The debate over the Washington football team’s moniker has been a divisive issue within the Native American community for decades. It’s standard to find families of indigenous descent with members on both sides of the fight.
The family of the man who created the Washington Redskins logo is no different.
In 1971, Walter "Blackie" Wetzel, a well-respected former chairman of the Blackfeet Tribe who dedicated much of his life to advancing Native American civil rights, met with executives from the Washington football team and persuaded them to drop the team’s “R” logo in favor of an image of a Native American warrior.