On average, $50 million worth of gold was unearthed every year between 1849 and 1857. Southerners used the term for Black people who didn't "know their place" and coupled it with a racial slur. But it was not until DeBartolo Jr. took over that the 49ers found the success that redefined the modern NFL. Abraham Lincoln himself, then a Whig congressman from Illinois, recognized that the war was a blatantly imperialistic exercise and denounced it in one of his earliest well-known speeches. The sleeping Indians werent even members of the same Maidu tribe, but to the miners, it didnt matter: Indian was Indian. No laws governed the growing population in the new territory. A real ale brewed by the Ringwood Brewery with a strength, appropriately, of 4.9%. They unquestionably were not stone-age people riding horses in loincloths. 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. Lets dive right into why this name is baffling. The name was embodied by the teams mascot-a gold-prospector-inspired character named Sourdough Samwho has undergone several changes to his appearance over the years. Not everybody reaches a point within their traditional community to and I'm going back 150 years and not everybody had the right and ability to put warrior paint on their face. The federal government, Lea added, should supply Indians there with farming tools, cloth, and livestock; assist them with housing; and secure for them intellectual, moral, and religious education. Think pieces are being written on liberal and conservative outlets. So let me try to keep that promise in the headline and explain why both names should be replaced. 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. Fake buckskin drums. The California Genocide is not taught in schools. Between 1849 and the late 1870s, the United States government in conjunction with the territory of California enacted laws to legally exterminate the Indigenous people of California. 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. So much so, that the New York Times wrote a feature this week talking about how the issue divides people (making one wonder, would other racist traditions get the both sides treatment from the paper of record?). ", He added, "Let's go back to the scenario featuring African Americans. And arguments are sure to break out between young and old family members at Super Bowl parties in Missouri and the Bay Area. The team's name is a nod to history. 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. San Francisco came up just short, losing to the Baltimore Ravens in the Harbaugh Bowl as Jims brother John coached the Ravens. Its also deepening stereotypes that are taking funds out of Indigenous peoples pockets while making it harder for them to get loans. They then took the extraordinary measure of ordering the treaties filed under an injunction of secrecy and transferred to an obscure federal archive, which held them for more than 50 years. So heres some insight on why the are called the 49ers. "The 49ers", a group of Cathay Pacific Airways pilots fired on 9 July 2001. As one Native American recalled many years later, "My grandfather was enslaved by Sutter to help in building the Fort. Fittingly, it's deeply tied to the history of the San Francisco area. 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. By David Bonilla. That mascot was phased out in 1988 and a completely innocuous mascot, The K.C. Teams with names like the Cowboys, Miners and Vikings also celebrate white settler colonialism. Whats the Difference Between Formula 1 and NASCAR? Is It Called Presidents Day Or Washingtons Birthday? Heard its going to be chilly in Green Bay so I packed a pair of gloves. #FTTB #GoNiners #LETSGOOOO pic.twitter.com/pbhdzhUoss. In 1985, the 49ers selected Jerry Rice out of Mississippi Valley State. With the Chiefs specifically, the damage caused is that it disrespects Native American images and customs in front of millions of people. What did Georgias Nolan Smith say at the NFL Combine about the death of his teammate Devin Willock? A franchise rich in tradition and success spanning several decades, the San Francisco 49ers are one of the pillars of the NFL. With Montana, they became the standard against which every QB/WR duo would be judged. 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. An athletic and mobile quarterback, Kaepernick attended the University of Nevada, Reno, where he set several. There were alsono taxes or land rights disputesat the time as California had yet to become a state. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The team responded . But sports are, and always have been, inherently political sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. 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. When New Jersey prospector James Marshall "discovered" gold at Sutter's Mill, it was because Native Americans brought the nuggets to his attention without recognizing their commercial value. What Is the Real Meaning Behind Ring Around the Rosie? 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." 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. Before 1850 (when California became a state), the gold was free. The winner that shook out was an honorific for a local mayor whose nickname was Chief. This is due to said mayor starting a Boy Scout club that ripped off Native American rituals and paired it with Hollywood-inspired iconography, but thats another fight for another day. Its fueling the suicide rate amongst the youth and the dehumanization of Indigenous women. Besides the fact that it equates an entire people with crude, blind violence, the region the team calls home is particularly fraught. 49ers get high marks for facilities, player treatment in NFLPA survey, 49ers GM John Lynch talks Purdy surgery, Lance recovery, Garoppolo exit, Brady retirement, 49ers must survey NFLs quarterback landscape at scouting combine, Mike McGlinchey soon to strike it rich, if not from 49ers then as free agent, is the nickname for those who flocked to northern California in 1849, also a kind of Olympic-style racing dinghy, team founder Tony Morabito saw opportunity where others saw uncertainty, are registered as the San Francisco Forty Niners,, French prospectors were the first to bring the chewy, tangy sourdough recipe, Dear Abby: My wife said she doesn't like it, but it's part of my life. Yet as the gold became more difficult to find, the early prospectors looked for other means of support, and California offered a wealth of prime real estate. A few days later, they killed the hostages too. Kansas City bridges two worlds the Mississippi Valley cultures and the Great Plains. Matthew Rozsa is a professional writer whose work has appeared in multiple national media outlets since 2012 and exclusively at Salon since 2016. It has stayed in the city since then. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! Thats what it was: a genocide. In early February, the Washington football team announced their new name, the Washington Commanders. 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.". Reproduction of material from any Salon pages without written permission is strictly prohibited. Around this period of US history, the government reportedly armed local militiasto kill Native American men and seize women and childrento besold to miners and used as free labor. 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. And O'Loughlin brought up the issue of environmental protection. Merriam-Webster defines uppity as "putting on or marked by airs of superiority" and likens the word to arrogant and presumptuous behavior. In 2008, Jed became president of the franchise, with his parents transitioning to co-chairmen. They're suffering from being in a community where they see that that behavior is OK.", O'Loughlin also noted that there are a lot of pressing issues facing modern Native American communities that get overlooked, even as our culture focuses on offensive simplifications about Native American peoples. Their helmets have a gold sheen to them, and a horn blows when they score similar to the old-time mining horns. Fake headdresses abound. Still, seeing someone in redface or a fake headdress denotes colonial bigotry. Besides being really hot, Death Valley seems [], Partner Spotlight: West Ave Tavern in Tallmadge, OH, Partner Spotlight: Old Chicago Pizza + Taproom in Merrillville, IN, Partner Spotlight: Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ in Canton, MI, What Is a Caste? 2023 Cable News Network. The SF 49ers' stay at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia between Weeks 2 and 3 contradicts the organization's statements on racism. Theyve nabbed five Super Bowl titles and were home to several NFL legends, including Steve Young, Joe Montana and Jerry Rice. 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. 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. Top 10: The Forty-Niners, a novel by Alan Moore and Gene Ha. However, it was a far cry from the dominance of the 80s and early 90s. The protests of Californias white men, however, drowned out Leas tepid advocacy. The name was in place, the team was in town, and logos needed to be made. When the news of gold in California became common knowledge, people started coming from all over the country in order to stake their claim. Credit: Spencer Weiner/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images. Theres no way you could go wrong. Not for clicks. 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. The "49ers" is the nickname for those who flocked to northern California in 1849 hoping to take advantage of the gold rush. (A 49er is also a kind of Olympic-style racing dinghy, which would make for an equally rich team name. Companies are refusing to broker Redskins merchandise. Surely enough, the 49ers have become one of the most successful teams in the NFL. 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. 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 miners who arrived in 1849 encountered a number of fortunate coincidences. Meanwhile, the first game of American football was played in 1869 in New Jersey, and even then it didnt really look like football, more like soccer mixed with rugby. ", She added, "The Nisenan Maidu just happened to be right in the middle of this whole chaotic event. But those aggressive gold miners would give their nickname to a football team one hundred years later. "The name Chiefs on its own by itself may not be offensive, right? 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). He would go on to say, I didnt leave the 49ers. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. Olympic Valley in Lake Tahoe continues to shed racist slur, renames main thoroughfare. And not anybody in an American Indian community can wear an eagle feather headdress. Under Edward, the franchise became a juggernaut. 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. 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. Why Are They Called the San Francisco 49ers? 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. The Forty-Niners, a group of shjo manga artists also known as the Year 24 Group. This is only a fraction of racist history of the team, and . Stephen A. 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2023-04-21