The Atlanta Braves are back in the postseason. Along with that comes the controversial tomahawk chop and "war chant" from the fans.

It's become part of Braves culture, beginning during their divisional dynasty in the 1990s.

Many think that "The Chop" is an insensitive gesture to native groups, including St. Louis Cardinals rookie pitcher Ryan Helsley, who is a member of the Cherokee Nation.

Helsley speaks the Cherokee language and has a long family history with deep roots in the heart of the Cherokee Nation.

And in Game 1 in Atlanta, he witnessed "The Chop" first-hand when he took the mound in the eighth inning.

When asked what he thought of the gesture, Helsley called it "disappointing" and "disrespectful."

“I think it’s a misrepresentation of the Cherokee people or Native Americans in general,” Helsley said told the St. Louis Dispatch before Game 2. “Just depicts them in this kind of caveman-type people way who aren’t intellectual. They are a lot of more than that. It’s not me being offended by the whole mascot thing. It’s not. It’s about the misconception of us, the Native Americans, and it devalues us and how we’re perceived in that way, or used as mascots. The Redskins and stuff like that.

“That’s the disappointing part,” he said. “That stuff like this still goes on. It’s just disrespectful, I think.”

Helsley, born and raised in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, admitted he did not watch many Braves games growing up, but was aware of what the fans do during the game.