The family of John Two Guns White Calf, the Blackfoot Indian who modeled for the Redskins logo but who saw it summarily removed and forgotten in the woke hysteria of the times (the team is not the Commanders).
White Wolf, a Comanche chief, was the most savage, bloody, brutal killer of whites the Union Army had ever seen. His approach was simple - rape, slaughter, behead, eviscerate any white settlers that squatted on Indian land, and no more would follow.
Defending his land against foreign intruders, and as bloody a warrior as Genghis Khan, White Wolf knew that a purposeful barbarity would intimidate the enemy. Just as Genghis Khan posted severed heads on roads leading to conquered villages, gruesome warnings to the next settlements in his sights, so did White Wolf use unconscionable savagery as a tool of war. He knew that the Christian soldiers would see his tribal, animist, ferocity, understand that they were up against a frightening, unfathomable enemy with no moral restraint and would turn tail.
Jonathan Foreman, writing in The Daily Mail said:
The savagery of President Franklin Roosevelt who authorized the firebombing of Dresden and incinerated thousands of civilians or the barbarity of his successor, Harry Truman who sanctioned the nuclear destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the death of a hundred thousand Japanese were the same expression of self-defensive, territorial will as embodied by White Wolf.S C Gwynne, author of Empire Of The Summer Moon about the rise and fall of the Comanche, says simply: ‘No tribe in the history of the Spanish, French, Mexican, Texan, and American occupations of this land had ever caused so much havoc and death. None was even a close second.’
He refers to the ‘demonic immorality’ of Comanche attacks on white settlers, the way in which torture, killings and gang-rapes were routine. ‘The logic of Comanche raids was straightforward,’ he explains.
‘All the men were killed, and any men who were captured alive were tortured; the captive women were gang raped. Babies were invariably killed.’
‘One by one, the children and young women were pegged out naked beside the camp fire,’ according to a contemporary account. ‘They were skinned, sliced, and horribly mutilated, and finally burned alive by vengeful women determined to wring the last shriek and convulsion from their agonized bodies. Matilda Lockhart’s six-year-old sister was among these unfortunates who died screaming under the high plains moon.’
Not only were the Comanche specialists in torture, they were also the most ferocious and successful warriors — indeed, they become known as ‘Lords of the Plains’. They were as imperialist and genocidal as the white settlers who eventually vanquished them.
When they first migrated to the great plains of the American South in the late 18th century from the Rocky Mountains, not only did they achieve dominance over the tribes there, they almost exterminated the Apache, among the greatest horse warriors in the world.
Who more American than White Wolf, Indians said? He was fierce, valiant, patriotic, and a heroic defender of his tribal lands, no different than the United States defending itself against European and Asian aggressors.
The family of John Two guns dismisses the notion that the term 'redskin' is a pejorative slur and cite this more relevant history:
1769: The first unchallenged use of the word “redskin” occurs when a British lieutenant colonel translates a letter from an Indian chief promising safe passage if the officer visited his tribe in the Upper Mississippi Valley.
“I shall be pleased to have you come to speak to me yourself if you pity our women and our children; and, if any redskins do you harm, I shall be able to look out for you even at the peril of my life,” Chief Mosquito said in his letter, according to a 2005 study by Ives Goddard, the Smithsonian’s senior linguist emeritus.
Aug. 22, 1812: At a Washington reception for several Native Americans, President James Madison refers to Indians as “red people” or “my red children,” prompting Little Osage Chief Sans Oreilles (No Ears) to voice his support for the administration: “I know the manners of the whites and the red skins.” Then, Sioux Chief French Crow also pledged loyalty: “I am a red-skin, but what I say is the truth, and notwithstanding I came a long way I am content, but wish to return from here.”
July 20, 1815: After tangling with famed explorer-turned-Missouri Territory Gov. William Clark, Meskwaki Chief Black Thunder gives a speech that was printed in the Western Journal in St. Louis. “I turn to all,” the chief is reported as saying, “red skins and white skins, and challenge an accusation against me.” (The History News Network/Washington Post)
When the Redskins name was changed in 2020, the American cancel culture was at its height. Everything that progressives considered outside received wisdom and was reflective of a sexist, racist, homophobic American past, had to be removed. In a juggernaut of revisionism, school and street names were changed from those of Confederate heroes to minor historical characters 'of color'. Army base names were changed, Confederate statues toppled, free speech was censored and the use of any terms deemed antithetical to the social remake of a diverse, inclusive America was outlawed.
As part of this revisionist hysteria, the Left went after all Indian names. Nothing could have been more hypocritical, myopic, and self-interested. The Indian names and logos were signs of courage and valor and that was why they emblazoned football helmets, jerseys, and promotional materials. To assume that this display was racist, hateful, and demeaning was idiotic, simpleminded, and wrong.
The Cleveland Indians baseball team changed its name to the Guardians after Art Deco sculptures on a bridge over the Cuyahoga River
So the team changed its name from one symbolizing valor and courage to one of cultural irrelevance, of no national meaning, of remote mythological symbolism.
Some teams like the Atlanta Braves refused to buckle under to the wave of woke censorship, and in a resolute defiance to the trend, encouraged their fans to do in unison the 'Tomahawk Chop', a movement imitating an Indian brave chopping off the head of an enemy. Hundreds of other high school and college teams have similarly refused.
The removal of the Redskins name not only dishonored Native Americans and deprived the team of an honorable, respectful image, it expunged the team's own history. Names have meaning, and the history of the Redskins dating back to 1937 suddenly was disoriented if not dismissed. Yes, of course the exploits of the team however called are on record, but depriving the team of its original name and the name under which championships were won was unconscionable.
Arthur Grey Wolf Marshall, the grandson of White Wolf rebelled against the racial homogenization of his family, and wanted to return to his Indian roots. He wanted to take scalps, send the white man fleeing in terror, restore the indigenous greatness of his tribal nation, and let it be known that Indians would never forget Andrew Jackson and the great white push westward.
He let his hair grow and thatched it into a ponytail fastened with ancient cowrie beads. His dress, his mannerisms, and his speech became more and more Comanche. Tall and imposing in his fine-tooled boots and white Stetson, he was an impressive figure.
He was sought out by liberal whites who, in the spirit of inclusivity and diversity, encouraged him to preside over ceremonies, awards, and official events. Yet none of this took hold and in fact it rankled. This coddling and liberal preferentiality was angering and petty. He wanted to rediscover and resuscitate his true, warrior Indian spirit and not become some white boy's toy. He wanted scalps!
The descendants of John Two Guns White Calf are more traditional and past Arthur Grey Wolf Marshall's recidivist anger. While they appreciated the sentiment - they too admired White Wolf and his patriotic heroism - they have taken a more reasoned approach and have appealed to the President of the Unites States to exert his influence with the Redskins' current owners and have the name restored.
The time may have come - wokism, revisionism, censure, and received wisdom are in retreat - but the damage may have already been done, the 'Commanders' have a new, younger fan base, and other more pressing national issues are before the country.
Yet a victory here would be an important step forward in restoring a more coherent, respectful, and comprehensive approach to cultural decisions.
Hail to the Redskins!!
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