The family of the Blackfeet chief who served as the face of the Washington Redskins for 48 years wants his image to return to NFL fields, relatives told Fox News Digital.
Descendants of John Two Guns White Calf also want his incredible life story retold to a new generation of Americans who seek unity and value multiculturalism.
The White Calf family has the support of Washington, DC, one of its senators from Montana and, reportedly, the NFL franchise itself, now known as the Washington Commanders.
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“The fans want him back and we want him back,” Thomas White Calf, the great-nephew of the celebrated early 20th-century native, said by phone this week, hours after the family met with Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana.
The proud portrait of Two Guns White Calf graced Redskins helmets, jerseys, playing fields and marketing materials from 1972 through 2020.
Blackfeet Chief John Two Guns White Calf, left, who served as the inspiration for the Washington Redskins logo that represented the NFL franchise on the field from 1972 to 2020. (Getty Images)
“Our ancestor was the most famous and most photographed Native American in history,” said White Calf, who was joined in the call by his mother, Delphine White Calf, niece of the late Blackfeet chief.
“Two Guns was also the face of the Indian head nickel. I'm proud of him. The Blackfeet are proud of him.”
“I'm proud of him. The Blackfeet are proud of him.” – Thomas White Calf
The White Calf portrait and the Redskins name were scrubbed from the NFL in 2020 following years of mounting public pressure, driven in large part by the George Soros-funded cancel culture group the National Congress of American Indians.
The celebrated Blackfeet chief and his life story were canceled even as polls showed 90 percent of Native Americans supported the team's name and White Calf portrait.
A Washington Redskins helmet lies on the turf during a preseason game against the Cleveland Browns at FedExField on August 18, 2014, in Landover, Maryland. (TJ Root/Getty Images)
Thomas White Calf, who lives on a Blackfeet reservation in Montana, says his family was never consulted and never supported removing Two Guns White Calf's image from the NFL.
“This is about righting a wrong,” Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, said in an email to Fox News Digital.
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“It is a source of pride and represents the rich Native American history that helped make our nation great, and should be enthusiastically celebrated throughout our culture.”
The Washington Commanders were acquired in 2023 by a group of investors led by Josh Harris. They inherited the controversy over the team's name and image.
Senator Steve Daines speaks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 18, 2024. (Reuters/Mike Segar)
“We are working with Senator Daines to honor the legacy of our team's heritage and the Native American community,” a Commanders spokesperson said in a statement sent to Fox News Digital.
“It's about righting a mistake.” – Senator Steve Daines
“At the Senator's suggestion, we have developed a positive relationship with Ryan Wetzel, grandson of Walter 'Blackie' Wetzel, who designed the logo. We look forward to honoring that legacy.”
Blackie Wetzel is the late Blackfeet tribal leader credited with creating the Two Guns White Calf portrait in 1971, with widespread support from Native American groups, which the team adopted in 1972.
Blackfeet chief John Two Guns White Calf was best known for his role in Native American causes in the early 20th century. He was the face of the United States Mint's Indian Head nickel and the Washington Redskins NFL franchise. (Courtesy of Thomas White Calf/White Calf family)
White Calf was born in Montana in 1872 and gained international recognition for fighting to preserve Native American culture.
He championed indigenous issues in Washington, DC, rubbing shoulders with President Calvin Coolidge – and seemed to build bridges between cultures that had long been at odds.
Native American group that wants to eliminate “redskins” is funded by the Soros Foundation and other left-wing organizations
White Calf was, according to multiple sources, the inspiration for the face that appeared on the United States Mint's famous 1913 Indian Head nickel and was so prominent in the United States that his death in 1934 earned him an obituary in the New York Times.
The tribute noted that he helped make Coolidge “an honorary chief of the Blackfeet tribe itself.”
The celebrated Blackfeet leader was crushed by the National Congress of American Indians in 2013 when he released a dubious report titled “Ending the Legacy of Racism in Sports and the Era of Harmful 'Indian' Sports Mascots.”
Donald Wetzel Sr., whose father Walter designed the Redskins logo, holds an autographed Washington football on June 27, 2014, in Great Falls, Montana. (Larry Beckner for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The 29-page dissertation included a scathing 3,650-word history of the Redskins and their “legacy of racism” that critics said included one major oversight. The report did not once mention boss Two Guns White Calf, even though he was the face of the Redskins franchise for 48 years.
“Two Guns White Calf was a real person, not a mascot, and he was canceled,” historian Andre Billeaudeaux, author of “How the Redskins Got Their Name,” told Fox News Digital earlier this year.
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The Redskins name remains too politically toxic, a person familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital.
The team “went too far” by removing the image of the White Calf along with the name, the source said.
“The legendary Blackfeet logo, championed by Blackie Wetzel and based on the image of Chief Two Guns White Calf, must be restored to a place of honor,” Daines said.
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While the Wetzel family is being recognized by the NFL franchise for their role in honoring Two Guns White Calf, the Blackfeet chief's family says the organization has ignored them for decades.
“We want a seat at the table,” Thomas White Calf said.
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