for everyday wear,” the team said then.
Other major professional teams whose names derive from Native American culture include the NFL'S Kansas City Chiefs, the reigning Super Bowl champions, and MLB'S Atlanta Braves.
In August, the Chiefs also banned fans from wearing headdresses, as well as Native American-themed face paint, at Arrowhead Stadium. The team said it was also “engaged in a thorough review process of the Arrowhead Chop,” but it has continued to allow home fans, fewer in number amid the coronavirus pandemic, to make the rallying gesture. The team's cheerleaders changed their version of it at the start of the season to using a closed fist, rather than an open palm.
Braves fans also use a version of the gesture, called the “Tomahawk Chop” in Atlanta, and team chairman Terry Mcguirk said earlier this week: “We are so proud of our team's name, and our expectation is that we will always be the Atlanta Braves.”
The issue has arisen in Georgia's run-off races for the United States Senate. Republican Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, who are vying to keep their seats, said in a joint statement Monday that they “adamantly oppose any effort to rename” the Braves, arguing that the name “honours our nation's Native American heritage.”
Wirtz said Thursday that he and the Blackhawks organization “continue to feel really positive about the types of work we can do, the way in which we can be better stewards of the namesake and the history, and to use our platforms to be educators, not only for our fans, but for our internal teams and making sure that we provide that reverence and respect that we talk about.”