Washington, D.C.’s professional football hasn’t been the same since the franchise changed its name from Redskins to Commanders because the logo of the Blackfeet chief who served as the face of the Washington Redskins for 48 years was considered by some to be an offense to Native Americans, even racist.
In 2020, the team retired the Redskins name after long-standing controversies surrounding it and briefly became the Washington Football Team, before choosing the Washington Commanders as their permanent name in 2022.
Years later, those fans who wanted to retain the name — some of Native American descent — are still keeping hope alive that they can get the name back in some capacity.
Descendants Of Celebrated Blackfeet Chief John Two Guns White Calf Wants Image Back In NFL
Relatives of the reported model for the former Redskins logo want the image they claim is Two Guns, back on the fields of the NFL, they told Fox News Digital.
“The fans want him back and we want him back,” Thomas White Calf, a great-nephew of the celebrated early-20th-century native, told Fox News this week via phone, just hours after the family met with Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines.
They have a different twist on his legacy than those who fought to have the logo and owner Dan Snyder replaced.
White Calf’s descendants want his incredible life story retold to a new generation of Americans who “seek unity and value multiculturalism.”
Thomas and Delphine White Calf Speak Out About Legacy Of Two Guns
“Our ancestor was the most famous and most photographed native in history,” said White Calf, who was joined on the call by his mother, Delphine White Calf, a niece of the late Blackfeet chief.
“Two Guns was also the face on the Indian head nickel. I’m proud of him. The Blackfeet are proud of him.”
This perspective is definitely a twist from the overwhelming media narrative condemning the logo and everything it supposedly represented as a stain on the NFL.
The name was changed even as polls reportedly showed that 90 percent of Native Americans supported the team’s name and White Calf portrait.
Two Guns’ relatives might have a case for inclusion if it actually could be proved that he is the image used in the logo and coins.
However, the facts of that claim have been harshly disputed in the past, leading many to think that this latest push to acknowledge the Redskins logo is another right-wing crusade to fight back against what they describe as a disease called “wokeness.” Which can also be described as a privileged white person’s refusal to be held accountable for any past acts of oppression or racism.
While Walter S. “Blackie” Werzel designed the actual logo in the ’70s, a sculptor named James Earle Fraser created the image for the Indian-faced nickel that the former Redskins logo is based on. He claimed that the image is not Two Guns.
The identity of the Indians whom Fraser used as models isn’t a certainty because reportedly Fraser told also likes to stretch the truth a bit and his stories weren’t consistent during the 40 years he lived after designing the nickel that debuted in 1913.
Fraser’s design was adapted for a 2001 commemorative silver dollar as well the American Buffalo gold coin. The mound is similar to the Type I reverse initially used in 1913.
Two Guns Takes Credit As Model For Coin
Recognizing an opportunity, it’s reputed that by 1931, Two Guns White Calf, son of the last Blackfoot tribal chief, was claiming he was the model for the coin.
To try and refute the claim once and for all, Fraser wrote that he had used three Indians for the piece, including “Iron Tail. The other one was Two Moons and Big Tree. A Sioux. Kiowa and Cheyenne.
Fraser continues to be bombarded with inquiries about the true identity of the Indian model until his death in 1953.
A half a century later, with no one left to dispute his claims, Two Guns’ relatives are claiming the image and trying to gain support from the Native American community.
NAGA Sues Washington Commanders After Redskins Name Change
Billy Dieckman of the Native American Guardians Association (NAGA) and attorney Chad Laveglia discuss a lawsuit filed against the Washington Commanders for allegedly suppressing Native American references by removing the “Redskins” name.
“The name Redskins carries deep cultural, historical, and emotional significance, honoring the bravery, resilience, and warrior spirit associated with Native American culture…Commanders is a fitting name for oppressors,” Dieckman said in a live interview.
“This is about righting a wrong,” Sen. Daines said in an email sent to Fox News Digital.
“The legendary Blackfeet logo that was championed by Blackie Wetzel and based on the likeness of Chief Two Guns White Calf must be restored to a place of honor,” Daines added.
Who Is Blackie Wetzel?
Blackie Wetzel is the late Blackfeet tribal leader who created the portrait of Two Guns White Calf in 1971. Fueled and legitimized by widespread support from Native American groups, Washington adopted the image as its logo in 1972.
The White Calf family has support in Washington, D.C., from one of their Montana senators, while the NFL franchise itself has no plans, however, the Native American logo that was erased when the franchise was purchased by Josh Harris in 2023 amidst multiple layers of controversy and a disgruntled fan base. The franchise is open to new ideas of how to honor the team’s heritage.
“We are collaborating with Sen. Steve Daines to honor the legacy of our team’s heritage and the Native American community,” a Commanders spokesperson said in a statement.
“At the senator’s suggestion, we have developed a positive relationship with Ryan Wetzel, the grandson of Walter ‘Blackie’ Wetzel, who designed the logo. We look forward to honoring that legacy.”
There are still many fans who believe celebrated Blackfeet chief John Two Guns White Calf was prematurely sacrificed on the altar of cancel culture. Others don’t believe he had anything to do with the logo and his family may be the same nature of opportunists he was when he proclaimed himself the logo.
Now, according to his family and political supporters, an effort to save the indigenous hero’s legacy as well as larger Native history from an agenda of “wokeness” is reportedly beginning to spread nationwide.
John Two Guns White Calf Is Face of Redskins Logo
White Calf was the alleged face of the NFL’s Washington Redskins for 48 years. Before receiving that honor, he was one of the most famous and charismatic Native Americans of the 20th century.
The Redskins were the only minority representation in the entire NFL and it was a real person, not a mascot,” historian Andre Billeaudeaux, the author of “How the Redskins Got Their Name,” told Fox News in an interview.
Not many people know who the Native American was on the logo or why he’s important.
Two Guns White Calf’s alleged portrait emblazoned Redskins helmets, T-shirts, playing fields and marketing materials from 1972 until 2020. To this day, it’s one of the most popular logos in NFL history.
White Calf, according to multiple sources, was also the inspiration for the face that appeared on the U.S. Mint’s famous 1913 Indian head nickel. This claim was disputed by the aforementioned Fraser, but White Calf was acknowledged and his death in 1934 was considered significant enough to earn a New York Times obituary.
Two Guns White Calf’s Proud History Erased
According to reports, the celebrated Blackfeet leader was done dirty by the National Congress of American Indians in 2013, when it published a dubious report titled “Ending the Legacy of Racism in Sports & The Era of Harmful ‘Indian’ Sports Mascots.”
The 29-page dissertation included a scathing 3,650-word history of the Redskins and its “legacy of racism” that critics note miserably failed to mention Chief Two Guns White Calf, even though the say he was the face of the Redskins franchise for 48 years.
He never got a cent for his image. Neither did any of the Native Americans who were the images used by Fraser. Instead, he got canceled and erased from history. The Redskin logo is now considered a representation of exploitation and racism. His family is realizing the negative impact of this.
“Two Guns White Calf was a real person, not a mascot and he was canceled,” historian Andre Billeaudeaux, the author of “How the Redskins Got Their Name,” told Fox News Digital earlier this year.
Most Redskins Players Dislike Commanders Name
Most former Redskins players hate the name. Former QB Mark Rypien told 106.7 The Fan that the old school players support the franchise, but don’t want their era of glory to be erased.
“We are going to support these guys because that’s the era we are in. I am not a Commanders’ legend. I am a Redskin. I love my guys,” he added.
Former Washington Super Bowl champion Charles Mann finished his career with 82 sacks, second-most in franchise history, and 17 forced fumbles, the most in franchise history. said that he didn’t like any of the names originally offered during the selection process, including Commanders.
While the Wetzel family is being recognized by the NFL franchise for its role honoring Two Guns White Calf, the Blackfeet chief’s family says the organization has ignored them for decades and “want a seat at the table.”
History and truth be damned.
