This year’s Super Bowl LVIII isn’t just about the Kansas City Chiefs facing off against the San Francisco 49ers. It’s a moment to examine why, despite progress, the Chiefs – and other teams – continue using imagery and names considered offensive to many Native Americans.

The question of “why haven’t the Chiefs changed their name?” is just the tip of the iceberg. From sports teams to place names, outdated and harmful representations persist. have begun raising these questions with renewed urgency, fueled by movements like the Lakota People’s Law renaming project and broader calls for social justice.

While the Chiefs maintain their stance on the name, a growing number of voices question its appropriateness in the current cultural landscape.

Chase Iron Eyes, Director of the Lakota People’s Law Project, emphasizes, now is the time to explore the “real stories” behind these names and seek healing through truth and genuine agency.

“We’re seeing a lot of mainstream progress in terms of indigenous peoples, but a lot of times it’s non indigenous money or writers who are funding the films. There, the ceiling is native representation if you have native people playing native roles. There’s another level, and that’s agency. We do need healing in our country. In order to survive, we’ve got to tell the truth,” Iron Eyes said.

The organization’s initiative to rename offensive monikers aims to restore dignity and recognize the experiences of Native and enslaved communities. This Sunday, they’re asking fans to go beyond the game and consider the bigger picture: can sports and public spaces truly reflect progress if they continue to perpetuate harmful stereotypes?

This Super Bowl has presented a unique opportunity to spark a wider conversation about representation, respect, and the potential for meaningful change in both sports and society at large.

Here are 10 particularly egregious monikers from sports teams to geographic landmarks, demanding a name change to move beyond harmful stereotypes and honor the dignity of Native communities and people people of color:

Kansas City Chiefs

The team was named after Harold Roe Bartle, the non-indigenous mayor of Kansas City from 1955 to 1963. He was nicknamed “Chief” due to his involvement with a Boy Scouts program inspired by Native American culture he started on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, which often involved stereotypical portrayals and appropriation like mock ceremonial dances featuring scouts dressed in “Native-style regalia.” He claimed that he was inducted into the Arapaho tribe while in Wyoming.

Still, the football team has adopted Native imagery and culture in its team branding. The team’s early logos and mascots heavily relied on harmful caricatures of Native Americans, featuring red skin, feathered headdresses, and stereotypical clothing. These depictions perpetuated negative stereotypes and lacked any meaningful connection to actual Indigenous cultures. The team’s earliest logos, from the 1960s, were the worst offenders, depicting a Native man with red skin and a feathered headdress.

Even though the most offensive imagery is gone, the arrowhead logo and the team name itself are still seen as culturally insensitive. Fans’ use of the “tomahawk chop” cheer and wearing feather headdresses war paint further contributes to the appropriation and misrepresentation of Indigenous cultures.

Golden State Warriors

The team originally started as the Philadelphia Warriors in 1946. The teams first logo depicted a caricature of a Native American man in redface and a feathered headdress dribbling a basketball. This imagery was undeniably offensive and stereotypical. The logo hasn’t been used since 1962, after the team moved from Philadelphia to California, but the name continues.

The team owners considered going back to being the San Francisco Warriors—the name it played under from 1962-71–when the team moved to San Francisco in 2014. The team name has remained the same despite the move, which now happened nearly a decade ago. The logo was changed, but still featured a feathered headdress, although stylized and less blatantly offensive.

Eventually, in 1971, the name was changed to Golden State Warriors to represent the team’s statewide identity. While the name itself doesn’t reference specific communities, its connection to the earlier, highly problematic imagery remains a concern.

Other sports teams:

Other professional North American sports teams have continued using Native mascots, including the Atlanta Braves, the National League baseball team and the National Hockey League’s Chicago Blackhawks, whose logo still features a caricature of Native man.

The Braves also still use the “tomahawk chop” cheer at games.

Places

For Black History Month this year, The Lakota People’s Law Project is urging the public to join their fight for renaming several landmarks across the United States that carry deeply offensive and racist titles.

Their campaign targets 12 specific locations, highlighting the power names hold in shaping societal norms and perceptions. Lakota Law worked with Black Lives Matter and People, Not Mascots to put together the effort.

“Names have power — like offensive mascots and nicknames in sports, place names implicitly teach us what is acceptable and what isn’t,” said Lily Joy Winder, who is Afro-Indigenous and runs People, Not Mascots, an organization dedicated to changing offensive school and sports mascots and nicknames. “Outdated caricatures and monikers are not harmless. Their societal acceptance can lead to a perpetuation of misunderstanding and hate, often affecting children the most.”

Here are some of the standouts among that list:

Big Negro Creek, Missouri

Some historians have suggested certain Big Negro Creek was named for the Underground Railroad, but considering its naming in 1865, historians said it’s far more likely the creek was named for the story of a Black man seeking freedom who took his own life instead of be captured by slaveowners.

Historians say the story is true. The truth was revealed when city officials were considering changing the name of the creek in 2021. This account, documented by historians and supported by a map from 1856, paints a grim picture of the desperation and violence faced by enslaved people during the era.

Despite the truth about the creek’s name, it remains unchanged.

Anna, Illinois

What appears to be a city with a common name for American girls actually has a darker history. Anna, Illinois, has long been considered a “sundown town” – these are towns where Black Americans avoided after sundown due to reports of race-based violence toward people of color who came into town after dark.

The name “Anna” was an acronym that meant “Ain’t No Negro Allowed,” a chilling message signifying the town’s history as a “sundown town.” These were communities where Black residents were unwelcome after dark, often facing threats and violence if they stayed.

In 1909, a white mob lynched William “Froggie” James, a Black man accused of murdering the daughter of the town’s stationmaster. This incident sparked a mass exodus of Black residents, further solidifying the town’s reputation as unwelcome to Black people.

Signs warning Black residents to leave before sundown persisted on highways leading to Anna until the 1970s, serving as a stark reminder of the town’s exclusionary past.

People in the town wish the racist story behind the name would “go away,” ProPublica reported in 2020. Still, the city name is unchanged.

Despite efforts to distance itself from this history, the name “Anna” continues to carry the weight of its racist past. This discourages Black residents from settling in the town, contributing to its low Black population.

Negro Foot, Virginia

Negro Foot, Virginia is a small community in Hanover County in eastern Virginia. The city is so synonymous with the Ku Klux Klan and racial violence that it’s named after it.

The name of this place in Virginia has more than one origin story, but all of them are rooted in racial violence and a Black man being brutalized as a “warning.”

According to local legend, white slave owners cut off an enslaved man’s foot as punishment for running away and seeking freedom. Another story says a recently arrived African-American was “drawn and quartered” and parts of his body were hung in public view “as a warning to slaves,” the Virginia Chronicle said in a 2003 report on the community’s many origin stories.

Despite variations in the specific details, all narratives surrounding the name “Negro Foot” are rooted in violence, subjugation and racial oppression. Regardless of the precise origin, the name holds deeply offensive and painful connotations and perpetuates harmful stereotypes.

Pickaninny Buttes in California

There have been multiple efforts to change the name of this scenic place in California.The name, the term “pickaninny” is a racial slur that was used to dehumanize and mock Black people, especially children, , was likely pinned to the location because African Americans attempted a settlement near the Lucerne Valley at the turn of the 20th century, NBC reported.

The settlement failed, but the name stuck and remains today. There have been several efforts to rename the buttes. In 2016, the California State Lands Commission voted to change the name to the Chumash name, “Sohkohpah.” However, this decision was challenged in court, and the name remains Pickaninny Buttes for now. Some of the new name suggestions include Alfalfa Buttes.

Devil’s Tower National Monument, Wyoming

An expedition led by Colonel Richard Irving Dodge in 1875 named it “Devil’s Tower” based on a possible misinterpretation of Native American descriptions. Some believe he intentionally changed the name.

Dodge, who served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, wrote extensively about his experiences, including interactions with Indigenous peoples. His portrayal of Native Americans varied, sometimes expressing empathy and appreciation for their skills and resilience. However, other writings exhibited stereotypical and negative views, particularly towards those resisting forced location and assimilation.

The monument is considered sacred by native tribes of the Northern Plains. Hundreds of parallel cracks make it one of the finest crack climbing areas in North America.

“Devils Tower entices us to learn more, explore more and define our place in the natural and cultural world,” the National Park Service said on the page for the national monument.

Numerous tribes have their own names for the monument, most commonly translating to “Bear Lodge” in Lakota. These names hold deep spiritual and cultural significance. Lakota Law recommends the official adoption of its Lakota name.

What’s next?

There are far more than just 12 racist and offensive place names in America, and Lakota Law hopes the project will inspire people to examine the questionable place names in their communities and ask their elected officials to take action to rename them.

The National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers and The Wilderness Society published a “Guide to Changing Racist and Offensive Place Names in the United States” in 2022. The guide instructs people on how to consult with local tribal nations and engage with state and local authorities to have a place renamed.

One such place that was renamed through The Wilderness Society’s renaming efforts is “Bright Angel Trail,” which was previously called “Indian Garden” before the renaming effort in 2022. Now officially called Havasupai Gardens, the name reflects the people who continue to care for the land, despite a century of harm.

To get more information about Lakota Law’s effort to have racist and offensive places in America renamed, visit their website. You can also submit a place to be renamed through the Federal Board on Geographic Names.