As you watch Super Bowl LIV, bear in mind that rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs and taking no issue with either their mascot or their fans' traditions means rooting for racism. With Jed York serving as president, the 49ers are once again on the cusp of greatness. You know, you and your friends watch some dumb movie and afterwards someone calls out a plot [], (Last Updated On: August 31, 2020) Why Is it Called Death Valley? Besides being really hot, Death Valley seems [], Partner Spotlight: West Ave Tavern in Tallmadge, OH, Partner Spotlight: Old Chicago Pizza + Taproom in Merrillville, IN, Partner Spotlight: Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ in Canton, MI, What Is a Caste? And arguments are sure to break out between young and old family members at Super Bowl parties in Missouri and the Bay Area. San Francisco's professional football team, the 49ers, was named in honor of the men who came to California during the Gold Rush. However, in those days, it could take as long as a year for people to get from the major population hubs on the East Coast to California. The miners who arrived that year faced veryfavorable odds of getting rich. Even in that image above, from a Chicago Blackhawks game, shows a single fan in a sea of fans who are not in fake headdresses. Meanwhile, the first game of American football was played in 1869 in New Jersey, and even then it didnt really look like football, more like soccer mixed with rugby. Again, confirming bigoted and lets be honest, Hollywood reinforced images of what the average American perceived all Indigenous people to be. The nation is coming to grips with that. The All-American Football League would end up dissolving and merging with rival the National Football League after the teams first season, along with teams like the Baltimore Colts and Cleveland Browns. Following an 8-8 regular season in 2014, the 49ers agreed to part ways with Harbaugh. Matthew Rozsa is a professional writer whose work has appeared in multiple national media outlets since 2012 and exclusively at Salon since 2016. What was Georgias Jalen Carters role in a fatal car crash that killed his teammate? In the 1940s, when the team was founded, the idea of expanding the league that far across the country was considered a very risky move. The origin of the Kansas City Chiefs' team name may not be what you think: The team was named after former Kansas City mayor H. Roe Bartle. So much so, that the New York Times wrote a feature this week talking about how the issue divides people (making one wonder, would other racist traditions get the both sides treatment from the paper of record?). Think pieces are being written on liberal and conservative outlets. San Francisco came up just short, losing to the Baltimore Ravens in the Harbaugh Bowl as Jims brother John coached the Ravens. After settling a QB controversy between Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick, the 49ers played their way into Super Bowl XLVII. Its one thing for a population or group of sports fans to claim ignorance to all of this pre-2000. And this campaign of exploitation and genocide against the 150,000 people who had originally lived in what's nowCalifornia was hardly accidental. All the property acquisition required was a little terrorism practiced on the countrys original inhabitants. A classic case of Americas pastime (being racist) merging with its favorite game. To a 49er miner, an Indigenous woman or child was nothing more than a pick-ax when it broke, you simply had to buy a new one. Is that still who we are? Who is Zuri Hall? O'Loughlinnoted that "there's a lot of oil companies who've come into areas of Indian country where they have these man camps, and there's a lot of girls that have gone missing, [and] there's no data, law enforcement doesn't respond or act.". Montgomery conveniently left out the mistreatment of non-whites in California; indeed, one could read that section of his book and not know they were even there at the time. As white people continued to swarm into Native American land and consume their resources, it became difficult for communities that had once thrived to find the materials necessary to sustain themselves. The modern San Francisco 49ers draws quite a bit from this inspiration. . To a 49er miner, an Indigenous woman or child was nothing more than a pick-ax when it broke, you simply had to buy a new one. John is also the chairman of the NFLs International Committee and sits on the leagues Audit and Business Ventures Committees. After a newly constituted legislature created the governors office, a judicial system, and penalties for cattle rustling, the 49er legislators turned to the business of installing the state-fortified foundations of white supremacy. Of the 32 teams in the NFL, two of three teams with overtly and covertly bigoted names that target Indigenous Americans are going to the Super Bowl.
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, Jalen Carters Arrest Dominated the Discussion at the NFL Combine, for Better or Worse, Biggest Takeaways From The NFLPA Report Card: Vikings, Dolphins, and Raiders Shine, NFL Scouting Combine News and Rumors: The Unspoken Truth About the Ravens and Lamar Jackson, Fastest Running Back 40-Yard Dash Times in NFL Combine History, Fastest Cornerback 40-Yard Dash Times in NFL Combine History. The NFL Has Always Been Racist. In addition, Campbell drew attention to the ways in which Native Americans are disenfranchised at the polls. Theyve nabbed five Super Bowl titles and were home to several NFL legends, including Steve Young, Joe Montana and Jerry Rice. Heres Our Review Of Cocaine Bear: Oh Hell Yes! In just four years, Harbaugh left the 49ers as one of their most successful head coaches. The team responded . After a 2-14 season in 1978, he made two moves that helped reshape the team and the NFL. What did Georgias Nolan Smith say at the NFL Combine about the death of his teammate Devin Willock? When the NFL moved The Texans to Kansas City in the early 1960s, the team needed a new name. A franchise rich in tradition and success spanning several decades, the San Francisco 49ers are one of the pillars of the NFL. "I think most problematic when we see them used in the school setting is that they actually cause harm to students, native students and non-native students alike, and that they have this real negative impact on the students," Campbell told Salon. Yet the reality of the men behind the legend is not quite so lovable and comic. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. Its called a genocide, Newsom said. He is, after all, not just the governor but the citys former mayor. Copyright 2023 Salon.com, LLC. During his 23 years owning the team, the 49ers won five Super Bowls under head coaches Walsh and George Seifert: Super Bowl XVI in 1982, XIX in 1985, XXIII in 1989, XXIV 1990, and XXIX in 1995. So heres some insight on why the are called the 49ers. Perhaps because of the name, the team has never left San Francisco. In one of the earliest conflicts, a group of white miners from Oregon barged into the nearby Maidu hamlet, beat and shot the men, and savagely assaulted a number of the women. The idea of the Indian reservation continued to evolve in the nations capital. Just where did the Rams get their name? Let's start with the 49ers named after the Americans who came to California in 1849 during the Gold Rush specifically, and more generally after the Gold Rush pioneers since the problem with their name is not as well known as the issues with the Chiefs. When the team was initially founded, there werent really any other alternate name ideas. The question is whether they will follow through on that. The conditions in the mining camp were rough and crude. Thats the positive news. These conversations are part of that process. Suppose their fans did the same thing to the pigs as they did to Native Americans. Naturally, it being the 1960s, the mascot the team chose was an Indian in a loincloth and face paint with feathers riding a horse named Warpaint. How are players selected for the NFL combine? The "49ers" is the nickname for those who flocked to northern California in 1849 hoping to take advantage of the gold rush. Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area noted the 49ers have a history of signing their core players to extensions, but it tends to take them longer than it might for another team.. Maiocco cited the . But fans and consumers have the power to convince NFL team owners to do the right thing. The winner that shook out was an honorific for a local mayor whose nickname was Chief. This is due to said mayor starting a Boy Scout club that ripped off Native American rituals and paired it with Hollywood-inspired iconography, but thats another fight for another day. "Our sacred sites, our cultural places and our water clean water, clean air have been threatened all through this administration by the cutbacks in the regulatory framework for various environmental laws, whether it's the Clean Water Act that just got narrowed just this last week, to what happened with Standing Rock, to Bears Ears," she said. The Anaheim Mighty Ducks, anyone? In the summer of 2020, they announced that they were retiring their name and logo, after decades of criticism that the name was an anti-indigenous slur . That was followed by the Mexican Repatriation movement in the 1920s and 1930s and Operation Wetback in the 1950s, which changed the governments target from Spanish Indians to just Mexicans. Both titles were code for ethnically cleansing brown people, many with Indigenous backgrounds and almost all with American citizenship expatriating people from the U.S. to present-day Mexico, where none of them had ever set foot. This version of the legend, Sourdough Sam, will be on full display in this years Super Bowl, when the San Francisco 49ers play the Kansas City Chiefs. That's a huge boost for the Dubs, Denver gang member gave 14-year-old permission to open fire on woman with AR-15 after fender-bender, DA alleges, In 4 years, Lori Lightfoot went from breakout political star to divisive mayor of a Chicago beset by pandemic and crime, Florida lawmakers to consider expansion of so-called dont say gay law, Drone crashes at Disneyland after hovering over visitors heads See video, Rapper Travis Scott wanted for assaulting Manhattan club sound engineer, destroying $12K in equipment, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. The laws final section established a form of state-sponsored slavery. Names change all the time. This is a team that is named after a Native American position of authority, features an arrowhead on their helmets andplays at a facility called Arrowhead Stadium. Aaron Rodgers reaches 500 career touchdowns, to kill Native American men and seize women and children, How did the Los Angeles Rams get their name? Any able-bodied Indian who shall be found loitering and strolling about, the law decreed, shall be liable to be arrested on the complaint of any resident citizen of the county. Once arrested, the Indian would be brought before a mayor, magistrate, or county clerk and put up for auction. It wasnt until Jim Harbaugh took over the reins as head coach that the 49ers returned as one of the top teams in the NFL. Meanwhile, Warpaint the horse is back. The California Gold Rush began in 1848 but it took a year for the word to get out, and soby the time 1849 rolled around, thousands of fortune hunters had arrived in Northern California to mine for gold. And then, I have to ask, are we so blind to our own history that we want to cheer on a team that is, at the very least, covering up genocide and, at the very worst, celebrating one? Every day, get free NFL updates sent straight to your inbox! Shannon Keller O'Loughlin, a Choctaw and the Executive Director of the Association on American Indian Affairs, doesn't excludepro teams like the Chiefs from having that kind of impact, too. In 1978, DeBartolo Sr. purchased the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL and established Denise as the owner and president of the team. Why Both Super Bowl Team Names Should Be Replaced, GloRilla, Ice Spice, And The Carefree Black Girl Backlash, Karol G Tells Us About Her Most Personal Album Yet, Maana Ser Bonito, And Collaborating With Shakira, The Rundown: Between Cocaine Bears And Maple Syrup Heists, Margo Martindale Is Absolutely Thriving In 2023. San Francisco is now one game away from returning to the Super Bowl. It was a single-generation system. Let's start with the 49ers named after the Americans who came to California in 1849 during the Gold Rush specifically, and more generally after the Gold Rush pioneers since the problem with. Technically, the San Francisco 49ers are registered as the San Francisco Forty Niners, but that definitely wouldnt fit on a football helmet. They would go on to win three in a row. Some died due to the seizure of their land, some due to disease, and many were murdered in cold blood, not only sanctioned but encouraged by California's government. In 1848, at Sutters Mill, roughly 130 miles from what is now San Francisco, gold was discovered. Over a period of 10 months in 1851, three agents of the Indian Affairs Office negotiated 18 treaties of peace and friendship with the Native Americans of California. Its also understandable. The California Gold Rush began in 1848 but it took a year for the word to get out, and so by the time 1849 rolled around, thousands of fortune hunters had . Not because of some left/right or politically correct/progressive agenda. Few professional organizations have the history of the 49ers. Goats in California? This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Origin and meaning The San Francisco 49ers scored a stunning upset against the top-seeded Green Bay Packers, earning themselves a shot at the NFC Championship. Like O'Loughlin, he cited the "growing epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women across the country, across Indian country at large, and where we see these large disproportionate number of our native women and children in particular have gone missing and turned up deceased" and "the protection of native peoples' natural resources, their lands, their waters, their cultures and who they are as a people.". Chances are that football fans may be rooting for (or against) the team without really thinking about how odd of a name that is. Indeed, the Gold Rush was made possible by Native Americans, including the Mewuk and Maiduwho built Sutter's Fort in what's now Sacramento. The Super Bowl is coming up, and in these days of anticipation we often get so caught up worrying about little things like What teams are playing? and Whos going to win? that we lose sight of the bigger question: Why on earth are the San Francisco 49ers called the San Francisco 49ers? ", The devastation wrought to Native American communities wasn't limited to outright violence. Yes, this is about recognizing the past. An arrowhead was chosen. Where African slaves were seen as a chattel-based equity investment, Indigenous Californians were being enslaved to be worked to death and replaced until they were all gone. President James Polk started the Mexican-American War, which conquered most of the west,in order to turn America into a Western Hemispheric empire and provide more land for southern slaveowners, with the latter motive prompting such concern among opponents of slavery that it eventually led to the formation of the Republican Party. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! The census of 1880 recorded just 16,277 Indians in California, a 90 percent decline from preGold Rush days. It was a single-generation system. 49er, the lowest initiated rank in a Triad. Sourdough Sam has been the teams rootin tootin unblinkin mascot since the 1970s (though the image of a wily, trigger-happy prospector goes back to the early days of the team). The California Genocide is not taught in schools. Disease, malnutrition, and starvationdriven by exotic white pathogens and widespread environmental destructionaccounted for a significant reduction in the indigenous population. The "49ers" is the nickname for those who flocked to northern California in 1849 hoping to take advantage of the gold rush. Under Chapter 133, a white man desirous of Indian land needed only to present his request to the local justice of the peace, who would determine the minimum amount of land he reckoned a local tribe needed. Established in 1944, they are one of the oldest teams in the league. Rejecting the treaties, Lea wrote, would be hazardous and unwise., Read: One way to help Native Americans: property rights. That excuse is gone, folks. All rights reserved. Lets end by taking this out of the theoretical. Who is the owner of the San Francisco 49ers? Given this unique cultural moment, people are taking to their social media and journalism platforms to share takes, educate, and reflect on the state of not only the NFL in 2020 but the greater issue of our nebulous-but-supposedly-lofty American values.. While he was kept there, Sutter worked him hard and then fed him in troughs. While other teams would end up adapting this method by putting more players on the line of scrimmage to rush the quarterback, this formation has been used in football ever since. Who Is Colin Kaepernick? Alcohol and weapons were everywhere, and violence often erupted. After James W. Marshall, whod been overseeing the sawmills construction, found the gold nuggets he and his boss, John Sutter, attempted to keep the discovery a secret. Forgot password? Between 1849 and the late 1870s, the United States government in conjunction with the territory of California enacted laws to legally exterminate the Indigenous people of California. But, like the 49ers of the gold rush, team founder Tony Morabito saw opportunity where others saw uncertainty. Sports have political meaning because we, as consumers of entertainment, have chosen for decades to idolize athletes, identify with teams and invest greater social significance in the games themselves. On January 24, 1848, gold was discovered at Sutters Mill on the American River in Northern California. His diverse interests are reflected in his interviews including: President Jimmy Carter (1977-1981), Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak (1999-2001), animal scientist and autism activist Temple Grandin, inventor Ern Rubik, comedian Bill Burr ("F Is for Family"), novelist James Patterson ("The President's Daughter"), epidemiologist Monica Gandhi, theoretical cosmologist Janna Levin, voice actor Rob Paulsen ("Animaniacs"), mRNA vaccine pioneer Katalin Karik, philosopher of science Vinciane Despret, actor George Takei ("Star Trek"), climatologist Michael E. Mann, Washington Gov. Under the agreements, the Indians would retain about one-seventh of the stateabout the size of West Virginiain the form of discrete reservations. This era has made the 49ers, statistically, one of the most successful teams in the NFL. The 49ers did their part to kill off Indian chiefs and their tribes. The San Francisco 49ers dominated the Los Angeles Rams in a 24-9 win over their divisional rival on Monday. 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