City of Duluth moves to remove the word 'chief' from key job titles

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. It's kind of backwards etymology, though.

"Chief" is from Old French chief, chef, based on Latin caput, ‘head’. A chef is called that because he/she is the boss cook. The head of a Native American tribe was called the chief because he was the boss of the tribe. I agree that if Native American people find the word to be offensive it shouldn't be used for political titles, but in that it was not likely derived from or related to that usage, but from the ordinary, much older and pre-English derivation and use of the word. The Norwegian word for boss, for example, is sjef, which clearly would have had no connection with Native American tribal leaders.