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Draft:Walter Wetzel Sr.

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  • Comment: Notability cannot be inherited from "working long side presidents" or being "very good friends " with other people? Theroadislong (talk) 13:52, 9 June 2024 (UTC)
  • Comment: Legacy.com and IMDb are not reliable sources. Theroadislong (talk) 12:14, 9 June 2024 (UTC)
  • Comment: The lede section should briefly describe what makes them notable. Theroadislong (talk) 18:06, 19 February 2024 (UTC)

Walter "Blackie" Wetzel Sr. Siksanum(Blackfeet Man) b. 1915 d. 2003..[1] was the President of the National Congress of American Indians from 1960 to 1964.

Early life

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Born on the Blackfeet Indian reservation on June 27th, 1915, Wetzel faced hardship at a very young age. At age 5, he was taken off the reservation and placed in a boarding school in Kansas. When he was 11 years old, Walter would sneak on a train and ride it back home to the reservation in Montana.

Blackie would become a stellar athlete both in Cut Bank and Shelby Montana, where he flourished in basketball, boxing, baseball, football and track. He would eventually sign a scholarship with the University of Montana and become a three sport athlete(football, track, boxing).[2]

Political career

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After college, Blackie would become a member of the military. He would then begin his journey in the political world, first, becoming the chairman of the Blackfeet Nation located in Montana in the 1950's[3] By the late 1950's, Blackie would run for President of the National Congress of American Indians, becoming the first Blackfeet Tribal member to win. He held the seat from 1960 to 1964[4].

He would become a national figure, creating policies that advocated for Native American communities throughout the United States. Both President's John F. Kennedy and Lynden Johnson supported Wetzel's political stance.[5] His continued efforts for Native American communities received support from Senator Robert Kennedy, Mike Mansfield and Lee Metcalf.[6]

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In 1971, Wetzel approached the NFL football team formerly known as the Washington Redskins to see about the organization changing the R logo on the helmet to a Native American profile that he had in his collection[7]. In 1972, the team changed their logo to the profile that Wetzel introduced. The team would use the image for nearly 50 years[8]

Acting career

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Wetzel was in the movie Greyeagle, playing the role of the medicine man, acting along side friend Iron Eyes Cody[9][failed verification]

References

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  1. ^ "Walter Wetzel Obituary (2003) - Billings, MT - Billings Gazette". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
  2. ^ Mabie, Nora. "Who was Walter 'Blackie' Wetzel, the Blackfeet man behind the Washington Football Team's logo?". Great Falls Tribune. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
  3. ^ Writer - 11/03/03, SHAWN WHITE WOLF-IR Staff (2003-11-03). "Tribal leader rubbed elbows with elite". The Independent Record. Retrieved 2024-01-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "NCAI Leadership | NCAI". ncai.org. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
  5. ^ Vargas, Theresa (2023-04-15). "One Native American family with Redskins ties disagrees on whether name is offensive". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
  6. ^ "Family of Walter Wetzel, Native American who created Redskins logo, mixed on its retirement". Yahoo Sports. 2020-07-20. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
  7. ^ BLASCO 406mtsports.com, JASON (2020-07-03). "Washington Redskins logo has deep connection to Blackfeet reservation, Wetzel family". 406 MT SPORTS. Retrieved 2024-01-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ jeff/welsch@lee.net, JEFF WELSCH 406mtsports com (2023-08-17). "With NFL ownership change in D.C., family sees potential path to fulfill Don Wetzel's Blackfeet logo dream". [[1]]. Retrieved 2024-02-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Rotten Tomatoes https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/grayeagle#cast-and-crew