Donald Trump and Melania Trump, former first lady and president the United States, do "the chop" before Game Four of World Series between the Houston Astros & the Atlanta Braves Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia on October 30, 2021. Elsa/Getty Images
Trump, the former President, attended game 4 in Atlanta of the World Series on Saturday.
Trump was seen performing the "tomahawk cut" with Braves fans.
Native American groups have always condemned the cheer as degrading or dehumanizing.
Donald Trump, the former President, attended game four in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday. He joined Braves fans for the "tomahawk chop"
A video shared via social media shows Trump performing the action, which is intended to imitate the chopping and slicing of a Native American Tomahawk. This motion was also captured by Truist Park.
Since 1991, Atlanta Braves fans have done the tomahawk chum at games. It's been controversial since its inception. CBS Sports ran a segment about Native American groups in 1991, when the Braves reached the World Series. It disapproved of the chop for its "stereotypical" and warlike portrayal of Native Americans.
Ryan Helsley of the St. Louis Cardinals, a Cherokee Nation member, protested the tomahawk chop in 2019. He did this after taking the mound during a game where Braves fans cheered and swung foam bats.
Helsley stated that he believed the portrayal of Native Americans or Cherokees was inaccurate, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. They are just depicted in a caveman-type way, who aren’t intellectual. They are much more than that.
This week, the issue was resurrected with the Braves in World Series.
Rob Manfred, MLB Commissioner, defended the cheer Tuesday and praised the Braves' relationships with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
"The Braves have done an amazing job with the Native American Community. USA Today reported that the Native American community of that region supports the Braves program, including the chop.
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The National Congress of American Indians (the largest Indigenous organization in the US) issued a statement denying him that day.
"In our discussions avec the Atlanta Braves we have repeatedly made it clear that Native people aren't mascots and degrading rituals such as the 'tomahawk cut' that dehumanize us and harm us have no place within American society," NCAI President Fawn sharp stated.
Business Insider has the original article.
