CLEVELAND, Ohio - Chief Wahoo, the longtime logo of the Indians, will be gone after the 2018 season.

The Indians will disassociate themselves with the logo and will no longer wear it on their uniforms or caps following the 2018 season. The logo has been a flashpoint for the team for several years, drawing criticism and lawsuits from Native American groups who consider it racist.

The New York Times was the first to report the story.

Chief Wahoo, in one rendition or another, has been worn on Indians uniforms since 1947. Then-owner Bill Veeck made it part of the team's uniform. Walter Goldbach, a 17-year-old draftsman, designed the first logo. Goldbach, 88, died in December.

The Indians name will remain unchanged. The charter member of the American League has been called the Indians since 1915. The Block C and script Indians will be the team's main logos after 2018.

The logo recently has drawn criticism from Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred. Owner Paul Dolan and Manfred have met several times since 2016 to discuss the matter. When Manfred awarded the Indians the 2019 All-Star Game, it seemed unlikely that any Cleveland player participating in the Midsummer Classic would be wearing Chief Wahoo on his uniform.

When the Indians played Toronto in the AL Championship Series in 2016, Douglas Cardinal, a member of the Blackfoot nation and a Native American activist, brought a lawsuit against MLB and the Indians. The suit sought to ban Cleveland from using its team name and logo in the series. A judge in Toronto rejected the request and dismissed the suit.

Last May, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal ruled that an Ontario court can hear a case contending that the Indians team name and Chief Wahoo logo are discriminatory. The ruling was an offshoot of Cardinal's suit in 2016.

In response to that court ruling, Manfred said, "We were hoping that case was going to be dismissed. It was not. I think it points out the ongoing practical problems that are posed by this particular logo."

The Indians have been downsizing their use of Chief Wahoo for the last several years. Their more recent primary logo has been the block C. When they conduct spring training in Goodyear, Ariz., Chief Wahoo is nowhere to be found on their uniforms or advertising. The only place it can be found is in the gift shop.

* Read the 2014 cleveland.com editorial calling for the end of Chief Wahoo

The team does not use it there out of respect for the heavy Native American population in Arizona.

The Indians will maintain the trademark and retail rights to Chief Wahoo. They will maintain a local presence for The Chief, meaning they'll still sell merchandise bearing its image.