Fact Check: Former Kansas City Mayor 'Chief' Bartle Bastardized Native American Culture

Sorry for this foray into local history but many online "activists" are confusing the legacy of the team.

First, supporters of the name and "traditions" of the Kansas City Chiefs are correct . . . The team was named as tribute to former Mayor H.Roe Bartle. 

And, yes, former mayor Bartle was captivated by Native American Culture.

However . . . 

This line from recent advocacy deserves skepticism . . .

"Bartle also spent much of his life in the service of the Boy Scouts. He was a champion of civil rights, according to several biographies, as well as devoted to Native American heritage."

THAT'S NOT ENTIRELY ACCURATE!!!

Former Mayor Bartle was more interested in development and coddling mobsters than ANYTHING leading local civil rights reforms. 

Still, for his day, Mayor Bartle's Kansas City was less oppressive than many other places in Missouri as segregation loomed large during his administration. In fact, former Mayor Bartle did help desegregate hospitals AND promoted African-American law enforcement officers but didn't do much about residential segregation that still impacts KCMO. Again, in fairness, Mayor Bartle was devoutly religious and was a charter member of the National Conference of Christians and Jews.

As for the former Mayor's Native enthusiasms . . . The tribe of Mic-O-Say founded in 1925 by Bartle is a bad joke. It always has been and not just recently . . . Here's a quote on the topic: 

"Mic-O-Say, has been widely criticized by officials of several Native tribes, anthropologists, journalists, and professors for being a patently offensive cultural appropriation of tribal identity and sacred practices. It was called "a fake Indian Boy Scout tribe" for people who want to "play Indian".

"Robert Prue, a former scout and a professor of social work at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, doubts some of Harold Roe Bartle's historical origin claims, and rejects his claim of having become a tribal member in Wyoming, as being merely the affinity of one tribal member instead of the requisite authority of each entire tribe being depicted.

"Critics say that the appropriation continues because the BSA has not yet received widespread public revulsion like professional sports teams have. That includes the Kansas City Chiefs, named after Bartle's nickname from the founding of Mic-O-Say, and which has its own cultural appropriation and racism controversy."

For these reasons and so many more . . . No, H.Roe Bartle is not the "best" way to defend the name of the team . . . It's just another sign that online activists don't really know their Kansas City history. 

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

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