Chiefs have banned Native American ceremonial headdresses and face painting in their stadium

The Kansas City Chiefs will no longer allow their fans to wear ceremonial Native American headdresses and face painting in their stadium.

In a release yesterday, the Chiefs stated:

“In 2014, we began a dialogue with a group of local leaders from diverse American Indian backgrounds and experiences,” the statement said. “As an organization, our goal was to gain a better understanding of the issues facing American Indian communities in our region and explore opportunities to both raise awareness of American Indian cultures and celebrate the rich traditions of tribes with a historic connection to the Kansas City area.

“… Our discussions also led us to discourage fans from wearing ceremonial headdresses and American Indian-themed face paint in our stadium. We are grateful to the members of the working group for their counsel and collaboration, and we look forward to continuing our partnership.”

“Fans will be asked to remove any American Indian-themed face paint prior to passing security screening outside the stadium,” one of the statement’s eight bullet-pointed changes.

“We are grateful for the meaningful conversations we have had with all of these American Indian leaders,” the statement continues. “It is important that we continue the dialogue on these significant topics, and we look forward to continuing to work together in the future.”

This is big news, the stadium is still called Arrowhead, and the fans will still cheer them on, but this will be weird not seeing. It has been something we have watched for decades now.