Legendary Blackfeet Leader Honored During Private NFL Ceremony
Pretty cool to see the NFL team that represents our US capitol region show respect to the legacy of a legendary Blackfeet Nation leader and his family from here in Montana. But why did the Washington Commanders, as the team is now called, host a private ceremony instead of a public ceremony?
That was the question I had after seeing this report by an ABC affiliate in the DC area.
In a private ceremony Sunday at Northwest Stadium, the Washington Commanders honored the late Walter "Blackie" Wetzel with a memorial. Wetzel, who was a member of the Blackfeet tribe, designed the warrior logo for use for the Washington franchise in the early 1970s.
Shawn Wetzel shared the above photos and added this: :My Grandpa Blackie was an incredible leader of all people. He may be gone but his legacy is alive and well. Iksukaapii"
Back in 2020, I interviewed another one of "Blackie's" descendants- Lance Wetzel. Lance is the son of former Blackfeet Tribal Chair Walter "Blackie" Wetzel, who was instrumental in designing the Washington Redskins logo in honor of Chief White Calf.
Days after the memorial was unveiled in a private ceremony over the weekend, more Blackfeet Nation descendants are calling for the NFL to reinstate the Redskins logo in honor of Chief White Calf.
As Fox News reports, "The fans want him back and we want him back,' Thomas White Calf, a great nephew of the celebrated early-20th-century native, said this week by phone, hours after the family met with Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana."
Breitbart News also has a great report where they note, "Two Guns White Calf’s profile was the image that the Redskins used for decades and served as the team mascot from 1972 to 2020...The chief’s visage, though, was eliminated in 2020 by left-wing activists who pestered the Redskins for nearly two decades to end its usage of Native American imagery, despite that many polls showed that fans did not want the logos removed; even polls showed Native Americans were not bothered by the use of the images."
So, if the Native Americans themselves want the logo restored and honored- who is leading the opposition? Click here for the answer.