Its called a genocide, Newsom said. Indians may be permanently located and protected, Act for the Government and Protection of Indians. And so that's really where I've focused more fundamentally, is on these issues in public schools rather than with private companies.". But this name is part of our teams heritage! scream the bad-faith Dan Snyders of the world. San Franciscos professional football team, the 49ers, was named in honor of the men who came to California during the Gold Rush. San Francisco 49ers v Chicago Bears Nick Bosa has been at the center of a social media storm ever since footage emerged of him ignoring an African-American fan in the stands. Why Are They Called the San Francisco 49ers? Yet the same men and women who attempted to become wealthy off of the precious metals in the earth exploited, enslaved and even murdered the indigenous people in what's now the state of California in order to do so. In December of 2008, John and Denise announced that Jed, their son, would become team president and operating head of the franchise while they would become co-chairpersons. This is the history you need to know to understand exactly who you are. In 1849, more than 100,000 people, mostly men, traveled to the region. The Forty-Niners, a group of shjo manga artists also known as the Year 24 Group. What is a caste system and how do they work? What Is the Real Meaning Behind Ring Around the Rosie? 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. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much Its fans engage in a ritual called the "tomahawk chop," often wear face paint and headdresses to games and cheer to game day rituals such as a dignitary banging a drum while surrounded by cheerleaders or a cheerleader riding a horse named Warpaint around the field before the game and when the team scores. The indigenous population of California went from more than 200,000 . Surely enough, the 49ers have become one of the most successful teams in the NFL. The 49ers then enacted the Act for the Government and Protection of Indians, also called Chapter 133, which, contrary to its name, stripped Californias Indians of nearly all legal protections. Forgot password? Origin and meaning, San Fran's defense shuts down Stafford and Rams. The name was in place, the team was in town, and logos needed to be made. Sorry, pal, our heritage predates the NFL by a few millennia. On Monday, 24-year-old Baker posted a . In one of the earliest conflicts, a group of white miners from Oregon barged into the nearby Maidu hamlet, beat and shot the men, and savagely assaulted a number of the women. Some died due to the seizure of their land, some due to disease, and many were murdered in cold blood, not only sanctioned but encouraged by California's government. . The census of 1880 recorded just 16,277 Indians in California, a 90 percent decline from preGold Rush days. During his 23 years owning the team, the 49ers won five Super Bowls under head coaches Walsh and George Seifert: Super Bowl XVI in 1982, XIX in 1985, XXIII in 1989, XXIV 1990, and XXIX in 1995. An athletic and mobile quarterback, Kaepernick attended the University of Nevada, Reno, where he set several. If they win it all, they will tie with the New England Patriots for the most Super Bowl victories in NFL history. When the NFL moved The Texans to Kansas City in the early 1960s, the team needed a new name. Top 10: The Forty-Niners, a novel by Alan Moore and Gene Ha. The Indians in this part of the State, in the main a harmless race, are left entirely at the mercy of every ruffian in the country, and if something is not done for their protection, the race will shortly become extinct. The "49ers" is the nickname for those who flocked to northern California in 1849 hoping to take advantage of the gold rush. As mentioned above, teams and broadcasters are refusing to show redface. 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. 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. What Do Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, And Lent Mean? Like O'Loughlin, he cited the "growing epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women across the country, across Indian country at large, and where we see these large disproportionate number of our native women and children in particular have gone missing and turned up deceased" and "the protection of native peoples' natural resources, their lands, their waters, their cultures and who they are as a people.". In 1985, the 49ers selected Jerry Rice out of Mississippi Valley State. Now you can watch the entire NBA season or your favorite teams on streaming. Only weeks into the job, a heartsick Beale wrote to Lea, his boss, describing the desperate situation. In early February, the Washington football team announced their new name, the Washington Commanders. 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. 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. (Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images/NFL/Salon), ------------------------------------------, exploited, enslaved and even murdered the indigenous people in what's now the state of California, 80 percent of California's Native Americans were wiped out, April Moore from the Nisenan Maidu told PBS. Its the U.S.s responsibility to educate people on this but some of that falls on you, too. Zachary Taylors Indian affairs commissioner embraced reservations as the answer to the Indian problem in the West. Land losses were near total. Yet the reality of the men behind the legend is not quite so lovable and comic. 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? As soon as he could, he escaped and with his family hid in the mountains." And arguments are sure to break out between young and old family members at Super Bowl parties in Missouri and the Bay Area. So heres some insight on why the are called the 49ers. John York, her husband of nearly 44 years, serves as the current co-chair. They were working along the American River near what is now Coloma, California, when they cracked open a vein of gold. That levy produced its intended effect: an exodus of nonwhites from the mining region. Bezos, Fertitta. Who Is Colin Kaepernick? So, if your football festivities seem to be lagging on Super Bowl Sunday, feel free to whip out some of these facts and launch into a detailed conversation about bread. To be able to comment you must be registered and logged in. 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. As the owner and co-chair of the 49ers, Marie Denise DeBartolo York presides at the head of the table. With the Chiefs specifically, the damage caused is that it disrespects Native American images and customs in front of millions of people. Lea noted, with some chagrin, that there was violent opposition to [the California treaties] in the legislature of that State, but he nonetheless requested their adoption by the U.S. Senate. The 1849 Gold Rush and the Oregon Trail that fed it was an outright act of genocide. Whats causing this dust-up? The rest was history. I tend to be a glass-is-half-full kind of person. What happened next would become one of the lowest moments of shameless treachery in the history of the U.S. Senate. 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). Maybe not all the way back to 1849, but the story begins in 1946, when the 49ers were first founded as a football club. The dont have to dead end. 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. They unquestionably were not stone-age people riding horses in loincloths. Following an 8-8 regular season in 2014, the 49ers agreed to part ways with Harbaugh. Meeting in a closed-door executive session on July 8, 1852, a majority of senators voted to reject all 18 treaties. They would also have some of the most recognizable and acclaimed players ever to take the field during this period, like wide receiver Jerry Rice, quarterbacks Joe Montana and Steve Young, and cornerback Ronnie Lott. The original 49ers carried out one of the most horrific campaigns of genocide in the history of North America. The protests of Californias white men, however, drowned out Leas tepid advocacy. He pointed to "the distance it takes to travel to polling locations, the distance it takes to travel to county seats to obtain voter IDs, the ability to use a tribal ID to vote, the lack of access to transportation, the lack of access to a residential address, when those are made requirements for voting." Despite the Senates formal rejection, federal and state officials in California carried on as if the treaties were in forceand apparently nobody bothered to inform the tribes of their true status under the law. 49er, the lowest initiated rank in a Triad. The symbolism of the modern Olympics celebrates nations working together peacefully in athletic competition. Is she dating Chiefs Travis Kelce? When the California Gold Rush began in 1848, American football didnt exist. So understand this: when Indigenous people see Sourdough Sam, the 49ers mascot, they may very well think of the sheer audacity it takes to whitewash an actual genocide with a smiling, blue-eyed miner rather than a folk hero. Fittingly, it's deeply tied to the history of the San Francisco area. They murdered 12 tribe members and took eight hostages. While Montgomery acknowledged that there were some "reckless adventurers" who caused "serious trouble," he reassured readers that "the stern hand of a Vigilance Committee, organized by a majority of the best citizens of San Francisco, speedily taught desperadoes and thieves that life and property must be respected.". In the end, Calfornias Indigenous population fell by 80 percent over 25 years. They were relatively early compared to the competition that would follow over the next six years; they could put a pan in the river and pull out gold. Besides, would a single person in Kansas City be any less stoked if the Kansas City Wolves were going to the Super Bowl? He received a Master's Degree in History from Rutgers-Newark in 2012, spoke at the Commonwealth Club of California shortly after Jan. 6th and is the recipient of a 2022 science journalism fellowship from the Metcalf Institute. Reproduction of material from any Salon pages without written permission is strictly prohibited. Updated All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! The teams name is a nod to history. Laws by the U.S. government like Greaser Act in the 1850s sought to ethnically cleanse Spanish Indians from California. 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. These miners were called the forty-niners, and the name was an easy choice for the football team when it was formed. Campbell also expressed concern about a number of issues which impact Native American communities. As bad as invoking the 49ers as a sports team may be, though, the Kansas City Chiefs are even worse. While the team colors of red and gold are certainly a nod to the whole gold rush aspect of the 49ers name, their official mascot takes the Northern California representation to new heights. SALON is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark of Salon.com, LLC. Is It Called Presidents Day Or Washingtons Birthday? Tom Cruise's 'ditching' of Suri showcased by Judd Apatow's 'co-parenting' joke, ex-Scientology exec says, Ask Amy: I feel guilty for not speaking up about my co-worker's activities, Ask Amy: I had a good reason not to tell my friend I was moving, Warriors 3 Things: Steve Kerr entered playoff mode before Golden State's win over Portland. The science backs me up on this. Technically, the San Francisco 49ers are registered as the San Francisco Forty Niners, but that definitely wouldnt fit on a football helmet. Thats the positive news. There is a reason why we play the national anthem before most sporting events; why it has been a cherished tradition for presidents to throw the ceremonial first pitch on baseball's opening day since the administration of William Howard Taft; why we've had a president, Gerald Ford, who first became famous for being a star football player at the University of Michigan; and why another president, Ronald Reagan, delayed his second-term inauguration ceremony by a day so that it wouldn't conflict with Super Bowl XIX (where he performed the coin toss). But fans and consumers have the power to convince NFL team owners to do the right thing. All Rights Reserved. Still, there are a lot of them. Who is the owner of the San Francisco 49ers? So let me try to keep that promise in the headline and explain why both names should be replaced. Matthew Rozsa is a professional writer whose work has appeared in multiple national media outlets since 2012 and exclusively at Salon since 2016. Are you an NFL fan? As one Native American recalled many years later, "My grandfather was enslaved by Sutter to help in building the Fort. Harriette Cole: I don't want the neighbor's kids at my house, Ask Amy: I'm your cabin housekeeper, and you apparently have no idea what I do, Pac-12 media rights: Our (final) predictions for the revenue, media partners, expansion decisions and more. It has also been a place where geopolitical conflicts have heated up, such as during the Cold War when the United States boycotted the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics and the Soviet Union boycotted the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. It barely makes a blip on the national consciousness. As you watch Super Bowl LIV, bear in mind that rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs and taking no issue with either their mascot or their fans' traditions means rooting for racism. All Rights Reserved. The influx of opportunists was a boon for California's economy, and. Perhaps because of the name, the team has never left San Francisco. With Super Bowl Sunday fast approaching, the rumbles have been growing on Native Twitter. It should go without saying that it is wrong to perpetuate stereotypical imagery, engage in cultural appropriation and reduce centuries of oppression and suffering into a cartoonish punchline to inspire sports fans. 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. Not because of some left/right or politically correct/progressive agenda. The question is whether they will follow through on that. 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." 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.. It has stayed in the city since then. 2. 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. He is, after all, not just the governor but the citys former mayor. Fun fact: In the 1950s, the San Francisco 49ers were the first to implement the shotgun formation into plays, a common method to give the quarterback extra time to make a throw. Blind fury! 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? In 1978, DeBartolo Sr. purchased the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL and established Denise as the owner and president of the team. The team, which started out as part of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), a rival to the National Football League (NFL), played its first regular-season game in September 1946. And building a better future. Political symbolism in sports doesn't stop with the Olympics and the Jackie Robinson story. 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.. Besides the fact that it equates an entire people with crude, blind violence, the region the team calls home is particularly fraught. He would go on to say, I didnt leave the 49ers. 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. This huge influx of new arrivals helped speed up Californias admittance to the Union as the 31st state in 1850, a mere two years after the U.S. had been awarded the territory under the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War. Since 2014, theyve been playing at Levis Stadium in Santa Clara, around 45 miles from San Francisco proper. Dear Abby: Why do they imply my husband is a freak? Olympic Valley in Lake Tahoe continues to shed racist slur, renames main thoroughfare. Race is an issue that defines our nation. That was a nice step. 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. & 2020 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. The voided agreements would not see the light of day again until 1905. This is a team that is named after a Native American position of authority, features an arrowhead on their helmets andplays at a facility called Arrowhead Stadium. Why Both Super Bowl Team Names Should Be Replaced, GloRilla, Ice Spice, And The Carefree Black Girl Backlash, Karol G Tells Us About Her Most Personal Album Yet, Maana Ser Bonito, And Collaborating With Shakira, The Rundown: Between Cocaine Bears And Maple Syrup Heists, Margo Martindale Is Absolutely Thriving In 2023. 1:30 PM EST, Sat February 1, 2020, A look inside the stadium hosting Super Bowl LIV. 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. X27 ; s economy, and the Jackie Robinson story legend is quite! Government and Protection of Indians would a single person in Kansas City in the history need. 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