Chief Illiniwek Supporter

Also, it seems that there's little doubt that it is being gripped very tightly. Wherever it is, of course.

Here's my memories: Various activists were in a snit long before the issue of a so-called Native American "House" was raised. I'd say the first time the issue was raised it was talked about in the context of "we have a program for Hispanics on campus, but the people Chief is supposedly honoring do not have a house". So IMHO, the chain of events here was not "Native American funding turned down: Chief protested" but rather "Chief protested, a lack of Native American funding used as further proof of a lack of respect". The academics: we have a cell biology professor who in the past has contact football and basketball recruits in order to persuade them NOT to enroll at Illinois because of Chief. He found no success with this campaign and AFAIK he hasn't done this in years. Needless to say, he provoked a lot of response from alums and fans. Also, one of the "creative nonfiction" professors on campus wrote a book titled "Halftime Dancing" or something like that. She made a few bucks and got some speeches, etc. out of her noteriety. There's probably more individual academics, but those two are the first I can think of. Additionally, the faculty Senate as a group at Illinois is on record as opposing Chief. BTW, I didn't know universities had any sort of program in creative nonfiction. Shouldn't we be striving to teach ACCURATE nonfiction? More protestors-I think it was late 2004 when Illinois suffered a 60's style sit-in of our administration building. I'd chalk that one up to a few students, but far more unattached anarchists in search of a cause.

So Franklin and Brand are basically saying here "oh no-William and Mary won't do". (I couldn't believe nobody has used that one yet.)

Great news as far as I'm concerned. It seems to me that Brand is promising to defend hypocrisy to the "utmost". I hope there is some site for contributions to the legal defense fund from the general public. Does the family of Englestad still actively support your University? That may be the source of some initial funds for this suit.

Lots of applause from me for your President! I'm glad someone just tore the NCAA a new one; the fact that he mentioned a lot of the ideas discussed here and on Illini sites was a bonus for me. I really wish we had someone in a position of authority at Champaign-Urbana who would support the will of the overwhelming majority of the people.

One more note on authenticity-did the original Aztecs use velcro on their sandals?

Here's how "Illiniwek" started. This info is from one old fan long ago, so its hardly official. The word "Illiniwek" as originally coined is probably pretty close to what we mean when we say "the human race". Originally a few tribes in present-day Illinois used the term to refer to themselves and all the neighboring tribes of which they were aware at the time; so at that time, this was a word meaning "everyone on earth". These few tribes were generally cooperative-no longstanding wars as you might see among other Indians in other territories. Later, as these tribes found other Native Americans as well as white settlers from Europe, the meaning of "Illiniwek" morphed into what the way it is now commonly used: a word describing a loose confederation of perhaps five tribes. This is how it was translated by the early French explorers. There never was an individual tribe of Indians called "Illiniwek" or "Illini": this is totally dissimilar to the tribes of Navajos, Seminoles, etc. Today, of those peoples who identified themselves as part of the Illiniwek confederation perhaps the only identifiable descendents left are the Peoria Tribe. They are headquartered in Oklahoma; they are recognized by the Federal government in the same way as every other Native American tribe. Since the time of the French explorers, some of the other Illiniwek tribes were consolidated by treaty into the Peoria or other tribes; others drifted apart over the years and their members either joined other tribes on their own or assimilated in some other way. So the Illiniwek are technically not extinct-but then again, a tribe named Illiniwek never existed in the first place. This certainly complicates any effort to get NCAA-okayed permission: we'd essentially be asking for permission to use a word of their language, if you will. Nice that the NCAA only chooses to protect those people who originally settled within the borders of 20th Century America, isn't it? I wonder if NAFTA applies? And if the NCAA admits members from Canada, what's to stop them from admitting members from Mexico? Will the Aztecs be sanctioned at that point?

Exactly! A couple of cheerleaders (or the Homecoming queen) riding a little covered wagon, pretending to "race" to take land away from the Indians (and of course break the rules set down by the Europeans who were running that little land grab): isn't this offensive to our Native American bretheren? Not to mention that the group that runs this little stunt has taken its name from the Oil industry, those despots despoiling Mother Earth.....talk about plenty of opportunities for outrage.

I personally believe in less government, not more. However, in this case I'll take any help we can get. And just to recall recent events, Congress managed to involve itself in the bowl situation a few years ago when Tulane had a good year and didn't understand why they weren't invited to a New Year's Day bowl game-so there is some precedent.

Be glad you have support at the state government level. Here in Illinois, the leader of our state assembly (essentially our House of Representatives) is threating to lower the amount of support from the state by the exact dollar ammount spent on any lawsuit defending Chief Illiniwek.

Tim Johnson is the US Representative from Urbana, home of the University of Illinois. BTW, Denny Hastert is a former HS wrestling coach. He does have more than a passing interest in high school and college sports. I'm glad to see that someone from Oklahoma, home of the "Sooners" is co-sponsoring. I'd like to hear what the NCAA thinks of that nickname and what it says about Native Americans.