The name John Two Guns White Calf likely doesn’t mean anything to most people, but whether they know it or not, the nation’s legions of football fans have seen his picture.
Until 2020, the likeness of Two Guns White Calf adorned the helmets, jerseys, merchandise, field, and facilities of the Washington Redskins. But that year, as cities across the country burned at the hands of Black Lives Matter activists, the franchise caved to external pressure and announced that it would retire the name “Redskins” and with it, condemn the likeness of Two Guns White Calf to the ash heap of history.
In a bid to appease a racist mob, the franchise now known as the Washington Commanders effectively erased one of the most visible images of Native Americans in popular culture and replaced him with one of the most generic and bland names that any team could have ever chosen. It was an insult to the legacy of Two Guns White Calf.
The likeness in the Redskins logo was not just any Native American’s. He was the last chief of the Blackfoot Tribe and was one of the most photographed Native Americans of his time until his death in 1934. The logo that used his likeness was created in 1971, nearly 40 years after his death.
But for all the claims that changing the name and logo was due to its racist connotations, it is the descendants of Two Guns White Calf that want the Washington football franchise to restore the old logo.
“It’s a point of pride and represents the rich Native American history that helped make our nation great, and it should be enthusiastically celebrated across our culture,” one of the chief’s living relatives said recently.
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The NFL and the Washington franchise should take seriously the desires of the family of the man whose face adorned its helmets for nearly 50 years. They should honor the historical legacy of Two Guns White Calf, but also those of the great players who wore his likeness: Darrell Green, Joe Theismann, Art Monk, John Riggins, and legendary coach Joe Gibbs.
And the band can once again play “Hail to the Redskins.”