Cody Blackbird
This sign appeared this morning outside a Sonic Drive-In Restaurant in Belton, Missouri.

Sonic Sign in Missouri Declares ‘KC Chiefs Will Scalp the Redskins’

Vincent Schilling
12/8/13

This morning a Sonic Drive-In Restaurant in Belton, Missouri displayed a street sign emblazoned with the following phrase: “KC CHIEFS” WILL SCALP THE REDSKINS FEED THEM WHISKEY SEND – 2 – RESERVATION. Within a few minutes of the sign being displayed, social media erupted against it and the restaurant’s phones were overloaded with complaints.

According to Cody Blackbird, who manages the Native Citizen News Network on Facebook and posted the picture to his page, the sign was ridiculous. “I saw the sign and was like, ‘what the hell?’ how can a fast food chain put something like this outside their doors?”

Blackbird said he called the restaurant and spoke to the owner, Robert Stone.

Blackbird said he was not allowed to speak to the press, but he did say the employees who were responsible for the sign were a minimum wage cook, and an employee that didn’t know any better and was sent home crying.

“I explained the importance of negative stereotypes to the guy,” Blackbird said. “He seems like he cared about the issue and the owner said, ‘We wouldn’t even have this problem if the damn name of the team wasn’t the Washington Redskins.’”

Patrick Lenow, the vice president of public relations for Sonic Corp. issued the following statement in regard to the sign:

An independent franchise owner allowed two sets of remarks to be posted on a message board outside his restaurant. The remarks were wrong, offensive and unacceptable. His passion for his hometown football team and a reputation for creative remarks on his message board resulted in a lapse in judgment and he regrets allowing the remarks to be posted. The owner has reinforced with his employees the boundaries of what is acceptable and unacceptable. On behalf of the franchise owner and our entire brand we apologize for the offensive remarks.

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Crazy Two Feathers Fox's picture
Crazy Two Feath...
Submitted by Crazy Two Feath... on
I am Tsalagi an live in Piedmont Missoura where what use to be called Indian Nations in the Osage country. I do believe We are over reacting to the Redskins team Name and This Sign. We are making our selves look like fools when what we need to be doing is turning the other cheek on these matters and fight for things that do matter like making what land our peoples still have better. Y'all are allowing that Stupid fool in Washington D.C. to stir a pot of Cow dung that even he wont lick the Spoon of. We are better peoples than this. I just don't understand why so much anger over a silly football teams name. It comes down to this when y'all look outside the box on this. The American people want to be like us. They just don't know how to go about it. If Y'all really want to change hearts an minds then let teach them the way of life through love an compassion. Lets teach them by being the best we can be an LEAD by EXAMPLE! We must love our neighbors and when we do this things will change. Forcing Change will only make them hot tempered at all of us and they will close us all out again. we MUST use Great Fathers teachings and Change the hearts an minds with love an Compassion. We must be the better ones in all matters. Thank Y'all for letting me Speak Crazy Two Feathers Fox on FaceBook @ Mavri[email protected] Bless all.
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Tammie Clifton's picture
Tammie Clifton
Submitted by Tammie Clifton on
What about the manager? Shouldn't they know better? Wasn't the manager watching over the employees?
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Caudie's picture
Caudie
Submitted by Caudie on
As a person who grew up on a Native American reservation, I found the sign extremely offensive. Having said that, I find it almost as offensive that Mr. Schilling felt the need to refer to the employees who inappropriately made the display as " a minimum wage cook,.." Why include the person's wage level? Does that make that person inherently insensitive? What about the thousands of minimum wage earners; are they expected to have the same ignorance? Aren't you stereotyping? Ironic.
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Bonnie BigSpring's picture
Bonnie BigSpring
Submitted by Bonnie BigSpring on
Then he needs to offer all of us Natives at least a coney dog or something!
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Janice's picture
Janice
Submitted by Janice on
This is the work of poorly, uneducated persons, of course. People that have minds like this have low self-esteem and lack sensitivity or understanding of other cultures. It is outright racist comments and if they were smart, they'd know that their jobs and businesses would be at risk because this is the 21st century and the majority of the mainstream people won't take this and will boycott. Say goodbye to your pay cheques fools.
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Robert Johnston's picture
Robert Johnston
Submitted by Robert Johnston on
'There are many humorous things in the world; among them, the white man's notion that he is less savage than the other savages. -- Mark Twain ... perhaps less should be in all CAPS ;-)
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jackie booth's picture
jackie booth
Submitted by jackie booth on
there are more problems in NDN country than the name of a sports team, a team mascot or an image. HOWEVER, this sign is way wrong on all levels. i am grateful to read that the sign was removed and the coverage of this via media (social and news) will bring attention to the ignorance that still abounds.
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Anonymous's picture
Anonymous
Submitted by Anonymous on
If racial bothers the people of black white Mexican Chinese etc. ... America is our land our reservation to the Native Americans you people of here are visitors an if u don't LIKE IT leave an move else where to another country where yr ancestors came from ....
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Bryan Tollefson's picture
Bryan Tollefson
Submitted by Bryan Tollefson on
I knew there was a reason I never eat at this FUCKED UP place!!!
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Creek Native's picture
Creek Native
Submitted by Creek Native on
Turn the other cheek , love thy neighbor and making the little land we do have better ?? Yea that worked out so good the first time .. So just be happy with the scraps that was left or what ?? We don't want to make them got hot tempered at us ?? What are they going to do , huh ?? Start killing my whole family again ?? Do you realize they tried to wipe out our entire race that wasn't even good enough to waste bullets on so they kicked in baby skulls ?? These atrocities were commited against your family ... Great great great grandparents of yours ... They were skinned and that's where the term redskin comes from ... When we were WALKED across states in the winter and tried to apreciate the little land we did have left , we were forced off that too by the land runs of Oklahoma .. We were moved to Black Hills and when gold was discovered there once again we were massacred and forced to deal with their hot temper there ... And what's the stamp on that one as a reminder to us natives that the govt could do as they please and added insult to injury and not give a damn about us ?? The great Mount Rushmore ... You got a president known as " Indian Hater " on the twenty dollar bill .. We celebrate a mass murderer in who we discovered lost at sea in the atlantic and welcomed him with open arms only to have the great American dream started and it started with our blood shed and was never meant to include us .... Slaves could vote before we were allowed to ... Blacks were recognized as equals .. supposedly .. way before we were and this was our land ... If there was a team called the Florida Kike's , Kentucky Coon's or Pittsburgh PeckerWoods then all hell would break loose and you best believe action would be takin promptly .. But no .. Since we are the minorities of minorities , the forgotten and abandoned , this is allowed to go on and will continue ... So please excuse me for not wanting to make an abusive raping murdering child killing parent upset and sit in the corner quietly and be satisfied with what I have approach ... These all happened to families of ours here on this land ... That's how this country was built ... By the blood of our ancestors .. To some these are just words ... To our family's these were actual crimes commited against and to us ... Imagine me moving into your grandparents house and taking it over by slaughtering them and doing it in the most inhuman way possible and never having to answer for it and tell me how you would truly feel ??
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mx ironcloud fierro's picture
mx ironcloud fierro
Submitted by mx ironcloud fierro on
the indians who complain about should study nfl history 1st..redskins were named in honor of the coach who was native american...quit crying for something so elementary
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mx ironcloud fierro's picture
mx ironcloud fierro
Submitted by mx ironcloud fierro on
the indians who complain about should study nfl history 1st..redskins were named in honor of the coach who was native american...quit crying for something so elementary
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Melissa Wall's picture
Melissa Wall
Submitted by Melissa Wall on
The only reason they are sorry is because they got caught and publicly scrutinized.
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Roberta Krueger's picture
Roberta Krueger
Submitted by Roberta Krueger on
I will no longer eat at sonic Minot,ND just got one and I will not eat there again.
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Anonymous's picture
Anonymous
Submitted by Anonymous on
I and Choctaw and Cherokee. The only thing I find offensive about the Washington Redskins is the Washington.
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Anonymous's picture
Anonymous
Submitted by Anonymous on
Over reacting? I think this is sick and sad! We Native Americans deserve more respect We were killed by the millions and our people were givin alcohol to submit us into living on reservation. .. all i can say is the hell with America all you racists need to go back to your own damn countries!
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Pamela S Pickens's picture
Pamela S Pickens
Submitted by Pamela S Pickens on
Ignorant, inbred, white trailer park trash put signs like this up.
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Anonymous's picture
Anonymous
Submitted by Anonymous on
Seriously? i live right down the street from this sonic. I hope you lose alot of customers.
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Caudie's picture
Caudie
Submitted by Caudie on
Can't believe you post swearing and volatile comments, but not any that address the situation the poorly written article above. Guess stereotyping and ignorance runs in this organization as well as Sonic. It's a shame.
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indianmedicine's picture
indianmedicine
Submitted by indianmedicine on
Crazy Two Feathers, I am inclined to agree with you on your Talking Points. ......................................................................................................................... You are correct in surfacing that the "Euro-American" wants to be associated with "The Red People" linage as many will go too great lengths to prove a "quantity of Tribal Blood". .......................................................................................................................... I also agree that there is much immaturity in the Football Name issue - "Redskins" are an Honorable People, and have contributed much to this Continent; from the Arctic too the bottom of South American Continent - it is "The Aboriginal "First Peoples" that developed the knowledge of the Seven Grasses for Cultivation, the Herbal Medicines that help a "Body To Heal", and the "Principals of Higher Thinking" that were drafted into the Euro-American "Constitutions and Law of The Land" exercised to this day. ................................................................................................................................... No, the immature thinking, and the "Poor Humor" some exercise on an issue is repulsive; but what is more repulsive is when "The Red People" allow the Euro-American Thinking to corrupt their "Red Culture" with ignorance. ..................................................................................................................................... Why do The Red people argue over Trivial Issues when there are Quality of Life Issues, Natural Resource Issues, Sovereignty Issues, Education Issues, Health Issues and encroachment on Nations Lands & Resources that need to be focused on and pursued no matter how frustrated the nations become where they win a "Battle" but loose the "War".............................................................................................................. We must take care not to become that which we detest............................................... ....................................................................................................................................... The problems and answers lay with Corporate America, where "Profit" is the "End Game"; and living the now instead of what will this Country have in the future for all its people............................................................................................................................ If a People do not Respect themselves, how can others Respect them? ....................................................................................................................................... I suggest that The Red People pick their fights carefully, and do not throw valuable Resources and Time away on emotions running amok.
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