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ATLANTA -- Over the next three days, a stadium will turn off its lights and thousands will light up their flashlights to illuminate it. This will be a bizarre, problematic, and completely unnecessary ritual. The tomahawk chop was rubber-stamped by the commissioner of MLB earlier this week and will be broadcast across the United States and the world. It will serve as a reminder of how deeply embedded American Indian symbolism is in sports despite all the progress in eliminating it.
Major League Baseball gave a weak, meekly-mouthed affirmation about the chop on Tuesday. This was a common staple at Atlanta Braves games and epitomized the tail waving the dog. Truist Park will host the Braves and Houston Astros in Game 3 and 4 of the World Series. This weekend, a large-majority-white crowd will throng a stadium in the middle suburbs, bend their arms from vertical to horizontal, and shout in defiance at those who don't see it as it is.
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This is something that will eventually disappear, just like the Washington Football Team logo, the Chief Wahoo logo, and many other examples of Native American imagery used in sports. Rob Manfred's position as commissioner was made so difficult by this. It was like watching an anthropomorphic pretzel twisting in real-time as he tried to explain why MLB supported the chop.
Manfred stated that it all depends on how the community views the gesture. "In Atlanta, they've done an amazing job with Native Americans." "I believe the Native American community is the best group to decide whether or not it's appropriate, and they have been unwaveringly supportive."
Manfred was talking about the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. This tribe is located in North Carolina. The Braves claim that they have "developed a culture working relationship...that has resulted a meaningful action." This action included the creation of a Native American Working Group and an EBCI Night held July 17.
The Eastern Band chief also did a complete 180. Richard Sneed said this week to the Associated Press, "I'm no offended by someone waving their arms at a sporting game." The chop is "the least problem" in comparison to poverty and crime in the indigenous community. It was as if the two were mutually exclusive. The same Richard Sneed, who was asked about the chop by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in October 2019, prior to developing a stronger partnership with the Braves said: "That's just too stereotypical, like old-school Hollywood.
"Come on guys. It's 2020. Let's get on with it. Look for something else."
Unwavering, huh?
Even if Manfred believed that the chop was approved by local tribes, it is absurd to think that tribes located within three hours of Atlanta would be interested in listening to the game when it is broadcast to a national audience. James R. Floyd, long-serving chief of the Muscogee Nation (Creek), said that the chant "reduces Native Americans into a caricature" two years ago.
Floyd's voice is significant, even though Floyd isn't part of any nearby tribe. But once upon a while, he would have been. There are 574 federally recognised indigenous tribes. Georgia has none. The brazen treatment of Georgia's American Indians is a particularly disgusting aspect of the Braves' determination to keep the chop and league support. Thousands upon thousands of Creek saw their Georgia land taken during the 1830s. Five years later, more then 16,000 Cherokee were expelled from Georgia and sent to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears. This 1,200-mile, nine-state journey took them to Oklahoma. Thousands died.
Forest County Potawatomi in Wisconsin owns a casino located in the greater Milwaukee region. The tribe has used the American Family Field left-field wall to advertise its casino for years. This was except when the Braves and Cleveland Indians visited, such as Atlanta in the division series. The advertising, which was displayed on the wall of the Brewers' 11 home series before the NLDS, wasn't there.
In a statement to The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the Potawatomi stated that "the issue of Native American symbols and words being used as team names/mascots" is something many tribes have opposed for years. "As a tribal government-owned and operated business, this is a decision that we have made to support and grow on that advocacy."
If it'sn't the Cherokee, it's probably the Creek. If it isn't the Creek, it's likely the Potawatomi. And if it isn't the Potawatomi it's most likely the National Congress of American Indians. The National Congress of American Indians called on Fox, the World Series broadcaster "to refrain" from performing the "tomahawk chop" during the nationally televised World Series games at Atlanta.
You don't want to believe that this is a mob or cancel-culture. Take a look at MLB.com's social justice website. It includes a guide for "having conversations about Race" These are the first two bullet points.
Empathy is the key to leadership
Recognize and listen to your feelings and responses.
These principles were followed six months ago by MLB when it pulled the All-Star Game out of Atlanta due to the Braves' vocal disagreement following the backlash against Georgia's restrictive voting laws. The league also embraced the Black Lives Matter movement during Opening Day 2020. The league isn't afraid to be political, despite Manfred’s desire to remain "apolitical" despite Manfred’s stated goal.
Atlanta has not asked them to do so. The chop exists because it was started in 1991, coincident with a great part of the franchise’s history: the boom decade during which the Braves won a title and began a run of 14 consecutive division titles. It's a cherished heirloom that was passed down to its followers, and something they have romanticized. It is not normal to believe that something is normal. It is not necessary that righteousness and longevity follow the same path. Of course, it is often the opposite. Both are tried-and true formulas to stop problems from growing.
This is what's happening this week. Since 1999, the Braves have not been to the World Series. The world has changed. To increase their views, Indigenous people can use social media bullhorns. Remember that the Cleveland Guardians were once the Cleveland Indians. After years of pressure, Cleveland realized the need for a name change and began a process that will be familiar to everyone.
This is because we have seen it. The Braves used Chief Noc-A–Homa, an American Indian mascot for decades. He wore a headdress, danced on the pitcher's mound, huddled in his teepee, and celebrated home runs by using smoke signals. He also missed three team events in 1985 and was known to be a frequent flirter with women. The Braves decided to retire the character rather than trying to recast it after the employee was fired.
The Atlanta Braves made a mistake 35 years ago and rectified it. It is strange that the Atlanta Braves refuse to do this now, as a mixture of cowardice and hubris. In 1985, the team was ready to help fans find the right place. It is no longer possible and MLB seems unwilling to enforce it.
It is a fact that the chop will eventually go away. Just like it will at Kansas City Chiefs games. Just like it will at Florida State University where the Seminole tribe gives its blessing for the chopping at Doak Camp Stadium, it is an inevitable.
The Washington Football Team will continue to make the same vain arguments as before. Fans will be able to chant and use nicknames, but they will ignore the real problems in Native American communities. Native Americans are most vulnerable to violence and poverty, and have poor education.
The worst thing about the chop is its ease of stopping. It would be a minor gesture. It won't solve any generational issues that affect American Indians. It would return at most a little dignity to a people who have had so much taken away from them.
We know what the Braves fans will face when that happens. Because we've been there, we already know. The first is anger and denial. They will bargain, feel depressed, and eventually, accept it. Fans don't go to sports just to chop. They come to see the team they love. Chop or no chop. Anyone who enjoys chopping more then Ronald Acua Jr. and Freddie Freeman clearly has bad taste.
This is what made Manfred’s Tuesday tactic so spectacular. It took him 30 years to find the right words to speak about the chop. His central points were: Teams make their choices (even though it isn't), and the American Indians of the region fully support the chop (even if they haven't).
Manfred stated that the Native American community of that region was supportive of the Braves program, including the chop. "For me, this is kind of the end.
Totally supportive. It sounds as convincing as it does to be unwaveringly supportive.
Manfred was at least telling the truth about one fact. It is the end of the story. The noise that Truist Park makes this week will sound like the "tomahawk chop", but it is actually the beginning of the end for the story. Atlanta will not be without the chop, and with any luck, so will the sporting world.
You guys, get up! It's 2021. Let's get on with it. Look for something else.
