The Cleveland baseball club were part of the inaugural American League season in 1901. Known as the Blues in that year and Broncos later they changed the name the Naps after their best player, Napoleon Lajoie. Prior this franchise, there was a National League team called the Cleveland Spiders. One of their players was Native American, Louis Soxalexis.
When the Naps changed their name to the Indians in 1915, the franchise reportedly did so to honor Sockalexis. The Indians' official media guide says that the owners solicited sportswriters to ask fans for their favorite nickname, and the name Indians was chosen by a young girl who wrote to one of the sportswriters whose column requested suggestions. She specifically mentioned Sockalexis and his heritage.
So I guess that is sufficient honoring then
Wiki help here of course
I like the idea of renaming the team after the star player. How about New York Macs?