A recent interview highlighted the profound connection between the Washington Commanders’ history and John Two Guns White Calf, whose image defined the team for 48 years.
“The [Redskins] logo was the most powerful logo in NFL history, because it actually had meaning behind it,” Thomas White Calf stated while standing on the edge of a valley overlooking Saint Mary Lake in northwest Montana.
White Calf, the great-nephew of Chief John Two Guns White Calf, emphasized that the Blackfeet Nation—home to the most photographed Native American figure in history—is where the chief was born and raised. “Nobody ever asked us for our opinion. Nobody ever asked what we thought,” he said.
The controversy over the Redskins name erupted in October 2013 after President Obama criticized the team and the National Congress of American Indians released an incendiary report. This led to a seven-year campaign that culminated in the team dropping its Native imagery in 2020.
White Calf’s family has long advocated for the NFL to reclaim the Redskins name and its native legacy, including the “braves on the warpath” imagery and the chief’s portrait. They argue that the team’s historical connection to Blackfeet heritage remains intact despite years of media scrutiny.
Thomas White Calf spoke from a site near three monumental iron teepees—a tribute to an ancestral Blackfeet settlement—saying: “This is where it all started from. The face of the Washington Redskins. The face of the Indian Head nickel.”
The family claims that mainstream media erased Chief Two Guns White Calf’s heroic legacy during the campaign against the team, reducing him to a “savage and clownish caricature” while ignoring his contributions as an American hero who fought for tribal treaties.
Two Guns White Calf earned recognition from U.S. leaders, including President Calvin Coolidge, who became a member of Blackfeet Nation. His face appeared on currency and the Washington Commanders’ logo until it was canceled in 2020.
“The history is finally getting out there, and people are learning more and more about Two Guns and the powerful history behind it,” Thomas White Calf added.
