GRAND FORKS, ND – Exercising its obligation to safeguard the moral fiber of America under authority granted to it by Congress and the US Constitution, the NCAA took another important step toward erasing the scourge of this nation’s ugly Native American past by making it illegal for University of North Dakota athletic teams, cheerleaders, and bands to wear or display the school's American Indianhead logo and Fighting Sioux nickname.
In his letter to UND provost Paul LeBel, NCAA executive vice president, Bernard “Ben” Franklin, stated that should the university refuse to cooperate in what is the NCAA’s latest round of "ethnic cleansing," they must forfeit participation in all post-season tournament play or otherwise risk having their upcoming men's and women's hockey games moved to a cattle pond on the Yankton reservation and their home venue, the Ralph Engelstad Arena, turned into an auto mall.
It was under this same pretext that in 2005, the NCAA forced the University of Illinois to retire the name, regalia, and image of Chief Illiniwek, a student mascot who performed a Native American “fancy dance” during the halftime of men’s home varsity football and basketball games wearing traditional Oglala Sioux ceremonial dress.
Although most University of Illinois students, faculty, and alumni considered The Chief a proud tradition, respectful of the State’s Native American heritage, certain Native American groups found the symbol to be “predominantly offensive and deeply disparaging to Native Americans.” According to a spokesperson for the National Indian Education Association, it was high time this dramatic and dignified depiction of Native American culture was eliminated so as to “stomp out any remaining public memory of the Illiniwek people,” a consortium of Algonquin tribes who once thrived in the central Midwest.
Percy Stumbling Bull, general manager of the Spirit Lake Casino in Devils Lake, ND, believes the recent NCAA directive leveled at the University of North Dakota is crucial in his people’s goal to shield all aspects of Native American culture from the prying eyes of white society.
“Current generations of whites don’t realize their ancestors essentially stole North America from indigenous peoples,” said Bull. “As such, it has been our ongoing policy to attempt to erase our historical legacy from the modern world, thereby honoring our ancestors by protecting their obscurity – at least until such time as gambling revenues allow us to buy back the territory we lost in the Louisiana Purchase.”
Honorary University of North Dakota professor and legendary 1960’s rocker, Burton Cummings, explained it is the belief of many Native Americans that by further isolating themselves from mainstream society, they might one day hope to overcome the misunderstanding and mistrust that plunged their people into decades of destitution, impoverishment, and substance abuse dating back to the arrival of white settlers from Europe.
Said Cummings, “American woman, mama let me be.”
In the wake of the NCAA decision, a group of outraged students petitioned the University of North Dakota board of governors to consider changing the school’s moniker to, “A Team Named Sue.”
The NCAA acted immediately by making it illegal to speak the name ”Sue” in public lest it be misconstrued as “Sioux” by college sports fans. Based on these same concerns, NCAA attorneys have proposed landmark legislation to ban US citizens from naming their unborn infants “Sue” or “Susan.”
UND is now said to be considering such alternate mascot names as the “Angry Aboriginals” and the “Not So Pleasant Potato Farmers.”
The university is also grappling with funding the multi-million dollar task of eliminating the Indianhead imagery from campus venues, official media, and football players’ biceps.
In the wake of the recent NCAA directives, other universities are considering proactive changes to their identities. The Florida State Seminoles, for instance, will now be the FSU Felons, and the Arkansas State University Indians will become the Rednecks. Although unrelated to Native American iconography, the University of South Carolina Gamecocks (referred to by their fans as the “Cocks”) will be making the switch to the Penises, while the Oregon State Beavers will transition to the Naughty Female Body Parts.
According to Franklin, most US universities have nothing to worry about, such as the University of Hawaii’s Rainbows which already fits the NCAA's vision of proper symbolism. The mascots from Georgetown University and Indiana University will remain intact only because nobody knows what Hoyas or Hoosiers are. The State of Indiana, however, will be forced to change its name to Nativeamericana.
In March 2011, the North Dakota Legislature approved a law requiring the university to continue using its logo and nickname despite the threat of NCAA sanctions. The Legislature later repealed the pro-nickname law when the NCAA declined to exempt UND from its policy against the use of American Indian nicknames and logos.
Nickname backers then responded by filing petitions demanding a June vote to decide whether UND should keep the nickname and logo, or instead move the university across the border into Canada where folks aren’t so uptight.
© 2012, Working Words Productions
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| Inlaid Marble Floor, Ralph Engelstad Arena Photo by Bill Alkofer |
It was under this same pretext that in 2005, the NCAA forced the University of Illinois to retire the name, regalia, and image of Chief Illiniwek, a student mascot who performed a Native American “fancy dance” during the halftime of men’s home varsity football and basketball games wearing traditional Oglala Sioux ceremonial dress.
Percy Stumbling Bull, general manager of the Spirit Lake Casino in Devils Lake, ND, believes the recent NCAA directive leveled at the University of North Dakota is crucial in his people’s goal to shield all aspects of Native American culture from the prying eyes of white society.
“Current generations of whites don’t realize their ancestors essentially stole North America from indigenous peoples,” said Bull. “As such, it has been our ongoing policy to attempt to erase our historical legacy from the modern world, thereby honoring our ancestors by protecting their obscurity – at least until such time as gambling revenues allow us to buy back the territory we lost in the Louisiana Purchase.”
Honorary University of North Dakota professor and legendary 1960’s rocker, Burton Cummings, explained it is the belief of many Native Americans that by further isolating themselves from mainstream society, they might one day hope to overcome the misunderstanding and mistrust that plunged their people into decades of destitution, impoverishment, and substance abuse dating back to the arrival of white settlers from Europe.
Said Cummings, “American woman, mama let me be.”
In the wake of the NCAA decision, a group of outraged students petitioned the University of North Dakota board of governors to consider changing the school’s moniker to, “A Team Named Sue.”
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| Photo by Bill Alkofer |
UND is now said to be considering such alternate mascot names as the “Angry Aboriginals” and the “Not So Pleasant Potato Farmers.”
The university is also grappling with funding the multi-million dollar task of eliminating the Indianhead imagery from campus venues, official media, and football players’ biceps.
In the wake of the recent NCAA directives, other universities are considering proactive changes to their identities. The Florida State Seminoles, for instance, will now be the FSU Felons, and the Arkansas State University Indians will become the Rednecks. Although unrelated to Native American iconography, the University of South Carolina Gamecocks (referred to by their fans as the “Cocks”) will be making the switch to the Penises, while the Oregon State Beavers will transition to the Naughty Female Body Parts.
According to Franklin, most US universities have nothing to worry about, such as the University of Hawaii’s Rainbows which already fits the NCAA's vision of proper symbolism. The mascots from Georgetown University and Indiana University will remain intact only because nobody knows what Hoyas or Hoosiers are. The State of Indiana, however, will be forced to change its name to Nativeamericana.
In March 2011, the North Dakota Legislature approved a law requiring the university to continue using its logo and nickname despite the threat of NCAA sanctions. The Legislature later repealed the pro-nickname law when the NCAA declined to exempt UND from its policy against the use of American Indian nicknames and logos.
Nickname backers then responded by filing petitions demanding a June vote to decide whether UND should keep the nickname and logo, or instead move the university across the border into Canada where folks aren’t so uptight.
© 2012, Working Words Productions
