Exeter Chiefs swapped Native American branding for Devon's Iron Age Dumnonii tribe

Exeter Chiefs had long been criticised for its continued use of Native American imagery. A 2020 petition by supporter group Exeter Chiefs for Change brought the issue to a wider audience and led the club to drop its 'Big Chief' mascot, and a number of clubs asked visiting Exeter fans not to wear Native American-themed headdresses to away matches. The NCAI's chief executive Dante Desiderio had said Native 'themed' mascot imagery 'must go'.

Re-ground the club where it actually stands: a new logo modelled on Iron Age Dumnonii Celtic helmets and every stadium bar renamed for a Devon castle.

In July 2022 the club renamed the bars at its Sandy Park stadium after Devon castles: the Wigwam Bar became the Woodbury Castle Bar, Pow Wow became Powderham Castle, Tomahawk became Dartmouth Castle, Buffalo and Bison became Castle Drogo and the Haldon Belvedere, Cheyenne became Compton Castle and the Campfire Grill became Totnes Castle. A new logo, based on the Celtic helmets worn by the Iron Age Dumnonii tribe in Devon, Cornwall and parts of Somerset for hundreds of years before the Roman occupation from AD 43, debuted for the 2022-23 season, first used when the newly branded Chiefs opened against Leicester Tigers on 10 September 2022.

The mascot, headdress imagery and Native American bar names are gone, replaced by a Dumnonii-based identity used from the 2022-23 season. The club framed the change as transmitting the 'history, grandeur, and pride' of Devon on its match days.

For years, Exeter Chiefs operated inside an imagined American West: a 'Big Chief' mascot, a Wigwam Bar, a Pow Wow Bar, Tomahawk and Cheyenne signs around Sandy Park. That imagery drew sustained criticism, culminating in a 2020 petition by supporter group Exeter Chiefs for Change and condemnation from the National Congress of American Indians, whose chief executive Dante Desiderio said Native-themed mascot imagery and the dehumanising stereotypes it perpetuates 'must go'. Opposing fans were asked not to wear headdresses at away grounds.

The club dropped the 'Big Chief' mascot after the petition, then in July 2022 completed the cultural rebrand. The bars and catering outlets at Sandy Park were renamed after Devon castles — Wigwam became Woodbury Castle, Pow Wow became Powderham Castle, Tomahawk became Dartmouth Castle, Buffalo and Bison became Castle Drogo and the Haldon Belvedere, Cheyenne became Compton Castle, and the Campfire Grill became Totnes Castle.

The new identity reaches further back than the old one: the club's fresh logo is modelled on the Celtic helmets of the Iron Age Dumnonii tribe, which the club says was based in Devon, Cornwall and parts of Somerset for many hundreds of years before the Roman occupation from AD 43. 'Castles represent the history, grandeur, and pride we feel about Devon,' the club said, introducing the branding that debuted in the Premiership opener against Leicester Tigers on 10 September 2022.

The supporter-led petition gave the club an internal mandate to change before sponsors or governing bodies forced the issue.

Replacing an imported fantasy with documented local history turned an apology into a story the club could tell with pride.

Renaming the bars first made the rebrand physical and immediate — every match-day visitor walked through the new identity.

The Dumnonii link gives the 'Chiefs' name a local, ancient reading, letting the club keep continuity while shedding the harmful imagery.

When a borrowed identity becomes indefensible, the durable replacement is usually under your feet: local history offers symbolism critics cannot argue with and fans can actually belong to.

The newly branded Chiefs opened their 2022-23 Premiership season against Leicester Tigers on 10 September 2022, with the Dumnonii logo and castle-named bars in place at Sandy Park. Sandy Park's next fixture at the time of the announcement was England Women's Red Roses against the USA on 3 September 2022.