Land losses were near total. Given this unique cultural moment, people are taking to their social media and journalism platforms to share takes, educate, and reflect on the state of not only the NFL in 2020 but the greater issue of our nebulous-but-supposedly-lofty American values.. And this campaign of exploitation and genocide against the 150,000 people who had originally lived in what's nowCalifornia was hardly accidental. Similarly,Muhammad Ali declaringhimself a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War and refusing to register for the draft became a flashpoint of both the anti-war and civil rights movements, but it was the regulatory bodies stripping him of his heavyweight title and licenses as a result that made his personal politics an issue within the sport. And then, I have to ask, are we so blind to our own history that we want to cheer on a team that is, at the very least, covering up genocide and, at the very worst, celebrating one? Laws by the U.S. government like Greaser Act in the 1850s sought to ethnically cleanse Spanish Indians from California. The 60s and 70s marked varying degrees of success for the 49ers, but they would really begin to break out in the 1980s and early 1990s. Its one thing for a population or group of sports fans to claim ignorance to all of this pre-2000. The San Francisco 49ers dominated the Los Angeles Rams in a 24-9 win over their divisional rival on Monday. If you dont live near there youve probably still heard of the environmental extreme Death Valley. Gold was first found in Northern California in January 1848, and it took about a year for the news to travel and inspire thousands of fortune seekers to head west. That levy produced its intended effect: an exodus of nonwhites from the mining region. Thats not hyperbole. Theyve nabbed five Super Bowl titles and were home to several NFL legends, including Steve Young, Joe Montana and Jerry Rice. Why the San Francisco 49ers are called the 49ers, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Alameda County DAs new policy will reduce prison sentences through widespread elimination of sentencing enhancements. When the news of gold in California became common knowledge, people started coming from all over the country in order to stake their claim. Despite its negative history, the word is regularly used by various races. In fact, James Marshall and John Sutter, the two men linked with the start of one of the most pivotal events in California history, never got rich. Who are the main candidates to buy the Washington Commanders? Then, you have names like the San Francisco 49ers. In 1849, more than 100,000 people, mostly men, traveled to the region. Though thankfully, neither the horse nor cheerleader riding in the saddle is donning any Native American regalia. Its just a number after all. An arrowhead was chosen. Companies are refusing to broker Redskins merchandise. All Rights Reserved. A century after the Gold Rush, the 49ers were. Just like Warriors and Indians may not be offensive," Kevin Allis, the CEO of the National Congress of American Indians and a member of the Forest County Potawatomi Community, told Salon. A Warner Bros. But shortly afterward, the tomahawk chop started making its way out of Florida and catching on with teams from Cleveland to Atlanta to Kansas City. Lets end by taking this out of the theoretical. It has stayed in the city since then. "There's a growing body of research out there that discusses the harm that these images cause and the effects that they have on self-esteem and the awareness of the students in the school setting. In 1995, the San Francisco 49ers became the first NFL team to win five Super Bowls. Under Chapter 133, a white man desirous of Indian land needed only to present his request to the local justice of the peace, who would determine the minimum amount of land he reckoned a local tribe needed. Tony Accardo, a.k.a. (Salon reached out to both the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers organizations and did not receive a response.) And thats the way it needs to be described in the history books., Newsom will no doubt be donning San Francisco 49ers gear and posing with Sourdough Sam, the teams mascot, at the many Super Bowl festivities this weekend. While he was kept there, Sutter worked him hard and then fed him in troughs. The 49ers theme also ties in with Californias nickname as The Golden State. John is also the chairman of the NFLs International Committee and sits on the leagues Audit and Business Ventures Committees. While the teams philosophy has shifted (a little heres the team president talking about it like its some heritage-listed activity that must be preserved), the fans arent fully on board. In 1985, the 49ers selected Jerry Rice out of Mississippi Valley State. In 1991, she made history, presiding over the 1990-1991 championship season, becoming just the third woman to serve as the president of a Stanley Cup-winning team. Why is this behavior offensive? Perhaps the clearest throwback to the inspiration, though, is the team mascot, Sourdough Sam. The "49ers" is the nickname for those who flocked to northern California in 1849 hoping to take advantage of the gold rush. I know they starve; I know they perish by hundreds It is a crying sin that our government, so wealthy and so powerful, should shut its eyes to the miserable fate of these rightful owners of the soil.. Indeed, the Gold Rush was made possible by Native Americans, including the Mewuk and Maiduwho built Sutter's Fort in what's now Sacramento. Through the indiscriminate use of terrorism and murder, Californias 49ers carried out one of the most successfuland, until recently, largely unacknowledgedcampaigns of ethnic cleansing the world has ever seen. Fittingly, its deeply tied to the history of the San Francisco area. In early February, the Washington football team announced their new name, the Washington Commanders. A few days later, they killed the hostages too. So why are we still fair game? The science backs me up on this. Sure, people should feel free to enjoy the Super Bowl if they like. There are more historic parallels between the team and the historical context of its name: The 49ers were the first NFL team, and, in fact, the first major professional sports team to originate on the West Coast. The white men of the Golden State exercised their homicidal liberty. The team responded . So for me, this can only boil down to education, or a lack thereof. "I think most problematic when we see them used in the school setting is that they actually cause harm to students, native students and non-native students alike, and that they have this real negative impact on the students," Campbell told Salon. Activate your account. Allis added that the problem with using Native American iconography in sports, however, is that it has a psychological impact on how viewers perceive Native American communities that can be particularly harmful in school settings. In January 1848, a group of Maidu Indians were helping James W. Marshall construct a sawmill on the property of the Swiss settler John Sutter. Blind fury! Why Do Cats Knock Things Over All the Time? Still, seeing someone in redface or a fake headdress denotes colonial bigotry. A party of Maidu men retaliated by killing five of the miners, who then recruited a posse of 20 armed white men and invaded another nearby village. Enjoy live and on-demand online sports on DAZN. It took until 1970 for the 49ers to win their first divisional championship. With each passing day, more and more miners came to the goldfields. Forgot password? The 49ers, most of whom were men, came from the eastern United States as well as other parts of the globe, including Europe, China, Mexico and South America. The 49ers did their part to kill off Indian chiefs and their tribes. These fortunate early gold miners were quickly dubbed the forty-niners. There were published reports around the country about them, and there was a book, The Forty-niners, Or, The Pioneers Daughter published in 1879. It is why people cared so much when a San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, used his platform to speak out against injustice, and why they are inspired by 49ers offensive assistant coach Katie Sowers, one of the few women to ever coach for an NFL team, the first openly LGBTQ coach and the first woman and openly LGBTQ coach to appear in a Super Bowl. (Last Updated On: April 18, 2019) What Is a Caste? San Francisco's professional football team, the 49ers, was named in honor of the men who came to California during the Gold Rush. After the game . It will be hard to hide. Who Is Colin Kaepernick? That was followed by the Mexican Repatriation movement in the 1920s and 1930s and Operation Wetback in the 1950s, which changed the governments target from Spanish Indians to just Mexicans. Both titles were code for ethnically cleansing brown people, many with Indigenous backgrounds and almost all with American citizenship expatriating people from the U.S. to present-day Mexico, where none of them had ever set foot. The question is whether they will follow through on that. Cold rage! What is a caste system and how do they work? Which Continent Is Russia Part of Europe or Asia? As April Moore from the Nisenan Maidu told PBS, "this gold strike brought thousands of people from every place known to man into our traditional territory. Rejecting the treaties, Lea wrote, would be hazardous and unwise., Read: One way to help Native Americans: property rights. 1:30 PM EST, Sat February 1, 2020, A look inside the stadium hosting Super Bowl LIV. NFL Draft 2022: How much each first-round pick will be paid, contract values, The conspiracies and fallout of Rihannas Super Bowl 2023 halftime show. The California Genocide is not taught in schools. Origin and meaning The San Francisco 49ers scored a stunning upset against the top-seeded Green Bay Packers, earning themselves a shot at the NFC Championship. Just where did the Rams get their name? Martin O'Malley (2007-2015), computer engineer and Internet co-inventor Leonard Kleinrock and right-wing insurrectionist Roger Stone. Jed York, the son of Denise and John, has been involved with the team after leaving his job as a financial analyst for Guggenheim Partners at their New York City offices. But fans and consumers have the power to convince NFL team owners to do the right thing. Still, there are a lot of them. Prove it by playing this quiz. As soon as he could, he escaped and with his family hid in the mountains." After a newly constituted legislature created the governors office, a judicial system, and penalties for cattle rustling, the 49er legislators turned to the business of installing the state-fortified foundations of white supremacy. Copyright 2019-2023. You have wifi. Technically, the San Francisco 49ers are registered as the San Francisco Forty Niners, but that definitely wouldnt fit on a football helmet. The 49ers are not the only professional franchise the York family has shaped In 1978, DeBartolo Sr. purchased the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL and established Denise as the owner and president of the team. Gidget Alikpala G_Alikpala. In the 1940s, when the team was founded, the idea of expanding the league that far across the country was considered a very risky move. ", The devastation wrought to Native American communities wasn't limited to outright violence. The 1849 Gold Rush and the Oregon Trail that fed it was an outright act of genocide. The San Francisco 49ers drafted Ohio State pass rusher Nick Bosa with the second overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft, but a number of left-leaning 49ers fans were not happy. As American history textbook author David Henry Montgomery wrote ratherromantically in 1899, they are remembered as people who "with pan and shovel" managed to "give us firm possession of the Pacific coast, since it rapidly settled the wilderness of California with a population of energetic and determined men." The team, of course, is not alone in casting the old gold miners in a friendly light. Not for clicks. Its called a genocide, Newsom said. ", He added, "Let's go back to the scenario featuring African Americans. Half of them will be rooting for a team represented by a genocidal land thief known as Sourdough Sam. Of the 32 teams in the NFL, two of three teams with overtly and covertly bigoted names that target Indigenous Americans are going to the Super Bowl. Sourdough Sam has been the teams rootin tootin unblinkin mascot since the 1970s (though the image of a wily, trigger-happy prospector goes back to the early days of the team). The idea of the Indian reservation continued to evolve in the nations capital. To his credit, current California Governor Gavin Newsom recently took one of the first steps to acknowledge the facts of history by issuing a formal apology to the states Native American tribes. And building a better future. Perhaps because of the name, the team has never left San Francisco. This slave trade lasted well into the 1870s with slave markets in San Francisco still functioning until they simply ran out of people to sell. Theyd raid Indigenous towns, kill all the men, and then take the women and children to slave markets to be sold to miners as free labor. "The 49ers", a group of Cathay Pacific Airways pilots fired on 9 July 2001. Aaron Rodgers reaches 500 career touchdowns, to kill Native American men and seize women and children, How did the Los Angeles Rams get their name? Let's start with the 49ers named after the Americans who came to California in 1849 during the Gold Rush specifically, and more generally after the Gold Rush pioneers since the problem with. A century after the Gold Rush, the 49ers were memorialized when San Franciscos first major league professional sports franchise, a football team, was named. We live in an age where the reality of Americas history with Indigenous people is easily accessible from the people living through the fallout of that history. The 49ers would go on to have some success in the following years. The precedent was set by a Swiss immigrant named John Sutterwho ventured to California in 1841, and was followed by others who attempted to make their fortune in the so-called Wild West. There was actually a write-in contest for local Kansas City denizens to name the team. The origin of the Kansas City Chiefs' team name may not be what you think: The team was named after former Kansas City mayor H. Roe Bartle. Alas.). 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. Besides, would a single person in Kansas City be any less stoked if the Kansas City Wolves were going to the Super Bowl? While other teams would end up adapting this method by putting more players on the line of scrimmage to rush the quarterback, this formation has been used in football ever since. "When you look at the Kansas City Chiefs, and you look at a lot of their fans that are wearing headdresses, a lot of their fans that are putting war paint on their faces and bringing different kinds of things with them that symbolize a bow and an arrow or some kind of a tool or sacred item that is Indian in nature, the treatment of that is what the problem is, and the treatment of those things impacts and tarnishes the name of the team," Allis told Salon. All Rights Reserved. At the time, they were playing in the All-America Football Conference and would end up being the first major sports franchise to play for San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. 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