The Chiefs have a plan for The Chop, and it’s ... subtle. Here’s what’s in store Thursday
After months of conversation and much internal debate, the Kansas City Chiefs’ strategy with Native American imagery will be subtle. Some fans probably won’t notice it.
But here’s what will happen at Arrowhead Stadium Thursday, before the Chiefs and Houston Texans kick off in what will be the country’s most watched game since the Super Bowl:
Native Americans will bless the big ceremonial drum like always, and before the drumbeat starts an announcement will be made that incorporating the drum into the game-day experience is a “privilege” and that fans are invited to join as they beat the drum.
The cheerleaders will then do the same chop motion, but with a closed fist instead of open palm. You know, signaling the beating of the drum.
“Admittedly it’s a subtle change,” Chiefs president Mark Donovan said. “But it’s a step, and it’s a change.”
This is in addition to other previously announced changes for this season, including the elimination of Warpaint the horse, headdresses, and face-paint that references Native American culture.
Donovan cited conversations with what the club has called its “working group” of Native Americans from regional tribes, as well as the National Congress of American Indians. Both offered support for the organization’s subtle alterations, Donovan said, with the understanding that these are steps in a bigger process.
“For us, it’s trying to find that balance,” Donovan said. “Knowing our fans are going to do this, no matter what we do. If we can change it into the beating of the drum, we think that’s better than the chop.”
Again, these changes are small. The drumbeat song will still be played, and Donovan said there will be no direction given to play it more or less often. They’ll still call it the Arrowhead Chop. Most fans, Donovan knows, will still call it the tomahawk chop.
He characterized it this way: Some fans won’t notice, some won’t care and “others will appreciate that it’s a change in the right direction.”
Some analysis. The Chiefs are essentially splitting the middle here. The organization has had ongoing conversations with various Native American groups for six years. They’ve heard different perspectives, though they’ve never had formal talks with any who want the name of the team or stadium changed.
They can be fairly criticized for that, but they also have a constituency to consider. The Chop has become a beloved part of the game-day experience at Arrowhead for many. Once, in the 1990s, the team announced it would no longer do The Chop.
So many fans wrote and called in that the decision was almost immediately reversed.
That history echoes here, now. The team has been shown that radical change to these elements won’t work, so it’s hoping to find a middle ground that can be satisfactory enough.
Some will view this as a non-stance, and the Chiefs will likely be criticized on both sides — for not doing enough to stop appropriation culture from one, and for too much capitulating to activists on the other.
The truth is that the Chiefs have made real efforts toward education and provide a platform that’s only growing to do more.
The truth is also that the team would prefer the debate simply go away.
“This is a process,” Donovan said. “This is years. We’re going to do this, and hopefully it’s well received and we’ll continue to do more.”
This story was originally published September 9, 2020 at 4:15 PM.