Local Indigenous organizations are speaking out after former President Donald Trump publicly urged the Cleveland Guardians to revert to their former “Indians” name, reigniting a cultural debate that Major League Baseball’s Cleveland franchise thought it had settled years ago.
In a Truth Social post over the weekend, Trump called on the Guardians and the NFL’s Washington Commanders to return to their former Native American-themed names, claiming “the Native American population, in massive numbers, want this to happen” and that their “heritage and prestige is systematically being taken away from them.”
The Lake Erie Native American Council, a Cleveland-based nonprofit, strongly rejected those claims in a statement.
“The Lake Erie Native American Council cannot be clearer in reaffirming that there is no honor for Indigenous people in dehumanizing mascots that reduce us to racist stereotypes,” the council said. “We look forward to continuing to grow a partnership between Cleveland’s Native American community and Cleveland’s baseball team as it moves forward as the Cleveland Guardians. Go Guards!”
The Cleveland franchise announced plans to drop the “Indians” name in 2020 and officially rebranded as the Guardians in July 2021, following years of protests by Indigenous groups and allies who said the former name and “Chief Wahoo” logo perpetuated harmful stereotypes.
Chris Antonetti, the Guardians’ president of baseball operations, said Sunday the team has no plans to revisit the change despite mounting calls from Trump and some fans.
Paul Edward Montgomery Ramírez, a board member of the Cleveland-based Committee of 500 Years of Dignity & Resistance — a group that played a key role in advocating for the original name change — called Trump’s remarks a political ploy rather than a reflection of Native opinion.
“For him to pretend that Native Americans are absolutely on board with this isn’t slightly true,” Montgomery Ramírez said. “There are organizations funded to promote narratives that don’t actually reflect the broader Native community’s stance. This is more about fueling a culture war than honoring anyone’s heritage.”
While some fans have echoed Trump’s call to bring back the “Indians” name, Indigenous leaders argue that such moves erase decades of progress in dismantling mascots and names they view as offensive and outdated.
The Guardians, meanwhile, continue to position themselves as committed to the rebrand and to strengthening relationships with local Native American communities as the debate reignites on a national stage.