Mutual of Omaha removes Native American chief from its logo

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Omaha World Herald

By Henry Cordes

Native American imagery has been part of Mutual of Omaha’s logo for 70 years, with the distinctive profile of an Indian chief as a familiar sight atop the Fortune 500 company’s midtown headquarters. But no more.

As part of a number of new initiatives addressing issues of racial equality and social justice, the insurance company announced Friday that it's immediately retiring the longtime logo.

Mutual of Omaha CEO James Blackledge said that to Mutual, its logo has never had a disrespectful connotation, having been adopted years ago as a symbol of strength and respect. And he said he was aware of no complaints about it from external groups.

“But we are still using a symbol from another culture that isn’t ours,” he said in an interview. “We don’t want to or need to appropriate that symbol. The Mutual of Omaha name stands on its own, and we want to be part of the change that’s happening.”

Read more: https://omaha.com/news/local/mutual-of-omaha-removes-native-american-chief-from-its-logo/article_55e79dbe-d6b7-5650-90d6-eceba38bfd42.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

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[bucolic_frolic]

1. What's next, Indian Head Corn Meal?

[Harker]

7. College teams, and plenty of them.

Eventually the Chicago Blackhawks number will come up.

[Jose Garcia]

8. Most college teams have dropped Native American names or images

The Florida State Seminoles are an exception, but that is because the tribe which they are named after appoves.

[Harker]

15. So they have!

I haven't seen any team sports aside from ice hockey in a very long time.

Thank you.

[Loki Liesmith]

2. Oh dear lord

Cultures cannot own symbols.

[Polybius]

3. Wow

Uncle Ben's is definitely next...

[cloudbase]

4. Just use this guy.

(The one on the left.)

[benld74]

5. Mr. Perkins! (The one on the left)

Wild Kingdom

I loved that show.
Something I looked forward to each weekend

[BumRushDaShow]

6. I know I was in front of the TV for that!

(Jim Fowler just died last year too)

[ProfessorGAC]

11. Honest Question

Did they ask descendants of the Omaha how they felt?
Removing the symbol that the culture in question may or may not object to, without asking them, seems condescending.
Now, they're deciding for them?
If they ask, and those descendants say they don't like it, remove it.
But, seems they should ask first.

[catsudon]

12. i guess

cleveland browns and cincy reds are next, even if the names were based on a person (browns) or stockings (reds)

[mahatmakanejeeves]

13. Please stand by.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian-head_test_pattern

Many U.S. television stations chose the image of the Indian-head card to be their final image broadcast when their analog signals signed off for the final time between February 17 and June 12, 2009, as part of the United States digital television transition.

[StarryNite]

17. I think that's an amazing graphic.

[hunter]

18. I spent a lot of time fiddling with analog television cameras and monitors...

... to get the best rendition of that image.

This image was broadcast at the beginning and end of the day so that engineers could check the transmitters.

After television I got pretty good at fixing analog CRT computer monitors.

All these skills are useless now.

[Raine]

14. I suppose the Santa Fe Chief train

name is next.

[StarryNite]

16. Geez

In the near future it might only be old white men whose images can be used for advertising or sports or anything. How is that racial equality?