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Media Stories on the Sioux Name


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VIEWPOINT : How the nickname hurts me personally

"I have many reasons for opposing these nicknames, but I believe there is one word that sums it all up: respect. To use my people as a mascot is completely disrespectful. The usage of my people - my family and ancestors - as silly logos for a sports team is totally degrading. I don't particularly enjoy being put on the same level as a Gopher, a Badger or any other animal. My people were not meant to be caricatured, drawn into a logo and slapped onto a hockey jersey.
World without Wompum

Given the genocidal treatment of America's native peoples by the European settlers and their more subtle heirs, the use of Indian caricatures to sell beer and whip up stadium crowds strikes me as arrogant at best.

[url=http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/custom/blogs/sportscolumns/entries/2005/08/16/no_offense_inte.html]

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The NCAA, which has taken a public relations beating and is no longer talking publicly about the decision, has admitted that it underestimated the support for Florida State and the other schools, which now have six months to appeal the mascot ban.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,166057,00.html

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That's a good start. Now I want to see someone file an "official" request to remove the NCAA's darling institutions of their nicknames and watch the NCAA scramble to defend the use of Fighting Irish, Trojans, Spartans, Volunteers, Minutemen, Boilermakers, and Sooners as "mascots".

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From the Fox News story:

"The NCAA took the action after two Seminole Indians from Oklahoma demanded the ban."

Two!?!?! Oh my.

MafiaMan: You missed "Vandals", the Germanic tribe that sacked Rome in 455 AD and now the mascot of Idaho.

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From the Fox News story:

Two!?!?! Oh my.

MafiaMan: You missed "Vandals", the Germanic tribe that sacked Rome in 455 AD and now the mascot of Idaho.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I missed that the first time thru, Sicatoka. That's stunning.

I didn't forget the Vandals at all. How about the Runnin' Rebels (UNLV) or just plain old Rebels (Mississippi)? With all the scandal surrounding the Catholic church nowadays, is Friars really a good idea (Providence College)? Where does this madness end?

In an unrelated PC note, every year, my county courthouse puts up holiday decorations. Poinsettas were banned several years back because some people felt that those particular flowers represented Christianity and therefore had no place in the display. Two years ago, a committee was formed to decide what decorations were acceptable and what were not. At least a dozen individuals were on this committee...your tax dollars hard at work deciding whether or not white or yellow flowers should be displayed. STOP THE INSANITY!

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Here's an interesting recent article from The National Annenberg Election Survey, which is a part of the University of Pennsylvania, the Quakers*. Not only does it gives results, it gives the specific question posed.

Most American Indians say that calling Washington
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This is an issue that personally affects many people, including me, on a daily basis. It seems that I have had more heartache over the issue than the classmates of mine who are on the opposing viewpoint. The reason: I am the minority, they are the majority and I am the one who has to fight alone.

Toughen up, kid, because "life" is a going to toss you some more curve balls down the road. :glare:

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Once again, a name-changer was unable to make a clear point on how UND's use of the logo has anyway affected them. Her entire point: she has been called names before. Who hasn't? If she thinks UND changing it's logo will stop her from ever being insulted again, she is going to have a hard time in life. I consider myself pretty middle of the road on this issue, but this article was absolutely pointless.

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Once again, a name-changer was unable to make a clear point on how UND's use of the logo has anyway affected them. Her entire point: she has been called names before. Who hasn't? If she thinks UND changing it's logo will stop her from ever being insulted again, she is going to have a hard time in life. I consider myself pretty middle of the road on this issue, but this article was absolutely pointless.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I grew up in southwestern North Dakota and someone called me a "roughrider" once. I'm apalled that Red River High School continues to disrespect my ancestors.

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http://www.news-gazette.com/localnews/story.cfm?Number=18794

"We've been focused on the Chief. There are viewpoints that wrap them together (but) at least historically, there is a significant disconnection between the two," Eppley said, noting the name "Illini" predates the Chief, and "Fighting Illini" referred to UI students and alumni who fought in World War I and was used to help raise money for Memorial Stadium.

  "The evidence we're seeing and weighing is the names ought to be taken out of the discussion," Eppley said.

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From the Washington Times:

A need to pass the peace pipe

There is no intent to be "hostile" or "abusive" to the Sioux. But that is the rub with political correctness. Interpreting intent is highly subjective.

    The NCAA has declared the Fighting Sioux to be "hostile" and "abusive," and so it is, even as this comes as news to the University of North Dakota and the Sioux.

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From the Miami Herald 8/20/2005:

NCAA waffles; FSU might get to remain the Seminoles

Haggard said that FSU wants to appeal as an individual university and not be lumped together with other schools that use nicknames such as Savages, Warriors, Indians or Braves.

Note the use of the word "waffles" in response to the NCAA's latest action. As expected, FSU is looking out for its own interests and nobody else's.

The good news? FSU has opened the door to exemptions. UND needs to emphasize its number of American Indian students, the programs for them and the results they produce. A new resolution from the Spirit Lake Sioux strongly endorsing UND's use of the Fighting Sioux name wouldn't hurt, either.

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From Island Packet Online:

'Gamecocks' inhumane name

While names like the Oregon Ducks and the Baylor Bears highlight the power and beauty in the natural world, names such as the Gamecocks conjure images of cruelty. The Gamecocks are named after the birds used in cockfighting, an inhumane blood sport that is illegal in most of the United States, including South Carolina and Alabama, two states that have teams named Gamecocks.
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From the Marin Independent Journal:

NCAA should butt out of school nicknames

Fortunately, after the NCAA reached out to defend tribes such as the Sioux and heard the word sue from the University of North Dakota - and others - it's now waffling on the matter. At least there will be an appeal process where universities and their attorneys will spend hundreds of hours and thousands, if not millions, of dollars, arguing about something as trivial as this: Which is worse - Braves or Warriors?
From the Idaho State Journal:

Mascots aren't biggest problem for NCAA

Brand has proven to be a master when it comes to throwing out chaffs. He and his cronies make billions of dollars on the backs of young men, with nothing more than a "free education," the value of which has decreased at the same rate the NCAA's television contracts have increased. Yet, at this time, we're supposed to believe Native American-themed mascots are the biggest threat to the organization's image.

From the San Antonio Express-News"

Editorial: NCAA goes astray in mascot assault

The NCAA can demonstrate sensitivity to Native Americans in other ways. It might consider scaling back its assault on mascots and instead encourage institutions to offer more scholarships for Native American athletes, like Florida State University's Seminole Scholars program.
From the Seattle Post Intelligencer:

You wouldn't call a team 'the Blackfaces'

The armed forces, however, are falling in line. The U.S.-Canadian military commands responsible for protecting the continent from terrorists have changed the previous names of readiness exercises to avoid Indian references.

The word "warrior," for instance, has been replaced with "phantom." The Apache and Black Hawk helicopters will be the next to go, replaced with some sissy word like Petunias.

Would a Jeep Cherokee be the same muscular vehicle if named after a bird or a flower?

This is getting silly.

From Paul Jacob at TownHall.com:

Playing politics and Indians

Teams can still have Indian mascots, but only if they're not going to be champions. That's the silent bigotry of low expectations!
If Native Americans, and not just liberal political activists, actually wanted an end to sports imagery involving Indians
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I read three pages and Izenberg didn't really say anything. He jumped around and just sort of babbled for a while. He brought up UND, Kupchella, Engelstad, Saigo, Japenesse Internment Camps, The Bisons :glare:, and a student at Red River. Through all this he never really seemed to have a point. This is the kind of paper that if I wrote in 9th grade, my English teacher would have written at the end of the paper, "D+. Structure and RESEARCH your thoughts. You bring up many interesting points, but do not support them in any way. The points you bring up appear to be very random. You have one week if you would like to rewrite it."

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Perhaps Izenberg needs to be enlightened on the $1M settlement SCCC reached with certain victims of systemic racism and anti-semitism on his buddy's Saigo's watch, as well as the *real* federal investigation, not some pansy-ass, do nothing commission like was on UND's campus.

Do you think these whiny, left-wing losers send each other their columns so they can cut 'n paste the same recycled crap? It's like a circuit of post-60s bilge that even Al Franken wouldn't touch. Nicky Coleman should sue Nicky Izenberg for copyright infringement and unlawful recycling of old news. :glare:

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But the Oklahoma Seminoles say the use of the tribal name is disgusting.

Uh, no, Jerry, if you'd keep up with events, you'd know that the tribal council of the Oklahoma Seminoles voted 18-2 to support Florida State's use of the Seminole name. Apparently you have firsthand experience with this ignorance thing.

I wonder how Jerry will feel when the NCAA lets Florida State and Illinois off the hook?

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