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November 22, 2024
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Cleveland Indians Will Remove ‘Chief Wahoo’ From Uniforms in 2019

Jodi Rave Spotted Bear
by
jodi@imfreedomalliance.org https://twitter.com/JodiRave
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The current controversial mascot of the Cleveland Indians The current controversial mascot of the Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians will be removing “Chief Wahoo,” the bright red caricature of a Native American the team uses as a logo, from players’ caps and uniforms starting in 2019.

The divisive logo, which has been publicly protested as a racist and offensive image for decades, will remain on official merchandise available for purchase by fans.

“The team must maintain a retail presence so that MLB and the Indians can keep ownership of the trademark,” The Associated Press reports.

The Indians announced the change on Monday. The team name — which has also been criticized as offensive — will not be changing.

Read more at WMOT Roots Radio.

Posted in Featured PerspectivesTagged
Jodi Rave Spotted Bear
jodi@imfreedomalliance.org https://twitter.com/JodiRave

Jodi Rave Spotted Bear is the founder and director of the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance, a 501-C-3 nonprofit organization with offices in Bismarck, N.D. and the Fort Berthold Reservation. Jodi spent 15 years reporting for the mainstream press. She's been awarded prestigious Nieman and John S. Knight journalism fellowships at Harvard and Stanford, respectively. She also an MIT Knight Science Journalism Project fellow. Her writing is featured in "The Authentic Voice: The Best Reporting on Race and Ethnicity," published by Columbia University Press. Jodi currently serves as a Society of Professional Journalists at-large board member, an SPJ Foundation board member, and she chairs the SPJ Freedom of Information Committee. Jodi has won top journalism awards from mainstream and Native press organizations. She earned her journalism degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

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