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The Kansas City Chiefs were the last professional team in the United States to adopt a name or logo referencing Native Americans, although indirectly. When the Dallas Texans (AFL) relocated in 1963 they became the Chiefs in honor of Kansas City mayor Harold Roe Bartle who was instrumental in bringing the Texans to Kansas City, Missouri. Bartle earned his nickname as founder of a Boy Scouts honor camping society, Tribe of Mic-O-Say, in which he was "Chief" Lone Bear.

After the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Indians stated in July 2020 that they were in the process of reviewing their names, the Chiefs did not responded to a request for comment regarding any plans to do the same. The editorial board of the Kansas City Star stated that "It’s time for a real examination of all of it: the tomahawk chop, the drum, Arrowhead Stadium, Warpaint and the costumes worn by fans at the game." On August 20, 2020, the Chiefs announced that headdresses and Native American style face paint would be banned at Arrowhead Stadium. Under the new Arrowhead policy, the portion of the tomahawk chop led by Kansas City Chiefs cheerleaders underwent subtle modification, as the cheerleaders are now required to lead the chop with a closed fist rather than the traditional open palm.

Mascots and traditions
In 1989 the Chiefs switched from Warpaint, a Pinto horse ridden by a man in a feathered headdress, to their current mascot K. C. Wolf. Warpaint returned in 2009, but was ridden by a cheerleader. In July 2021 Warpaint was again retired, the team president stating that it is the right thing to do at this time.

Despite Native American and national news media statements that they find the practices to be racist, the Chiefs continue many of the behaviors of other teams with Native American names, including fans wearing headdresses and warpaint, doing the tomahawk chop, and banging a drum. However, the ban of Native American headdresses and face paint at Arrowhead Stadium went into effect during the 2020 season opener on September 10, 2020. The longtime use of the open palm tomahawk chop was slightly modified, as any use of the chop by Arrowhead-based cheerleaders must now be with a closed fist.

Emergence of controversy
Following the appearance in the Kansas City Star of photographs of fans attending an October 2013 game wearing feathers and warpaint and doing the tomahawk chop, numerous Native Americans submitted complaints to the publication. One caller, who was especially upset that the photographs were published on Columbus Day, described the images as a "mockery" and "racist". Writing for the Star's "Public Editor" column, Derek Donovan explained that he found the complaints "reasonable" and suggested that the newspaper depict "other colorful, interesting people in the crowds."

The Star reported in early August 2014 that the team's management is planning discussions with some Native American groups to find a non-confrontational way to eliminate, or at least reduce, offensive behavior. Amanda Blackhorse, the lead plaintiff in the trademark case against the Washington Redskins, thinks the real solution is a name change for the Chiefs. Native Americans in Phoenix, Arizona picketed at the game between the Chiefs and the Arizona Cardinals, and have asked the Cardinals' management to bar "Redface", the wearing of headdresses and face paint, protesting what they perceive to be a mockery of Native American culture. A protest took place in Minnesota when the Chiefs played the Vikings on October 18, 2015. "The Kansas City Chiefs have flown under the radar," said Norma Renville, the executive director of Women of Nations Community Advocacy Program and Shelter. "They are contributing to our cultural genocide."

Native Americans at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas, asked the Chiefs to stop behavior that invokes stereotypes, such as wearing headdresses and doing the "tomahawk chop", after the team made the playoffs in 2016. While there has been efforts to address other issues, such as fans wearing warpaint and headdresses, the "chop" and the accompanying chant is defended by some local Native Americans. However, in a national survey, half of Native Americans said the "tomahawk chop" bothered or offended them, rising to 65% among those more engaged in Native traditions. In a statistical analysis of social media comments (tweets) leading up to Super Bowl LIV, researchers found many more negative terms associated with the Kansas City team compared to San Francisco. While both teams were referred to in terms related to violence, the Chiefs were much more likely to receive insults related to intelligence (being called stupid) and many insults were specific references to negative Native American stereotypes, such as drunkenness ("firewater"), and being inbred or extinct. The conclusion drawn was support for Natives being insulted, rather than honored, by Native American mascots.

Before the kickoff of Super Bowl LV, members of the Florida Indigenous Rights and Environmental Equity (FIREE) protested the termination of the Kansas City Chiefs name, chants, celebrations, and fan gear. Members of the group describe the use of the name and culture as “dishonorable and disrespectful.” For years, fans have been known to wear headdresses and warpaint, mocking Native American culture. At the Raymond James Stadium where the protest occurred, protestors argued against the issue of the arrowhead, which is part of the teams logo that is plastered on fan gear and the teams uniforms. Protesters fought back at the mockery yelling "We're just saying if you're not going to honor us, don't use the arrowhead." and "you're mocking our people." Members of FIREE want to express their feelings of pain when teams appropriate their culture, saying “when you make indigenous people into a mascot, it’s extremely dehumanizing, especially for children.”  Part of the continuous frustration is caused by the lack of learning and listening from associations and their fans. Professor Rhonda LeValdo, from Haskell Indian Nations University expresses that the continuous appropriation of these customs is because “too many people don’t care about Native Americans unless they can use our likeness for their companies, cars, or costumes.” Alicia Norris, co-founder of FIREE, asks that “all human beings recognize that American Indians are Human Beings not sports team mascots for America’s fun and games.”   Along with disappointment and feelings of appropriation, there is a lack of correlation between the chants and fan gear, and the game itself. The Kansas City Star addressed the issue saying “we embrace the team’s on field but don't think a corrosive chant has much to do with it. It isn't fair to ask groups offended by these symbols to wait even longer for change."

In an instance of discrimination, when Amanda Blackhorse, Diné (Navajo), attended a protest at a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Washington Redskins at Arrowhead Stadium while she was a student at the University of Kansas, she alleged "people yelled, 'Go back to your reservation!' 'We won, you lost, get over it!' 'Go get drunk!' And so many different slurs. People threw beers. That, to me, was shocking. I’ve experienced racism in my lifetime, but to see it outwardly, in the open, and nobody did anything? It was shocking."