The star of “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Lily Gladstone, has taken aim at the two teams competing in this year’s Super Bowl—the
Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers—for their “commodification” of Native Americans.
This year, Hollywood actress Gladstone made history by being the first Native American to receive an Oscar nomination for Best
Actress.
She criticised the 49ers’ team name and the Chiefs’ contentious ‘Tomahawk chop’ after Super Bowl LVIII, in which supporters yell
while making an arm-chopping motion.
In all honesty, Gladstone, 37, told Variety Awards Circuit podcast that “you could hold both teams accountable.”
The California Gold Rush, which was particularly cruel for California Indians, served as the inspiration for the 49ers.The Chiefs came
next. The word “chief” can be interpreted in a variety of ways. I’m not bothered by the name. The sound of that dreadful Tomahawk
chop.
The Tomahawk chop is closely linked to the soundtrack of vintage Westerns in which we were either not playing ourselves or, if we
were, only supporting roles. Every time, it serves as a sobering reminder of what Hollywood has done to us.
It’s the selling of who we are as humans and the “claiming” of that sound, she continued. “It’s great to love the game and your players,
but it still hurts.”
The Chiefs’ decision to keep their current moniker has drawn criticism. The Cleveland Indians of baseball changed their name to the
Guardians, while the Washington Redskins changed their name to the “Commanders” in recent years.
At Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City has prohibited fans from donning headdresses or applying face paint in the Native American style
since 2020. Their mascot, a horse called “Warpaint,” was retired the next year.
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