The Montana history behind the former Native American sports name changes

President Donald Trump’s social media posts calling for the NFL’s Washington Commanders to revert to their old name have revived the conversation about Native American imagery in sports.

The team has indicated it has no plans to go back to a name that was abandoned years ago in the aftermath of a reckoning over racial injustice, iconography and racism in the U.S. following the death of George Floyd. 

A growing body of research shows that the use of Native American mascots can have widespread negative consequences, harming self-esteem in Native youth and perpetuating stereotypes among non-Natives. 

Though Washington, D.C., is thousands of miles east of Montana, the debate over the NFL team’s now-retired logo has been contentious in the state due to the logo’s unique history. The late Walter Blackie Wetzel, who served as the chair of the Blackfeet Tribe, designed the team’s logo in the early 1970s. That logo, which was retired in 2020, depicts the side profile of Blackfeet Chief John Two Guns White Calf.

While the team recently adopted a new name and imagery, Montana Sen. Steve Daines and some members of the Wetzel family have pushed to preserve the old logo, to no avail.   

Here is a look at how the issue has unfolded:

OCTOBER 2013

Then-President Barack Obama told The Associated Press he would “think about changing” the name of the Washington Redskins if he owned the team.

“I don’t know whether our attachment to a particular name should override the real legitimate concerns that people have about these things,” Obama said.

Trump soon after posted to Twitter: “President should not be telling the Washington Redskins to change their name-our country has far bigger problems! FOCUS on them, not nonsense.”

SUMMER 2020

After several sponsors publicly voiced their opposition to the name Redskins, longtime owner Dan Snyder said in early July the organization would undergo a “thorough review.” Snyder had said multiple times since buying the team in 1999 that he had no intent of changing it.

On July 13, Snyder announced the Redskins moniker was being retired after 87 years, dating to the team’s time in Boston. Later in the month, the organization unveiled plans to be known as the Washington Football Team for at least one season, and that name remained through 2021.

FEBRUARY 2022

After a lengthy process, Washington rebranded as the Commanders. Snyder said the change pays “homage to our local roots and what it means to represent the nation’s capital.”

“As we kick off our 90th season, it is important for our organization and fans to pay tribute to our past traditions, history, legacy and the greats that came before us,” Snyder said. “We continue to honor and represent the burgundy and gold while forging a pathway to a new era in Washington.”

President Joe Biden welcomed the name change by posting a picture on Twitter of Commander, his recently acquired German shepherd puppy, in front of the White House.

“I suppose there’s room for two Commanders in this town,” Biden wrote.

SUMMER 2023

A group led by Josh Harris, which included Basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, finalized the purchase of the Commanders from Snyder for a North American pro sports record $6.05 billion.

Harris and co-owner Mitch Rales, who grew up in the area of the team, used the word Redskins at their introductory news conference, sparking renewed chatter about the subject. Before the season started, Harris said ownership would not be going back to the old name.

SUMMER 2024

Daines, a Republican, threatened to block a congressional bill to transfer land to potentially be used for a new football stadium in Washington unless the Commanders and the NFL honored the former logo in some way.

After lobbying on Capitol Hill by Harris and Commissioner Roger Goodell, the bill passed in December at the eleventh hour, and Biden signed it into law in January. It gave control of the RFK Stadium site from the federal government to the District of Columbia, which agreed to a deal with the team in April to build there, pending city council approval.

FEB. 3, 2025

After Washington made the playoffs and went on an improbable run to the NFC championship game with Offensive Rookie of the Year quarterback Jayden Daniels, Harris said at his season-ending news conference that the Commanders name was here to stay, quieting speculation about another rebrand.

“I think it’s now being embraced by our team, by our culture, by our coaching staff, so, we’re going with that,” Harris said. “Now, in this building, the name Commanders means something. It’s about players who love football, are great at football, hit hard, mentally tough, great teammates. It’s really meaningful that that name is growing in meaning.”

JULY 20, 2025

With the stadium deal not yet done, Trump threatened to block it if Washington did not go back to the name Redskins.

Trump on his social media site posted: “I won’t make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington.”

Asked about ways Trump could block the construction of a stadium where the team played during its glory days until moving to Maryland, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser shifted the focus to hammering out a deal voted on by the council.

“What I’m concerned about is we haven’t done our part, and so we need to complete our part so that the team can get to work, so that local businesses can get hired, so that we can start earning the tax revenue that will come when we deliver the Commanders stadium,” Bowser said.