Corporate sponsors killed the Washington Redskins in 2020 – not Native Americans.
Now the family of the Blackfeet chief whose face was on that helmet for 48 years wants it back.
And what they're asking Trump to do has the entire NFL establishment on edge.
The Washington Redskins Logo Had a Real Name and His Family Was Never Asked
The face on the Washington Redskins helmet wasn't a stereotype.
It was a specific man – Blackfeet Chief John Two Guns White Calf, born into Pikuni Blackfoot royalty as the son of the tribe's chief.
His family says he was the most photographed Native American in history – his image reportedly on the U.S. nickel long before it appeared on an NFL helmet.
In 1971, Blackfeet tribal chairman Walter "Blackie" Wetzel personally campaigned to put Chief Two Guns White Calf's image on the Redskins helmet.
His reasoning: if the team was going to use Native American imagery, it should feature the face of an actual Native American leader.
The Redskins adopted the logo in 1972.
For 48 years, a real Blackfeet chief stared back from the helmets, the end zones, the merchandise of one of the NFL's most recognized franchises.
Then FedEx sent a letter.
In July 2020, FedEx – which held the naming rights to the team's stadium – formally pressured former owner Dan Snyder to drop the name.
Nike pulled Washington gear from its website the same week.
A coalition of 87 investment firms worth a combined $620 billion pressured the team's corporate sponsors to walk.
Snyder, who had said in 2013 he would "NEVER" change the name, caved within ten days.
Nobody called Chief Two Guns White Calf's family.
"They tried to erase us, like we didn't exist anymore," said Kenneth Conway, lead of the chief's estate.
"They did not even ask our family for approval," said Brock Conway. "I mean, we literally got erased."
"It happened while Dan Snyder was going through a professional crisis, and that moment was used," Morningstar Gopher, press and media relations for the Estate of Chief Two Guns White Calf, told the Washington Examiner.
"The Redskins logo, for our family, was never meant to cause harm," Gopher said.
"It was a sense of pride."
Trump Threatened the Washington Commanders RFK Stadium Deal Over the Redskins Name
Donald Trump picked this fight personally in the summer of 2025.
He threatened to kill the franchise's $3.8 billion RFK Stadium deal unless owner Josh Harris brought the name back.
"The Washington 'Whatever's' should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team," Trump posted on Truth Social.
The next day he went further on Truth Social.
"I may put a restriction on them that if they don't change the name back to the original 'Washington Redskins,' and get rid of the ridiculous moniker, 'Washington Commanders,' I won't make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington," Trump wrote.
When asked about a possible name change, Commanders owner Josh Harris told reporters the name has "actually taken on an amazing kind of element in our building" – a polished non-answer from a man whose $3.8 billion stadium sits on federal land and breaks ground this year.
Senator Steve Daines of Montana – whose state is home to the Blackfeet reservation – had already blocked stadium funding until the Blackfeet logo was honored in the deal.
The Blackfeet tribal chairman and tribal council signed a letter supporting the logo's return.
The family filed a formal request for a White House meeting, according to a press release dated October 12.
No NFL franchise has ever named a stadium for a Native American.
"We want the name and logo restored with our family's direct participation and blessing, and the new stadium named the John Two Guns White Calf Memorial Stadium," Gopher told the Washington Examiner.
The family is also hosting a cultural showcase in Washington, D.C., on November 20 – open to the public – followed by a direct meeting with franchise leadership to discuss the chief's image.
"It didn't matter if you hated the logo or loved it, you knew who it was and what brand it was associated with," Gopher said.
Left-wing activists who drove the 2020 name change claimed they were protecting Native Americans.
The people they actually consulted were FedEx, Nike, and 87 investment firms.
The family whose ancestor was on the helmet never got a call.
Cancel culture erased a real Blackfeet chief from American sports history and called it progress.
The John Two Guns White Calf Memorial Stadium would hang his name above the building his image made famous – and settle a debt the NFL never intended to acknowledge.
Sources:
- Morningstar Gopher, "Descendants of Tribe Chief Fight to Restore Redskins Name and Image," Washington Examiner, October 2026.
- "Canceled Tribal Chief White Calf, Face of the Redskins, Generates New Support Nationwide," Fox News, 2023.
- "Redskins Old Logo Cancelation: Case of Woke Gone Wrong, Sen. Daines Says," Fox News, 2024.
- George Caldwell, "Trump Could Sack Stadium Deal to Get Washington's NFL Team to Restore Redskins Name," The Daily Signal, July 22, 2025.
- "DC Official Weighs In on Trump's Push to Have Commanders Change Nickname Back to Redskins," Fox News, July 23, 2025.
- Andrew Powell, "Descendants of Chief Who Inspired Redskins Logo Want Name Back, Call for Meeting With President Trump," The Daily Caller, October 20, 2026.