Chief Wahoo Departs: Indians remove logo from brand in 2019

[TheBigFiz21]

On a lighter note, how many "smiley face" logos will we have left in MLB after the last the last days of Wahoo?

[IceCap]

21 minutes ago, selby56 said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Blackhawks_name_and_logo_controversy

 

"The stance is very clear. We want the Chicago Blackhawks logo to change. For us, that's one of our grandfathers. Would you do that with your grandfather's picture? Take it and throw it on a rug? Walk on it and dance on it?"

That quote was from an official at the American Indian Centre, back in 2010.

The Blackhawks now work with the AIC in a number of areas. 

 

https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/news/chicago-blackhawks-developing-real-connections-to-american-indian-communities/

[Carolingian Steamroller]

1 hour ago, SFGiants58 said:

 

 

Good f’ing riddance to Little Red Sambo. Now come up with a good replacement Cleveland, and we’re in good shape.

 

Best combination of gif and reaction ever. 

[The_Admiral]

9 minutes ago, OnWis97 said:

I was thinking more about the hat, honestly.  I don't care too much about MLB primary logos.  

 

But you make an interesting point.  The block C is a decent hat, but it's not a strong logo (though that's essentially what Pittsburgh and San Diego do now).  So hopefully they'll find a way to come up with a good, non-insensitive primary.

 

The estimable SFGiants58 had some good ideas here:

 

On 6/13/2017 at 1:28 AM, SFGiants58 said:

 

If you took the feathered block C and made the feather red to match the one on Chief Wahoo, that could get the job done as a primary/sleeve logo. I think I'd keep the feather off the C on the hats, though, just for the sake of tidiness. It would mimic the Cubs' primary/cap distinction a bit. I also like the roundel with indigenous language.

[BJ Sands]

That's a nice-looking concept but I'm betting all native imagery is gone.

[WSU151]

15 minutes ago, BJ Sands said:

That's a nice-looking concept but I'm betting all native imagery is gone.

 

Not sure why feathers would be barred. Even the Spokane Indians (widely considered to be the best at respecting Native imagery) use feathers.

 

Highly doubt MLB gets away with "We'll let Atlanta use the tomahawk, but you guys in Cleveland can't have any imagery."

[CS85]

17 minutes ago, Ice_Cap said:

That quote was from an official at the American Indian Centre, back in 2010.

The Blackhawks now work with the AIC in a number of areas. 

 

https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/news/chicago-blackhawks-developing-real-connections-to-american-indian-communities/

 

I believe they meet with them regularly, if not annually.  They're dearly protective of their brand and understand that you can't simply not talk about things and hope it goes away.

Quote

 

Blackhawks team president John McDonough and his wife are reaching out to the Native American community in Illinois.

Here are a couple of excerpts from the column:

 

“In the rain, Blackhawks President John McDonough showed up one Sunday last month with his wife, Karen, and management team for a powwow at Busse Woods in Elk Grove Village.

“They watched for hours as families dressed in traditional headdresses and moccasins danced and sang as part of the American Indian Center of Chicago’s 60th annual celebration. They brought the Stanley Cup, posed for pictures and swapped stories. They talked to Native Americans of all ages about their lives but, of more importance, they listened. 

 

“It was cold, damp, and the sky just opened but you could tell you wanted to be there and were genuinely interested in our culture,” said Scott Sypolt, executive counsel for the center. “Daniel Snyder should take a lesson in cultural sensitivity training from the Chicago Blackhawks.  There is a consensus among us that there’s a huge distinction between a sports team called the Redskins depicting native people as red, screaming, ignorant savages and a group like the Blackhawks honoring Black Hawk, a true Illinois historical figure,” Sypolt said. “The Blackhawks take initiative, get involved and show through actions they care.”

 

 

 

Quote

 

TA: As we've seen in society, not everything that was acceptable in the past is acceptable today. You've always done a good job of keeping a positive relationship with the Native American community. Is that important going forward as the next generation comes and there continues to be a dialogue and continues to be an open forum for that?

 

McDonough: Jay Blunk has been a beacon for that, and we've worked closely, especially Jay and [vice president of marketing] Pete Hassen have worked very closely with the Native American community. We've gone to a lot of their events. There have been some changes recently in the hierarchy there. We had someone come in a couple of weeks ago. We want to make sure we understand that we're respectful, that how we're articulating our position is accurate. We give them a forum to articulate it as well. But it's critical that they're appropriately represented.

 

 

 

[guest23]

Good riddance. They should rebrand using this concept as inspiration.

 

 

[BJ Sands]

6 minutes ago, WSU151 said:

 

Not sure why feathers would be barred. Even the Spokane Indians (widely considered to be the best at respecting Native imagery) use feathers.

 

Highly doubt MLB gets away with "We'll let Atlanta use the tomahawk, but you guys in Cleveland can't have any imagery."

I get the feeling there will be a clean break from the imagery. But we'll see.

[njdevs7]

3 minutes ago, guest23 said:

Good riddance. They should rebrand using this concept as inspiration.

 

 

 

I never understood the point of this shirt. Is it supposed to be offensive? Because I'm Caucasian and I'm not offended by it at all. I actually think its funny, I would buy that shirt.

[monkeypower]

I don't think the current form of the block C is a strong enough logo, but for some reason it's a popular hat in my experience living in the two of the three Prairie provinces. Just anecdotal evidence, but I would say the block C is the third or fourth most common hat I see out in the wild behind the Blue Jays and Red Sox/Yankees.

 

Like I don't know if all these people are Indians fans (which I doubt) or if the hat got picked up by some rapper or fashion "influencer" or if people think it's a clean accessory, but there's an odd amount for being a team from Cleveland which hasn't won a World Series since 1948.

[whitedawg22]

40 minutes ago, TheBigFiz21 said:

On a lighter note, how many "smiley face" logos will we have left in MLB after the last the last days of Wahoo?

The smiling oriole is the only one I can think of.

[omnivore]

100 years too late, but better than never. Next stop: their name. 

[wcaxberg]

9 minutes ago, whitedawg22 said:

The smiling oriole is the only one I can think of.

 

 

Not one but two smiley faces on the same logo!

[WSU151]

5 minutes ago, omnivore said:

100 years too late, but better than never. Next stop: their name. 

 

"American Indians" is widely accepted. 

[sky1324]

1 minute ago, WSU151 said:

 

"American Indians" is widely accepted. 

That is true, but I think the intent to stop using a race of people as a nickname for an entertainment product.

[Sport]

51 minutes ago, the admiral said:

 

The estimable SFGiants58 had some good ideas here:

 

If you took the feathered block C and made the feather red to match the one on Chief Wahoo, that could get the job done as a primary/sleeve logo. I think I'd keep the feather off the C on the hats, though, just for the sake of tidiness. It would mimic the Cubs' primary/cap distinction a bit. I also like the roundel with indigenous language.

 

This was my effort a while back

 

 

Here was my goofing around logo

[WSU151]

1 minute ago, QueenCitySwarm said:

That is true, but I think the intent to stop using a race of people as a nickname for an entertainment product.

 

That's great until you start looking at names of other teams that are ethno-centric.

 

[sky1324]

2 minutes ago, WSU151 said:

 

That's great until you start looking at names of other teams that are ethno-centric.

 

Which ones? All I can think of are these 6: Indians (which we're covering), Braves (who have done their part to remove offensive imagery), Blackhawks (I'm not sure about this one, since the logo isn't a caricature, but a real person), Redskins (they just need a total rebrand), and Celtics (same with the Blackhawks, but even less so). The only real problems I see are the Indians, Redskins, and maybe the Blackhawks.

[BrianLion]

The whole pinned feathers on the block C gives off a real "Redskins" vibe, which I assure you the Indians do NOT want to emulate.

 

Yes I realize that the "Redskins" name is the problem, not their logo but regardless they're not going to want that association right now.