‘Flower Moon’s’ Lily Gladstone Criticizes Kansas City Chiefs’ Tomahawk Chop: ‘It’s a Stark Reminder of What Hollywood Has Done’ to Native Americans
variety.comClayton Davis Senior Awards Editor “Killers of the Flower Moon” star Lily Gladstone embraces her monumental responsibility as an Oscar nominee, utilizing her platform to advocate for the Indigenous community and hoping to pave the way for more actors like herself.
During a panel conversation at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Virtuosos Awards, Gladstone — of Siksikaitsitapi and Niimiipuu heritage — addressed the harmful depictions and references to Indians in media, notably mentioning the Kansas City Chiefs the day before their Super Bowl win. “Honestly, you could hold both teams accountable,” Gladstone tells Variety. “The 49ers are based on the California Gold Rush, which was an incredibly brutal time for California Indians.
And then the Chiefs. There are many ways that you could interpret the name ‘chief.’ It’s not the name that bothers me. It’s hearing that damn Tomahawk chop.
Every time, it’s a stark reminder of what Hollywood has done to us, because the Tomahawk chop directly ties to the sounds of old Westerns where we were not playing ourselves, or if we were, we were merely backdrop actors.
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