Nickname on Ballot at Spirit Lake

[darell1976]

WDAZ just reported that Attorney Gen. Wayne Stenjum says the board should drop the Oct. 1st deadline since he says the SR needs a chance to vote on the name and he believes they will support the nickname. Its a start maybe others need to tell the board they overstepped their power with this stupid deadline.

[dagies]

WDAZ just reported that Attorney Gen. Wayne Stenjum says the board should drop the Oct. 1st deadline since he says the SR needs a chance to vote on the name and he believes they will support the nickname. Its a start maybe others need to tell the board they overstepped their power with this stupid deadline.

It's good to see him speaking out. Maybe that will start something.

[Shawn-O]

What is the latest on Spirit Lake? Any follow up on the overwhelming favorable referendum vote?

[82SiouxGuy]

What is the latest on Spirit Lake? Any follow up on the overwhelming favorable referendum vote?

The last I heard the tribal council had refused to address the issue at one of their meetings. They need to officially vote to approve the use of the nickname. The referendum was non-binding and was more of a recommendation to the tribal council. The only thing that the NC$$ and the courts (because of the settlement) will recognize is something official coming from the tribal council. At one time there was some thought that because of the earlier support (as long as UND didn't do anything wrong with the name and logo) the courts and the NC$$ might accept something in writing from the tribal chair. But even if that is an option, she has refused to make any kind of statement approving the logo so I don't think that is actually an option that will happen. That leaves something official by the tribal council and they aren't interested in doing anything.

[UND92,96]

The last I heard the tribal council had refused to address the issue at one of their meetings. They need to officially vote to approve the use of the nickname. The referendum was non-binding and was more of a recommendation to the tribal council. The only thing that the NC$$ and the courts (because of the settlement) will recognize is something official coming from the tribal council. At one time there was some thought that because of the earlier support (as long as UND didn't do anything wrong with the name and logo) the courts and the NC$$ might accept something in writing from the tribal chair. But even if that is an option, she has refused to make any kind of statement approving the logo so I don't think that is actually an option that will happen. That leaves something official by the tribal council and they aren't interested in doing anything.

Has SL ever gone on record as officially opposing the nickname? I don't recall that they have. Which would mean that inaction by the present council/chairperson shouldn't be enough to undo what a previous council/chairperson has already done, particularly in light of the results of the recent vote. But it seems Myra isn't personally thrilled with the nickname, and whether she would ever actually sign off on the 30-year deal required by the Board of Higher Ed is another question. Of course, this is all a moot point unless something big happens on SR within the next few months.

[82SiouxGuy]

Has SL ever gone on record as officially opposing the nickname? I don't recall that they have. Which would mean that inaction by the present council/chairperson shouldn't be enough to undo what a previous council/chairperson has already done, particularly in light of the results of the recent vote. But it seems Myra isn't personally thrilled with the nickname, and whether she would ever actually sign off on the 30-year deal required by the Board of Higher Ed is another question. Of course, this is all a moot point unless something big happens on SR within the next few months.

They have not officially opposed the nickname. In 2000 (not positive on the year but I don't feel like looking it up tonight) the tribal council passed a resolution supporting the nickname (didn't have the new logo yet I don't believe) with the condition that UND did nothing to harm the name. But the NC$$ didn't recognize that statement. They wanted a new resolution in support after they got involved with the issue. The court settlement states that UND needs to obtain the support of both tribes, which means that as of that point they did not have the support from either tribe. Some people have thought that because of the 2000(?) resolution it may only take a letter of support from the tribal chair to follow up on the resolution. Two issues, 1) It isn't known for sure if that would fulfill the requirements of the lawsuit settlement (at least by anyone I have heard or seen) and 2) The tribal chair is against the nickname and would not write such a letter of support without the tribal council acting. The only sure way is to get a vote by the tribal council that would reflect the wishes of the constituents as evidenced by the referendum earlier this year. So far they have refused to bring the matter up for a vote.

[The Sicatoka]

WDAZ just reported that Attorney Gen. Wayne Stenjum says the board should drop the Oct. 1st deadline ...

The AG worked hard to hammer out any settlement. Why would the ND SBoHE undermine that work?

[UND92,96]

They have not officially opposed the nickname. In 2000 (not positive on the year but I don't feel like looking it up tonight) the tribal council passed a resolution supporting the nickname (didn't have the new logo yet I don't believe) with the condition that UND did nothing to harm the name. But the NC$$ didn't recognize that statement. They wanted a new resolution in support after they got involved with the issue. The court settlement states that UND needs to obtain the support of both tribes, which means that as of that point they did not have the support from either tribe. Some people have thought that because of the 2000(?) resolution it may only take a letter of support from the tribal chair to follow up on the resolution. Two issues, 1) It isn't known for sure if that would fulfill the requirements of the lawsuit settlement (at least by anyone I have heard or seen) and 2) The tribal chair is against the nickname and would not write such a letter of support without the tribal council acting. The only sure way is to get a vote by the tribal council that would reflect the wishes of the constituents as evidenced by the referendum earlier this year. So far they have refused to bring the matter up for a vote.

It doesn't seem as though anybody in the media has even addressed the issue of what happens if the SL tribal council refuses to take any action whatsoever, be it to ratify the position of a clear majority of the voters, or for that matter to rescind the support given by a previous council. I know what the settlement states, but I rather doubt it was ever contemplated that a situation could arise where a vote of the people takes place supporting UND's continued use of the nickname, but the tribal council isn't willing to act on the issue one way or the other. As mentioned, I doubt things will ever get to point where this even becomes an issue, but if there is a new chairperson and a number of new council members on SR who are either in support of the nickname, or who at least are willing to let the citizens decide, it could make for a very interesting political situation on SL.

[82SiouxGuy]

It doesn't seem as though anybody in the media has even addressed the issue of what happens if the SL tribal council refuses to take any action whatsoever, be it to ratify the position of a clear majority of the voters, or for that matter to rescind the support given by a previous council. I know what the settlement states, but I rather doubt it was ever contemplated that a situation could arise where a vote of the people takes place supporting UND's continued use of the nickname, but the tribal council isn't willing to act on the issue one way or the other. As mentioned, I doubt things will ever get to point where this even becomes an issue, but if there is a new chairperson and a number of new council members on SR who are either in support of the nickname, or who at least are willing to let the citizens decide, it could make for a very interesting political situation on SL.

I believe that Tu-Uyen has mentioned it before. He has a new blog up that discusses the issue and has some great information. A lot of it comes from the Attorney General after his comments to WDAZ.

Tu-Uyen had heard rumors about possibly moving the deadline.

Yeah, he heard about the rumors, too, which allows me to write about them without sounding like I just made it up. But, he also heard that the board might move the deadline back only a few weeks and he thinks more time is needed. There will likely be a new Tribal Council at Standing Rock after the Sept. 30 elections, he said, and the new council will need time to work on the nickname, presumably to bring it to a vote of the people, which the present council won't do.

The board decided in May that not only did UND need approval from tribal councils at Spirit Lake and Standing Rock to keep the nickname, it also needed a 30-year agreement on the nickname from the councils. Wayne said he doesn't think that 30-year agreement is necessary. The settlement between UND and the NCAA that set all this off doesn't require it and people he's talked to don't think it's necessary either.

* Wayne reiterated something that Archie Fool Bear, a nickname supporter at Standing Rock said, which is that the Oct. 1 deadline was never written in stone. "I know they didn't etch that deadline in stone because they knew it was a moving target," Wayne said.

I told him that the Spirit Lake nickname supporters were incredibly upset that day in May when the board voted on the Oct. 1 deadline. So both they and I, and I have to say other observers, thought it was, in fact, written in stone. How did Wayne know that it was not?

Wayne deferred to me and said that he wasn't there, but he thought that board members might have believed the election was earlier and, at any rate, they had the ability to revisit the issue and move the deadline whenever they wanted.

He also says that Charlie Murphy, who is running for tribal chair, would like to let the people decide the issue.

[The Sicatoka]

Tu-Uyen Tran has taken this past blog and onto the news pages.

[Shawn-O]

http://www.grandforksherald.com/media/full...echfootball.jpg

Hey, just checking in to see if we're supposed to be P.O'ed at the Gibraltar Group? Please advise.

[ScottM]

http://www.grandforksherald.com/media/full...echfootball.jpg

Hey, just checking in to see if we're supposed to be P.O'ed at the Gibraltar Group? Please advise.

I don't know. But I'd like one X-large t-shirt, please.

[Goon]

http://www.grandforksherald.com/media/full...echfootball.jpg

Hey, just checking in to see if we're supposed to be P.O'ed at the Gibraltar Group? Please advise.

The more I look at that picture, I have to admit that I snickered. I must say that people get worked up about a picture when we have a lot of more pressing issues facing this country than this. Lets see we have two wars going on, we have almost 10% unemployment, our government broke, the usa is going to have massive hyperinflation and most states are facing financial collapse and this is what we are upset about. You have got to be kidding me?

[Chewey]

The more I look at that picture, I have to admit that I snickered. I must say that people get worked up about a picture when we have a lot of more pressing issues facing this country than this. Lets see we have two wars going on, we have almost 10% unemployment, our government broke, the usa is going to have massive hyperinflation and most states are facing financial collapse and this is what we are upset about. You have got to be kidding me?

Yep. It's this sort of waste of mental resources that has contributed to the problem. Fighting Sioux nickname is bad. ACORN encouraging people to defraud the taxing authorities is ok or not that big of a deal to report much about. Of course, the greasing of the political palms by special interest groups never hurts either.