The Cleveland American Indian Center sued the Cleveland Indians in 1972 for $9 million for libel and slander against Native peoples, the first lawsuit of its kind against a team. Since 1973, activists have staged protests outside the team's stadium on opening day every single year. Other notable protests of the Indians' name and Chief Wahoo occurred during the Indian's 1997 and 2016 trips to the World Series. In 1999, AIM filed a civil rights complaint against the Indians through the Ohio Commission on Civil Rights.
