Cleveland Indians Demote 'Chief Wahoo' To Secondary Logo

CLEVELAND, OH — The Cleveland Indians are moving away from the logo that has dominated their uniforms since the 1940s. Chief Wahoo, a caricature drawing of a native american chief, will no longer be the Indians' main logo when the Tribe faces off against The Red Sox on Monday to begin the 2016 season.

The decision was revealed in a Cleveland.com interview with Paul Dolan, the owner of the baseball team.

"We have gone to the Block C as our primary mark," Dolan told Cleveland.com. "Clearly, we are using it more heavily than we are the Chief Wahoo logo."

Both the Chief Wahoo logo and the Cleveland Indians team name are part on an ongoing debate on whether Native American symbolism in sports is an appropriation or appreciation of Native American culture.

A 2013 report by the National Congress of American Indians titled "Ending the Legacy of Racism in Sports & the Era of Harmful "Indian" Sports Mascots," refers to a campaign launched in 1968 as the beginning of the debate. The same report argues that the usage of Native American mascots is harmful for the native population in the United States.

"Native peoples remain more likely than any other race to experience crimes at the hands of a person from another race. Native youth experience the highest rates of suicide among young people. With studies showing that negative stereotypes and harmful “Indian” sports mascots are known to play a role in exacerbating racial inequity and perpetuating feelings of inadequacy among Native youth, it is vital that all institutions—including professional sports franchises—re-evaluate their role in capitalizing on these stereotypes.

• National Congress of American Indians

Sports fans become attached to their mascots, and Cleveland fans are no exception. The Chief Wahoo home uniform cap was the best seller for last season.

And while the organization is reducing Chief Wahoo to a secondary role, the team has "no plans," to get rid of the logo, Dolan said.

"We do have empathy for those who take issue with it," Dolan told Cleveland.com. "We have minimized the use of it and we'll continue to do what we think is appropriate."

The Chief Wahoo mascot was designed by 17-year-old artist Walter Goldbach in 1946, according to a 2008 Cleveland Magazine article.

"As a 17-year-old kid, it was the last thing on my mind that I would offend someone," Gorbach told the magazine

[Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons]