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Commanders’ new logo sparks response from Native American groups
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A new Washington Commanders logo featuring a spear has drawn criticism from Native American organizations and prominent people in Native American communities.
The team posted images of a “new alternate logo’’ on social media accounts April 15. They show a spear intertwined with the team’s “W” on a helmet. The “W” remains the team’s primary logo.
“The Washington Commanders’ decision to update their logo is disappointing and inappropriate to say the least,’’ the Association on American Indian Affairs said in a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports. “It is time to stop repeating this cycle and listen to Native Peoples who have been clear, consistent, and unwavering on this issue: We are not your mascot.’’
For decades, Washington’s NFL team faced opposition to its depiction of Native Americans with its former mascot and nickname. The team stopped using the mascot and nickname in 2020 and rebranded as the Washington Commanders in 2022.
A caption on one of the team’s social media posts this week reads, “Pieces of then and now, tied to one legacy.’’
Suzan Harjo, a Native American activist who was part of two lawsuits designed to force the team to change its previous mascot and name, said she thinks the team is being disingenuous — trying to appease people who want to bring back the old mascot.
“There are a lot of people in Washington D.C. (and parts of Virginia and Maryland) who really long for the days of the dreaded R-word,’’ Harjo said, referring to the team’s previous nickname. “It was a vile name. It was one of the vilest ever.’’
Of the new alternate logo, the team has stated that the “Spear and W interweave at their centers, a powerful joining of past and present.” Along with, “The spearhead symbolizes those leading the fight.” And, “A design that captures the forward-focused spirit of the Commander, a leader of warriors.”
Support for logo among critics
The Commanders declined to say whether the team consulted Native Americans on the design of the logo and deferred to the NFL questions regarding the league’s role in the process The NFL did not respond to messages seeking comment.
Becky Clayton-Anderson, president of the Native American Guardians Association (NAGA), applauded the design of the new logo.
NAGA “is pleased to see the Washington Commanders incorporate a Native spear into their new logo design,” Clayton-Anderson said in a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports. “It’s encouraging to have a small piece of Native imagery represented again, honoring the deep connection between Native heritage and America’s sports traditions.’’
But another Native American group and other prominent people in Native American communities said they objected to the new logo.
Not In Our Honor, formed in 2005 by Native American college students to advocate against the use of Native American imagery in sports, said it didn’t find the logo acceptable or appropriate.
“They are backsliding from the correct decision to stop the Native American cultural appropriation,’’ Not In Our Honor said in a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports. “…The spear on their helmet has no place with the new name and brand.’’
Marcus Briggs-Cloud, an Indigenous Maskoke scholar and language teacher, said the logo does not reflect the Maskoke People’s core values, such as love, humility, meekness and truth.
“But publicly highlighting those virtues, which are rendered in our language, would not support some people’s desire to uphold the raging Indigenous noble savage imagery in American sports arenas,’’ Briggs-Cloud wrote in a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports.
Of the new logo, Briggs-Cloud also wrote, “The image harkens back to European contrived imaginaries of the noble savage that reduce Indigenous Peoples to identities rooted in violence.’’
Could logo cause harm?
Stephanie Fryberg, a social psychologist whose research has included social representations of Native Americans, suggested the new logo will cause harm.
“The reintroduction of imagery and language tied to the team’s former identity is a step backward,’’ Fryberg said in a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports. “Research has long shown that Native-themed mascots and symbols cause psychological harm, particularly to Native youth, by reinforcing stereotypes and contributing to the ongoing erasure of Native peoples in contemporary society….
“True progress means moving beyond harmful representations.’’
Philip Deloria, a Harvard professor of history whose research and teaching focus in part on relations among American Indian peoples and the United States, said by email it’s “a shame that (the Commanders) decided to make this move.”
“They’d successfully rebranded and so why rebrand again?” Deloria continued. “It let’s us see what they really want, which seems to be an incremental resurrection of a history that they could have gotten past—if they’d wanted to.”
Deloria also took issue with the team, stating “the spearhead symbolizes those leading the fight.”
“Symbols don’t work that way,” Deloria wrote. “They are collectively created, transmitted, and interpreted, not invented by a marketing team. So that statement is essentially meaningless. …It’s just part of the long history of the team making up excuses and justifications for what has long been a racist practice.”
“The spear is alive and well’
The new logo is integrated into new alternate uniforms, and Commanders president Mark Clouse addressed the changes during an interview with Grant Paulsen and Danny Rouhier during their daily afternoon show on 106.7 The Fan (WJFK-FM) in Washington, D.C.
“Well, certainly we had a lot of discussion about the utilization of the spear and the alternate uniform,’’ Clouse said. “…And the spear became just this really interesting icon that you saw us utilize in a variety of things last year and in our marketing. And then bringing it to the uniform was really the next logical step.’’
Although Clouse did not directly address criticism of the spear, he did say, “And look, I know we’re not always going to make everybody happy. And what I can say for fans is we really do listen. We care.’’
But don’t expect the spear to disappear. The logo can be worn as part of the new alternate uniforms during four games this season, a Commanders spokesperson told USA TODAY Sports. It also will be incorporated into team merchandise, Clouse said during the radio interview.
“…We will continue to find ways to integrate it,’’ he said. “We love it.”
