Controversial mascot staying in Illinois during NCAA Final Four

[seemslikeadream]

BY ELIZABETHE HOLLAND

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

...

But the team symbol with the shortest drive to St. Louis won't make the trip. "Chief Illiniwek" will stay home at the University of Illinois.

The chief - a student in buckskins, feathery headdress and makeup - has become less visible at athletic events over the past five years or so. Except for the occasional road game, like the Braggin' Rights showdown here between Missouri and Illinois, he seldom leaves Urbana-Champaign. There, his appearances are mainly at football, volleyball and men's and women's basketball games, said Kent Brown, the university sports information director.

...

Critics complain that an Indian mascot, particularly at a largely Caucasian campus, is racist and insensitive, and that 78 years of it is about 78 years too many.

...

Meanwhile, a report last fall by the North Central Association, a school accreditation organization, said the university will face damage if the issue isn't resolved.

And earlier this month, opponents of the chief, including the Illinois Native American Bar Association, sued to get the trustees to end the chief's reign. They said he perpetuates a racial stereotype, violates Indians' rights and violates the board's own anti-discrimination policies.


more
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/nation/11266097.htm

Chief Illiniwek - not only a token, he's a trademark!

[gratuitous]

1. So go with Illinois' traditional alternative nickname

The snapping vagini. That would certainly make for some interesting mascot possibilities!

[Inland]

3. What about the sports page headlines, with their idiot puns?

If they lose, its

"Illini Muff NCAA"

[AngryAmish]

52. Or "Illini get licked by Louisville"

[Inland]

2. I'll accept silly and ignorant, even for a sports event.

All the other calumnies I don't buy, but losing the cheesy dance and costume would be a plus, no doubt.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

44. They could do it like Florida State does...

The Seminole Nation had input on the Chief Osceola mascot, and they're honored by it. Maybe all the schools & teams with Native American mascots could take a cue from that.

[annabanana]

4. I say they can keep their mascot...

If they pour massive amounts of $ into the Native American communities in the form of school subsidies and scholarships. And if they have courses in the Cultures of the Americas mandatory for graduation.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

30. As an alumni of Illinois

I have to say this is a bit of a touchy subject for me, and one on which I'm not entirely sure where I stand.

That said, I did actually learn a fair amount about Native Americans when I went to school there. Courses on the subject weren't mandatory, but it does come up in a lot of other courses. And the campus has several historic museums and the like that discuss Native American culture.

And the school used to have a lot more to do with Native American lifestyle before Illiniwek was ever created.

"Prior to the creation of Chief Illiniwek in 1926, the University of Illinois exhibited a considerable interest in an American Indian identity. An examination of the Illio beginning in 1901 reveals countless pictorials of the American Indian. These depictions ranged from Indian faces similar to the present school logo, sketches of muscular, nude or minimally clothed Indian men in headdresses, medicine men, natives dancing with tomahawks, etc. An Indian was a likely selection for the performance."


http://www.uiuc.edu/dialogue/report_files/

[seemslikeadream]

35. But when I talked to Wanda Pillow Director of Native American Studies

on March 17 she said that Native American Studies was started on Sept. 19, 2004.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

40. I wasn't talking about a formalized program of study

What I meant was that we read books like Black Elk Speaks in Religious Studies/Philosophy classes, Native American culture was discussed in History and English classes (particularly in the History of Illinois class), history of the Illini tribes came up in Anthropology courses (I know friends who used to go on archeological digs throughout central Illinois), and that sort of thing.

FWIW, I've found in discussions with my friends who went to East Coast schools that they learned virtually nothing about their regional native tribes.

[seemslikeadream]

37. English Department on Chief Illiniwek - distorted cliché of Indian people

The faculty of the Department of English find Chief Illiniwek an inappropriate symbol or mascot for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. While we understand that in the eyes of many supporters of the Chief Illiniwek symbol, the current version of Chief Illiniwek looks like a more respectful image than many other Native American sports mascots, we strongly believe that such stereotypical, oversimplified, and inaccurate representations are out of place in a university environment, where they miseducate the wider public and the members of our own university community, perpetuating a distorted cliché of Indian people and perpetuating the notion that Indian cultures are a plaything for the dominant culture.

We recognize that the intent of many supporters of the Chief Illiniwek symbol is benign. They see the Chief symbol as a dignified image. But as scholars and teachers of English often note, a cultural artifact, whether a novel or a movie or a university symbol, may mean more than its producers intended or understood. Despite the innocent intent of many Illiniwek supporters, the effect and meaning of the Illiniwek symbol is to present a distorted cliché of Indian people.

We would not honor African Americans by having a Booker T. Washington imitator provide halftime entertainment; we would not honor Asian Americans by having someone in an emperor costume dance before cheering crowds; we would not honor Latina and Latino Americans by having a César Chavez imitator put on a mariachi costume and dance at athletic events; we would not honor concentration camp victims by having someone dress up as a rabbi and do splits at halftime; and we would not honor Catholics by having a student dress up as a pope and perform with miter and incense. Some members of the University of Illinois community may point to the look of intense solemnity in the current Chief logo, a look that the student playing the Chief sometimes puts on as the halftime crowd stands with arms folded in a sign of respect. But the solemn, silent Indian is yet another demeaning cliché that goes along with the dancing Indian and the Chief Illiniwek keychain with flashing lights for ears that is sold at the Illini Union bookstore. Derogatory clichés often come in the form of contradictory stereotypes.

We believe that the Chief Illiniwek symbol offers the wrong image of this great university. It has made the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign an object of scorn to many people across the nation and across the world, misrepresenting both Indian people and the ideals of this great university. It is time for the Board of Trustees and the wider university community to act with courage and vision, to respect our own constituency of Indian people and of the national and world communities and, like so many other schools and universities, give up our Indian symbol and mascot. It is time for this great university to live up to its commitment to community leadership and retire Chief Illiniwek.

http://www.english.uiuc.edu/-announcements-/statement_illiniwek.html

[alarcojon]

56. As another Illinois alum

I am entirely sure where I stand. The chief must go!

I was there from '87 to '94, and I've heard all the arguments. It has been a long, slow process, but the chief will go - the only question is when.

[modrepub]

5. Too bad...

I for one would like to know more about the native Americans that lived in the east. For the most part all we have are place names and nothing else. This could be an opportunity to redo the mascot and educate people who are interested. I know of at least one high school in PA (the coal crackers) who kept a possibly derogatory mascot name and used it as a means of educating young people on their heritage.

[Mz Pip]

6. Stanford changed its

mascot a few years ago. I think they used to be the Indians or something like that.

THey had a pick a new name contest. THe Stanford Robber Barons was suggested, since that is who Leland Stanford was. SOmeone also suggested the Trees.

THey decided on Cardinal not Cardinals, just Cardinal. And they have a guy dressed up as a redwood tree for the mascot.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

7. You mean the mascot doesn't dress like this?

[xxqqqzme]

21. now THAT'S a

mascot I'd love 2 C at a pep rally or jumping around on the sidelines.

[XemaSab]

13. Humboldt State's mascot

is a lumberjack, and a few years ago there was a vote to see if the students wanted to change it. One of the options on the ballot was the Marbled Murrelet. Still the 'jacks, though.

[Mz Pip]

25. UC Santa Cruz

mascot is the Banana Slug. THe school wanted to change it but the students would have none of that and would chant "Slugs, slugs, slugs' at events. The school gave up and Banana Slugs stayed.

It's a good mascot for the school. Banana Slugs are everywhere up in those hilly woods around the campus.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[Rufus T. Firefly]

45. Stephen F. Austin has the Lumberjacks.

They had a game against a team with the Gamecocks and they won. The school paper's headline -

...wait for it...

"Cocks Get Jacked."

Really. The subheading was also something like "Jacks off to a 2-1 start."

Now THAT'S good stuff.

[XemaSab]

46. Good times, good times

Tastelessness is never out of style.

;)

[GregW]

16. Here's the skinny from the Stanford website ...

http://gostanford.collegesports.com/school-bio/stan-nickname-mascot.html

What is the history of Stanford's mascot and nickname?

The unique origins of Stanford’s mascot and have a history that dates back to the University’s founding in 1891. While the Cardinal has always been one of the school’s official colors, the nickname has gone through a series of changes, student votes, controversy and confusion.

Since 1981, Stanford has been known as the Cardinal. Stanford was known as the "Indians" from 1930-72. As for the mascot, Stanford does not officially have one. The "Tree," which is a member of the Stanford Band, has been mistaken as the school’s mascot, but it is not.

Below is a brief history of the nickname, the mascot and the school colors:

The Nickname: The nickname for Stanford is the Cardinal – in reference to one of the school colors (and is therefore in the singular). Stanford’s history with its nickname began on March 19, 1891 when Stanford beat Cal in the first Big Game. While Stanford did not have an official nickname, the day after the Big Game local newspapers picked up the "cardinal" theme and used it in the headlines.

Stanford did not have an "official" nickname until Indians was adopted in 1930. For years prior, the Indian had been part of the Stanford athletic tradition. Perhaps it grew out of the fact that Cal’s symbol was the Bear, or it may have come from the large Indian population of the area, or from Indian paraphernalia in abundance in the late 1800’s. Whatever the origin, it was accepted by sportswriters and gradually gained wide recognition.

Stanford officially adopted the Indian nickname on Nov. 25, 1930 after a unanimous vote by the Executive Committee for the Associated Students. The Indian had long been considered the symbol of Stanford before the official vote, although its origins are only speculation.

The resolution that was passed read: "Whereas the Indian has long been unofficially recognized as the symbol of Stanford and its spirit, and whereas there has never been any official designation of a Stanford symbol, be it hereby resolved that the Executive Committee adopt the Indian as the symbol of Stanford."

The Indian symbol was eventually dropped in 1972 following meetings between Stanford native American students and President Richard Lyman. The 55 students, supported by the other 358 American Indians enrolled in California colleges, felt the mascot was an insult to their culture and heritage. As a result of these talks and the ensuing publicity, the Stanford Student Senate voted 18-4 to drop the Indian symbol, and Lyman agreed.

The first student referendum on the issue was held in May, 1972, and it resulted in a vote of 1,755 for and 1,298 against restoring the Indian. The second vote, on Dec. 3-4, 1975, was 885 for and 1,915 against.

There was a move to reinstate the Indian as the school mascot in 1975. The debate was put to vote along with new suggestions: Robber Barons, Sequoias, Trees, Cardinals, Railroaders, Spikes, and Huns. None of the suggestions were accepted.

In 1978, another group comprised of 225 varsity athletes from 18 teams, started a petition for the mascot to be the griffin – a mythological animal with the body and hind legs of a lion and head and wings of an eagle. The University moved two griffin statues from the Children’s Hospital to a grassy area between Encina Gym and Angel Field. The campaign for the Griffins failed.

From 1972 until November 17, 1981, Stanford’s official nickname was Cardinals, in reference to one of the school colors, not the bird.

Nine years after the Indian was dropped, Stanford had still not decided on a new mascot. President Donald Kennedy declared in 1981 that all Stanford athletic teams will be represented and symbolized exclusively by the color cardinal. "While various other mascots have been suggested and then allowed to wither, the color has continued to serve us well, as it has for 90 years. It is a rich and vivid metaphor for the very pulse of life."

The Mascot: There is no official mascot at Stanford University. The "Tree," which is a member of the Stanford Band, is representative of El Palo Alto, the Redwood tree which is the logo of the city of Palo Alto. Since Stanford University and Palo Alto are almost inextricably intertwined in interests and location, it is a natural outgrowth of this relationship. The tree still exists and stands by the railroad bridge beside San Francisquito Creek – it is the site where early explorers first camped when settling the area.

The Color: When Stanford first accepted students in 1891, the student body actually voted for gold as the school’s official color, but another student assembly chose Cardinal as the school color. A few days after the vote, local sportswriters picked up the "Cardinal" theme after Stanford defeated Cal in the first Big Game (March 19, 1891). The headlines read, "Cardinal Triumphs O’er Blue and Gold."

Cardinal remained the school color until the 1940’s, when rules committees and conferences started regulating jersey colors for home and visiting football teams. Stanford’s Board of Athletic Control adopted white as the second color.

Today, Stanford’s official school colors are cardinal and white.

[salin]

34. by mid nineties....

most folks around didn't even KNOW that the mascot had been Indian.

A dancing (and obnxious) "Tree", sometimes a palm for palm drive, sometimes a redwood for the seal of the U and the city... plays the role of the mascot.

[trotsky]

8. IIRC, Florida State University works closely with the Seminole community.

Making sure their mascot is a respectful portrayal of Seminole culture and values.

Hopefully the U of IL does the same.

[Inland]

9. Yeah, well, about that. It's a little complicated.

The Illini tribes, uh, ceased to exist.

(shuffle, look at feet)

[trotsky]

10. Oh, sorry, was not aware of that fact.

Yeah, that would pose some problems. Although are there any other remaining native tribes they could consult with?

[Inland]

11. I suppose they could

But that would be importing a different, even if related, culture, and would be highlighting the fact that the original tribes were, ah....

Well, it's a buzzkill to bring it up at the game.

Better to step back and get rid of the dance.

[AngryAmish]

53. Very few Indian tribes in Illinois.

You see there was this good agricultural land that was wanted...

[Tyrone Slothrop]

28. Not true

"By the 1830s when the U. S. Government adopted the policy of removal, which forcibly relocated most Native Americans from states east of the Mississippi River, there were few Illini survivors left in Illinois. By treaty, most of the land occupied by the Illini was ceded to the government, and the last of the Kaskaskia and Peorias crossed the Mississippi and headed briefly to Missouri and then to Kansas where they remained until the white settlers wanted their land. They then were relocated to Oklahoma where they yet remain, united as a single tribe, the Peoria. A few Tamaroas and Metchigameas remained in Illinois, where some of their descendants remain to this day.

According to the 1990 U. S. census, in the State of Illinois, 20,970 people identified themselves as American Indian, with no designation as to tribal ancestry. That figure represents 0.2% of the total population of 10,830,612 in the state. Coincidentally, that percentage is identical to the Indian enrollment at UIUC which the University reports. American Indians have questioned whether actually there are 76 of their ethnic group enrolled out of the 36,738 total student population as reported by the University."

http://www.uiuc.edu/dialogue/report_files/III.html

[Inland]

48. Well, how about that!

Still, I think my point was valid. Consulting the Illini tribe for authentic rituals after "they were relocated"--assuming they still know what the authentic rituals were--is a buzzkill. Better to leave out both the pathetically idiotic and the anthorpologically serious and leave it a sporting event with no cheesy dance.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

54. You probably shouldn't refer to the dance as cheesy

Fancy dancing

"The halftime performance of the University of Illinois' Chief Illiniwek takes its movements from the Native American style of dancing called "fancy dancing" or "fancy feather dancing," which is considered the brightest and fastest of Native American dance styles.

Fancy dancing did not originate from any old dance or style. Fancy dancing originated as a method of entertaining visitors at reservations in the early 1920's and to display aspects of Native culture that were not restricted for ceremonial use. The outfit combined the popular bustles of traditional dancers and made them larger, brighter, and more exciting and added feathers, fluffs, and colors wherever they would fit. Today, fancy dancers' regalia contains very intricate feather patterns and colors, including neon colors and other eye-catching patterns. Fancy dancing belongs to no one tribe - it started in Oklahoma and is now all over the country, with some differences in dress and style in the North.

Fancy Dancers dance much faster than all other styles, and it is sometimes freestyle, with dancers doing such wild things as the splits and back flips. Many fancy dancers feel that these movements are necessary to win the top prizes and cash awards at fancy dancing competitions. These movements may be less common due to the level of skill required to perform them.

The dance style is of two types: a basic simple step while dancing around the drum and a "contest" step with fast and intricate footwork combined with a spinning up and down movement of the body.

. . . . . many powwows or grounds where fancy dancing competitions are held are athletic fields or similar venues. Fancy dancing troupes travel in the Southwest to perform shows for tourists and visitors."


Native American influence on the Chief's dance

The first three individuals who portrayed Chief Illiniwek (Lester Leutwiler, Webber Borchers, and William Newton) studied Native American dancing (especially fancy dancing) for years before they held the role of Chief Illiniwek. They became interested in Native American culture through their involvement with Eagle Scouts and they all spent time at Ralph Hubbard's summer camp designed to teach and appreciate fancy dancing. Leutwiler used the steps and skills that he learned through studying Native American dancing to help create the performance of Chief Illiniwek. Leutwiler stated, "This performance took place at a time when Native Americans in the West were installed on reservations and struggling for survival. Many in the area of Champaign-Urbana had only heard stories about the. . . . Indians. I simply wanted to prove there was another side to the culture that most people were unaware of . . . the inspirational side, the beautiful side, the meaningful side. "When Webber Borchers traveled to the Pine Ridge Reservation during his tenure as Chief Illiniwek, he spent many hours with several of the Sioux men on the reservation learning and perfecting his dance steps. Upon his departure, they inducted him as an honorary tribal member. ""

http://www.uiuc.edu/dialogue/report_files/IV.html

[Inland]

55. Oh, I didn't know it had been invented to impress tourists!

I take it all back! It's not cheesy! It's CULTURE!

Let's not oversell this stuff. It's a cheesy show at a sporting event.

[5thGenDemocrat]

41. Central Michigan University is still nicknamed "The Chippewas"

The school met with the Tribal Council back in the late 70s to (somewhat belatedly) get their okay. The Chippewas (who think it's great to have a local college carry the name) asked only that CMU not have a mascot (ala Illiniwek), with feathers and beads and "war paint" and blah blah and that the school ditch the spear and feather logo which adorned the football helmets.
Of course, the Chippewa (who actually coexisted with the white settlers of the Saginaw Valley very well) weren't exterminated like so many Native Nations. In fact, the Treaty of Saginaw (which opened this part of the state to settlement by the Pale Horde) is one of those rare treaties which has continued to be honored over the years.
Finally, the Chippewas have a large, very successful casino at Mount Pleasant (home of CMU) and donate a sizable chunk of cash each year to the college. It is a happy relationship all the way around.
John
CMU alum and one-eighth Cherokee. One-eighth Canadian, too.

[trotsky]

43. That's really cool.

Thanks for that info. :hi:

[barb162]

12. I wish they'd get rid of that mascot already. I have never

yet heard a Native American say'Oh gee, let's keep this mascot." All I have heard them say is it's insulting, degrading, etc to Native Americans and I agree with them as to how they view the mascot. We should have gotten rid of it such a long time ago.

[XemaSab]

14. I think there are some schools

on reservations that have mascots like "chiefs" but if they're cool with that, hey, more power to 'em.

On edit: The Hoopa Braves. Reservation school with an Indian mascot.

[barb162]

17. that IS cool.

But when white people killed off most of the Native Americans and crapped all over them with broken treaties for a few centuries and then use them as a mascot, I say duh? I have had more arguments with people over this. It usually goes along the lines of Well I don't hate the Indians. And I say you don't have to hate them, they don't like this mascot, they think it sucks. The school should get rid of it. I think the Board of Trustees of U of I, whatever their ethnic backgrounds, who keep voting for this should have mascots of their ethnic heritage dancing around the athletic field. I think we still treat Native Americans like total shit in this country.

[XemaSab]

23. Word

I think Indian mascots are terribly tacky.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

29. The head of the Peoria Tribe didn't have a problem with it

"In 1995, the Peoria Tribe, the direct descendants of the remnants of the Illini Tribe, approved the use of the Chief by the University. At that time, during a WICD (the Champaign affiliate of NBC) broadcast, Chief Giles of the Peoria tribe stated:"To say that we are anything but proud to have these portrayals would be completely wrong. We're proud that the University of Illinois is the major institution in the state, a seat of learning, and they are drawing on that background of our having been there. And what more honor could they pay us.""


http://www.uiuc.edu/dialogue/report_files/V.html

[seemslikeadream]

33. I would like to know more about Chief Giles

Some times things aren't quite what they seem to be.

In Utah, a nuclear scrap

Posted on Sun, Mar. 27, 2005

An Indian tribe is fighting to build the largest radioactive waste storage site in the U.S.

By Kirk Johnson
New York Times News Service

SKULL VALLEY, Utah - The Goshute Indians are not mighty in number, financial capital or political clout. With only about 120 members, their tribe has mostly been a footnote in the saga of Anglo-Indian relations in the West.

Their reservation, just slightly bigger than Manhattan, is mostly empty - a windswept land of sage and scrub 50 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.

But over the last eight years the Goshutes have outlasted, outwitted and outplayed powerful forces arrayed against them, as they have sought to build what would be the nation's biggest bunker for the storage of highly radioactive waste.

Some tribal members say such a facility would give them an economic boost in an area of the state where Indians have had few environmentally friendly options.

more
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/nation/11238488...


MEET THE GOSHUTE INDIANS BUSINESS PARTNERS

PFS members are:

Xcel Energy
Genoa Fuel Tech
American Electric Power
Southern California Edison
Southern Nuclear Company
First Energy
Entergy
Florida Power and Light
Each of these companies owns nuclear power plants. Each is exploring various options, including the PFS centralized facility, for storing spent fuel until the federal government has a permanent repository ready.

Utilities that send spent fuel to the PFS facility, including those that are equity members of the consortium, will retain ownership of their own spent fuel while it is stored at the facility. Each fuel owner will be liable for fees to cover the costs of normal operations, any problems that could occur, and eventual decommissioning of the facility.

Because each utility incurs storage costs as long as their spent fuel is stored temporarily, they will continue to put pressure on the federal government to accept fuel at a federal facility as soon as possible

http://www.privatefuelstorage.com/project/partners-pfs.html

Tooele Army Depot 46% of chemical weapons stockpiled waiting incineration

GOSHUTE TRIBE SIGNS LEASE WITH UTILITIES FOR ISFSI
The first proposal for an ISFSI facility in Utah, and probably the most serious contender, was made by the Skull Valley Goshute Tribe in late December, 1996. On December 27, 1996 a consortium of 11 nuclear utilities signed a lease with the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes for a portion of their reservation land on which the consortium would construct a facility for the storage of spent nuclear fuel. The consortium, Minneapolis based Private Fuel Storage, led by Northern States Power (NSP) obtained a lease for 40 acres of tribal land.

The lease is for 25 years, with an option to extend for an additional 25 years. The proposed facility would be for "temporary" storage of the consortium members' spent nuclear fuel. Once the Yucca Mountain Repository is completed all spent fuel stored at the site would be removed and sent to the Nevada repository. The leased site would be used to store up to 2,000 canisters of spent fuel.

The Skull Valley Band has only 121 members. There are only 9 families that live on the 17,700 acre reservation located 70 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. The remainder of the tribe lives off reservation in Utah and surrounding states.


The Skull Valley Reservation sets on the southern border of what is known as the Tooele County Hazardous Industries Zone. Situated on a corridor of I-80, the zone is already the home to; Envirocare, the nation's main low-level nuclear waste dump; two toxic waste incinerators and disposal facilities, APTIS and USPCI; Dugway Proving Ground, and the Tooele Army Depot where 46% of U.S. chemical weapons are stockpiled awaiting incineration; and several smaller concerns.

http://www.downwinders.org/cstory5.html


Maybe he does not have the best interest of his people at heart



GSLIS Faculty Statement on Chief Illiniwek
The Graduate School of Library and Information Science

It has become increasingly clear that the continuing use of the Chief Illiniwek symbol directly hinders each aspect of the GSLIS mission.

Teaching: The use of the Chief Illiniwek symbol interferes with our primary educational mission in many ways. Not only has it made it difficult to recruit Native American students or to work with Native American communities, the continued use of a symbol now widely seen as racist creates a chilling atmosphere for all students who for whatever reason do not see themselves as in the mainstream. Such an atmosphere is not conducive to learning. Moreover, it directly contradicts much of the content of our teaching, especially when addressing the importance of providing accurate information, adopting a service perspective on providing information, and challenging stereotypes in literature.

Research: Our research in library and information science is also negatively affected. In formulating criteria for evaluating information in books, electronic media, and other sources, we stress the importance of accuracy, which is directly contradicted by the stereotypical representation of Native Americans embodied in the Chief. Moreover, we have already seen numerous professional societies declaring our campus off limits for professional meetings. Colleagues throughout the world are aware of the Chief controversy and ask us when will the University catch up with other great institutions of learning. The controversy itself drains energy that could be much better applied to substantive research.

Service: In the area of service the Chief symbol belies our professed concerns about equal access and a service orientation to information providing. How can we provide leadership to library and information professionals on strategies for serving diverse populations or looking beyond stereotypes of library user groups when our own campus promotes stereotypes of a minority population? And what answer can we give when someone asks why we choose to represent people who have repeatedly expressed their opposition to the unwanted appropriation of their culture?

...

By unanimous vote of the GSLIS faculty - 5/10/2000

http://alexia.lis.uiuc.edu/gslis/school/news/chief.html

[barb162]

51. speechless, I never heard a Native American not offended by

Chief Illiniwek

[Tyrone Slothrop]

31. See Post #29 n/t

[skeptikal]

15. Being a hot .....

tempered Irishman I have always been extremely offended by Notre Dame and their insensitive portrayal of us Irish Americans.

I am currently trying to assemble a consortium of people to ally with to force a name change.

Seems only fair since the Notre Dame Cathedral was built by the French.
Probably should be called the "Cookin' Frogs" or something along those lines.

[barb162]

18. Do you know how that got started, french name of school, Irish team

[Rufus T. Firefly]

49. Because the team was made up of Catholics...

and I guess they were mostly Irish. Other teams in the 1920s called them the Fighting Irish, and they liked it.

[Dhalgren]

19. Good luck to you with that...

:eyes:

[BringEmOn]

20. Maybe the new mascot could be a preacher....

He could circle the field or gym with a wagon load of bibles and smallpox infested blankets.

[skeptikal]

22. Not feeling....

any love from those last couple of posts. Being 75% Irish with the rest being Cherokee, Black , and Spanish. I have a lot of potential at being offended by just about everything.
Check out how us Mic's were treated early on. The rest of my Heinz 57 (American) heritage shouldn't require explanation.
My point is that 99% of these "offenses" are usually hogwash to get attention. Isn't it about time for everyone to just be Americans, instead of hyphenated Americans?

[truebrit71]

24. I'm sorry but this is total bullsh*t...

I mean, really, don't people have enough stuff to get pissed off about without inventing this imaginery revisionist crap?

[Name removed]

26. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

32. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[BringEmOn]

36. No...it's the repeating of right wing talking points

If you're a "truebrit" maybe you can educate the rest of us on subjugation, exploitation, and revisionism?

[truebrit71]

38. Yeah, okay, whatever....

:eyes:

It's a team mascot....get over it....What's next the Chicago Bears have to change their mascot because the aggressive nature of Bears is only one part of their overall behaviour?

Talk about a complete waste of time....

[skeptikal]

39. Not a freeper.........

I detest group think in any form or fashion. Is group think the only mode of thought allowed here? Are racial minorities the only ones that are allowed to be offended?

[Rufus T. Firefly]

47. Yeah, that's how it works.

By definition the majority can't be targets. Come on, all white Americans have are "honky" and "cracker."

Ouch.

List that against the ethnic slurs against the ethnic and racial minorities before you try the "white victim" crap.

[seemslikeadream]

27. "First Nation" David Clark

David Clark, July 13, 2004

Opinion: very anti-Chief

I want to thank you in advance for reading what I have to offer. As an educator and scholar, and as a subject of the Sac and Fox First Nations from near Tama, Iowa, and descendent of the Potawatomi First Nations in Shawnee, Oklahoma, I support all efforts to retire Chief Illiniwek and the "Fighting Illini" name. Like others, I use the term "First Nation" (Indigenous works, too) rather than Indian, American Indian, or Native American. We are not "Indians" because we are not from India. Referring to us as "native" Americans really is disconcerting (as well as imprecise) because anyone born anywhere in the Americas in this and the last century rightfully can (and countless many do) claim "native-born" status.

With certainty, the name "Fighting Illini" is an uncomplimentary designation for the descendants of the First Nations earlier removed from what became the state of Illinois because it focuses only on aggressiveness and offers no context for the conflict or fighting. "The Chief" undeniably is racist. It is a red face re-formulation of nineteenth-century black face. Both the name and the symbol (or mascot) are symbolic manifestations of the lingering residue of European and (later) American semantic imperialism and racism. The label "Fighting Illini" is an oppressive and patronizing name for the Kaskaskia and Cahokia (whose present-day descendants are citizens of the Peoria-Miami First Nations located in Miami, Oklahoma) as well as other subjects of First Nations coercively displaced or forcibly removed from their lands by the terrorists who occupied their homes. Rather than engage in serious research, and serving ongoing colonialism, most academic historians have imposed the name "Illini" on these diverse peoples. Countless students and UIUC athletic team fans have uncritically accepted the authenticity of the name "Illini" as a signifier for now vanished First Nations. Used alone and only in reference to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and its athletic teams, "Fighting Illini" has no redeeming cultural or social value that could make it a name to feel proud about. Think about it: English-language words synonymous with "fighting" include squabbling, rioting, and brawling, as well as offensive, belligerent, pugnacious, quarrelsome, and evil.

Thus, the name "Fighting Illini" is culturally demeaning. It, and its symbolic counterpart, Chief Illiniwek, are one-dimensional symbols that nourish what my colleagues at the University of Kansas, Cornel Pewewardy and Michael Yellow Bird (following Joyce King), have termed "dysconscious racism"--an uncritical habit of the mind that justifies inequity and exploitation by accepting the existing order of things as given. To valorize images of the "Fighting Illini" without soberly recognizing the degree to which the United States sought--and seeks--to summarily conquer, displace and remove, and control First Nations peoples cultivates dysconscious racism. Numerous scholars have written about its effects. Any institutionalized violation or manipulation (e.g., exploitation) of individual or group identity can be understood as a clear elucidation of oppression. UIUC in many ways is a powerful institution that exploits the identity of the Peoria and Miami (and other) First Nations. Oddly, UIUC also manipulates the identities of the First Nations located still today on the northern and southern Plains (in western Oklahoma and in north-central Nebraska, the Dakotas, and Montana)--the First Nations earlier made popular by wild west shows and Hollywood motion pictures. This all is the subject of a vast scholarship. Many scholars also have written about the role of empowering and disempowering images in shaping the identities (the many heterogeneous individual conceptualizations of self) among Indigenous young people. Once the idea is formed for a young person that she or he belongs to a devalued group (and in today's media-saturated culture this idea does not take long to form), then every subsequent event and encounter is processed through this lens.

http://people.ku.edu/~tyeeme/mascots.html

[Inland]

50. Can't buy the argument about "Fighting"

The fighting is what goes on in the sports. There isn't any indication that the Illini are spefically quarrelsome. In other words, off the field they are just plain old Illini.

It provides no context for fighting because it's a metaphor for athletic struggle, not trying to describe the indians. That's why it's not redundant.

[Fifth of Five]

42. Check out the "Fighting Whites"

http://www.fightingwhites.org/

of the University of Northern Colorado.



edited for spelling...