Native American tribe which nine-year-old Kansas City Chiefs fan belongs to distances itself from the kid for wearing headdress and blackface

A Native American tribe has distanced itself from a nine-year-old member who wore a headdress and black paint on his face during a Kansas City Chiefs game.

The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians issued a statement Wednesday — after Holden Armenta's mother claimed the boy wore the headdress and paint because of his own Native American heritage, in response to a Deadspin journalist who accused the child of racism.

“We are aware that a young member of our community attended a Kansas City Chiefs game wearing a headdress and face paint as part of his way of supporting his favorite team,” said Tribal Chairman Kenneth Kahn.

“As a federally recognized tribe, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians does not advocate wearing regalia as part of a costume nor participating in any other form of cultural appropriation.”

Deadspin reporter Carron Phillips shared the tribe's statement on his social media with eye emojis.

Phillips claimed the boy had 'found a way to hate black people and Indians at the same time'

Phillips previously accused Holden of mocking black people after seeing a profile photo with not half of his face painted in the red of his beloved football team.

Phillips also slammed Holden's Native American headdress and his “Tomahawk Chop” gesture, claiming the little boy had “found a way to hate black people and Native Americans at the same time.”

“This is what happens when you ban books, oppose Critical Race Theory and try to erase centuries of hate,” he wrote in his blog on the sports website.

Following Phillip's claims, Holden's mother Shannon Armenta wrote on Facebook: 'Stop it now… He's Native American. This has nothing to do with the NFL. CBS has also shown it several times and this is the photo people have chosen to sow division.”

Holden's grandfather Raul Armenta is reportedly a councilman for the Santa Ynez tribe.

Other websites picked up the story with broadcaster CBS criticizing which zoomed in on Holden's outfit.

“Everyone is making a huge deal out of this and trying to show only one side of their face to push their narrative,” Real Kansas City Chiefs fans protested on Facebook.

“The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians does not advocate wearing regalia as part of a costume or participating in any other cultural appropriation,” said Chairman Kenneth Kahn.

Deadline was corrected by content curators at social media platform X when it tweeted the story.

“The child is not wearing 'blackface,'” they wrote.

“The Deadspin article is intentionally misleading. As several fans in attendance noted, the other half of his face is painted red.”

And X owner Elon Musk weighed in on the controversy, congratulating his team on discovering the flaw.

“Another victory by @CommunityNotes that exposes deception,” he tweeted.

Within hours, other photos of the boy emerged showing his face painted in the team's full red and black colors, but the Pulitzer-nominated reporter was unabashed.

Holden's grandfather Raul Armenta is reportedly a councilman for the Santa Ynez tribe

“For the idiots in my mentions who consider this an innocent act because the other side of his face was painted red, I could argue that it makes it worse,” he tweeted.

“You're the ones who hate Mexicans but wear sombreros on Cinco.”

The football team is under increasing pressure to drop the “Chiefs” from their name, following the former Washington Redskins who were renamed Washington Commanders in 2022.

Native American headdresses have been banned at the team's Arrowhead Stadium since 2020, and there is pressure on them to also ban the chopping motion – which resembles a tomahawk strike – that fans use to show their appreciation.