{"id":35469,"date":"2024-02-11T00:00:45","date_gmt":"2024-02-11T05:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=35469"},"modified":"2024-02-11T11:10:01","modified_gmt":"2024-02-11T16:10:01","slug":"rhonda-levaldo-kansas-city-team-continues-to-mock-native-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2024\/02\/11\/rhonda-levaldo-kansas-city-team-continues-to-mock-native-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Rhonda LeValdo: Kansas City team continues to mock Native people"},"content":{"rendered":" \"Rhonda<\/a>
Rhonda LeValdo, right, carries a sign reading “Taylor Swift doesn’t do the tomahawk chop. Be like Taylor.” following a Native press conference at the Nuwu Art Gallery + Community Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 10, 2024. Photo by Indianz.Com (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n
Kansas City team continues to mock Native people<\/div>\r\n
Sunday, February 11, 2024<\/div>\r\n
By Rhonda LeValdo<\/div>\r\n
notinourhonor.com<\/a><\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nAs we prepare for the continued celebration of cultural appropriation at the Superbowl, words don\u2019t adequately express the amount of frustration we feel over the name, the appropriated imagery, stereotypical song and chop, and continued use of headdresses by fans. The efforts and changes that the Kansas City football claim they have made to honor Natives across Turtle Island are tone deaf at best. \r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe mockery of our Native nations are seen worldwide and despite decades of opposition by tribes, tribal and urban organizations and individual Natives, the appearance of our acceptance of the mockery remains. When we protest and oppose this, we are accused of erasure, as if this is actual representation of Natives instead of cultural appropriation and racism. Imagining the Indian<\/EM><\/a>, is a documentary released in 2022 that speaks to this very issue and documents the decades of opposition. It is now available for streaming and is a must watch for those that want to understand this issue. \r\n

<\/p>\r\nDecades of empirical research shows the actual harm these mascots and stereotypes cause to ALL youth, individuals, communities, and other minority people. It is not a matter of opinion, nor a matter of whether these mascots and stereotypes are offensive, they cause actual harm. \r\n

<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWe\u2019re calling this the Genocide Bowl\u201d: Rhonda LeValdo (Acoma) at #SBLVII<\/a> Native press conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, calling on the Kansas City NFL team to eliminate its offensive mascot. #NotInOurHonor<\/a> #NotYourMascot<\/a> #ChangeTheName<\/a> #StopTheChop<\/a> #NotYourChief<\/a> #GenocideBowl<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/IROBynKa1z<\/a><\/p>— indianz.com (@indianz) February 11, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote>